The Motorgan Produces Terrifying Sounds with Tiny Electric Motors

Moscow-based artist Dmitry Morozov, aka :vtol::, is at it again with his latest interactive installation — a device that morphs three electric motors into a musical device reminiscent of a pipe organ. Instead of compressed air as the sound source, his electromagnetic/electromechanical instrument uses three rows of keyboards to control two small PC cooling fans and a tiny gearmotor.

The electromagnetic fields produced by each of these motors is sensed by a single coil guitar pickup, and turned into music with the help of an Arduino Mega. Depending on the sound needed, notes can be tuned with a potentiometer.

While you might think that small motors would mean small noise, the aptly named “Motorgan,” sounds quite terrifying, almost as if large car engine is producing them.

Be sure to check it out in the video seen here, and if it’s not strange enough to begin with, fast forward to just after 4:00, where the output is modified via an effects pedal!