Moritz Simon Geist

Moritz Simon Geist is a music producer and media artist based in Dresden, Germany. He mainly works with robots to create electronic music^[1]. He debuted with the drum robot “MR-808” in 2012^[2] and has since explored the producing of electronic music with robots and mechanics. His compositions are influenced by various electronic music styles as well as minimal music and musique concrète^[3].
Geist has worked with artists such as Mouse on Mars, Tyondai Braxton or Robert Lippok^[4] and has showcased his works and performances at numerous occasions such as the Ars Electronica^[5], the Venice Biennale^[6], or the South by Southwest Festival^[7]. From 2017 - 2020 he taught experimental music at the New York University^[8]. The Rolling Stone|Rolling Stone Magazine listed him as one of the "10 Great Musical Discoveries" SXSW 2019^[9].

Life and education[edit]

Born in 1981^[10], Geist has a classical music education on piano and clarinet^[11], but turned to electronic, punk and noise music in his student years. He never planned on working in the arts field, but after finishing his diploma in electronical engineering and quitting his PhD in a research facility, he turned to work as a freelance artist full-time in 2012.^[12]

Works[edit]

MR-808 (2012)[edit]

In 2012 Geist build his first robotic music instrument the “MR-808”, designed after the classic electronic drum machine “Roland TR-808|TR-808”^[13]. The “MR-808” features 12 drum instruments which are beaten by small robots, such as a Snare drum|snare, Tom-tom drum|toms or bass drum. The tech blog Engadget wrote, that Geists 808 sounds like a "unique mix of flawless cues with imprecise, almost organic sounds" reminding of the band 808 State.^[14]. Cory Doctorow wrote, the installation would experimenting with many instruments in order to recreate the 808's repertoire^[13]. The installation won the Cynetart Prize 2014^[15] and is part of the touring exhibition Electro by the Philharmonie de Paris alongside works of Jeff Mills and Jean-Michel Jarre^[16].

Tripods One (2017)[edit]

In 2017 Geist finished the work “Tripods One”, which is a robotic music system consisting of five robotic percussive robots^[17]. In an interview for the magazine Fast Company Geist states ^[17] he wanted to create Do it yourself|DIY futuristic instruments which have something new to them, and which don’t reference something that already exists. In an interview for Arte|Arte Tracks, Geist stresses the influences of russian science fiction like Arkady and Boris Strugatsky and Stanisław Lem on his work^[12]. The installation won the Visual Music Award 2017^[18] and was nominated for the design price of saxonia 2018^[19].

Album “Robotic Electronic Music” (2018)[edit]

In 2018 Geist released his debut Album “Robotic Electronic Music” distibuted by Kompakt_(Label)|Kompakt Distribution^[20]. On the 8-track album, Geist used only physical instruments, and it was sold with the claim of being the first techno album entirely played by robots^[3]. Wired Magazine said, the album would represent not just a new way to make music, but a new way to experience it, as the instruments would have a visual component, making it possible to watch the sounds as they are created. Ars Technica compared 'Entropy', the albums title track, to productions from DFA Records|DFA, The XX and Hot Chip^[21].

Collaborations and Exhibitions[edit]

In 2014, Geist started a collaboration with the electronic duo Mouse on Mars^[22]. They performed together at international occasions, such as the Moogfest|Moog Festival or at the Elbphilharmonie|Elbphilharmonie Hamburg^{[11] [23]}.
In 2018, the Mouse on Mars Album Dimensional People was released, for which Geist built a custom made robotic music system. With this system it is possible to trigger various objects with MIDI.^[24][25].
Geist exhibited several works at different museums, for example at the "AI x Music" exhibition at the Ars Electronica Center or at the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci|Science Museum Milano^[26].
In 2019, Geist was nominated for the german VIA/VUT Award alongside Holly Herndon, who won the title.^[27].
Since 2020, Geist runs a production studio also doing corporate works in Dresden, Germany.^[28]

Discography[edit]

Studio albums[edit]

Collaborations, other[edit]

• Mouse On Mars, “Dimensional People” April 2018
• Contribution to Mouse On Mars, “Lichter” Spet. 2016 ^[32]

Music Videos[edit]

• "MR-808" (2012) ^[33]
• "Making Techno with Music Robots" (2015)^[34]
• "Popcorn Robot"^[35] Feb. 2021

References[edit]

External links[edit]

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