With Ototo, Anything Can be an Instrument, Even Bananas and Tin Foil

Have you ever wanted to expunge your creative juices fully through the power of a grave wave concept album but lack the musical skill? For those possessing little to no musical talent, Ototo is the instrument for you. Just take it out of the box and connect the crocodile clips to the closest conductor (banana, paper or any foil covered treasure) and you have a fully working contraption. The Ototo connects to conductive materials (anything that allows electrical charges to flow) to help trigger the sounds when pads are placed upon the object, with additional sensors helping to manipulate other elements (like pitch) further.

Much like the revolutionary emergence of synthesizers in the late seventies, the Ototo will further crush the tired notion that music requires ten million or so hours of practice. Basically, at the heart of it, Ototo is a “music for dummies” piece of technology allowing anyone to create unique sounds with everyday materials, with the additional sensors allowing for limitless customisation. Pretty soon we’ll all be watching stadium shows of DJ’s performing with just a circuit board, potato and crocodile clips.

The piece of equipment has come from creative design company Dentaku, the same people who made an Oreo machine and African music from mobile phone numbers. Because they sound like a really fun company, and because I was Eager to find out if paper or plants can be instruments, I caught up with Yuri Suzuki, co-founder of Dentaku and Joseph Pleass, the designer of Ototo.

Noisey: So, what is Ototo?

Joseph: It’s a really small circuit board, about the size of a cassette. So anything connected to it through crocodile clips will conduct. It’s for people without any real coding backgrounds to make music, its like Lego in that simple way.

Yuri: But don’t think it’s just a toy, we want people to make real music using Ototo.

Joseph: The analogue inputs and sensors allow you to control the modulations of the sound. The application for musicians is definitely there.

But what does the name mean?

Joseph: OTO means sound in Japanese and Ototo means younger brother. I wanted the name Ototo to take a friendly place in peoples minds.

How did the idea behind the invention come about?

Yuri: I was teaching at the RCA and a student asked me to build musical kit for her and the plans were so complicated, I just saw a gap between creative people and electronic projects.

For creative people out there, could you explain how it works?

Joseph: Once you’ve found something that’s conductive it can be connected and with the analogue inputs be configured for new sounds. You could even connect it to people! If something isn’t initially conductive then you could wrap it in foil to be.

How simple is it really though?

Joseph: Just get it out of the box and you’re ready to go. If you want to take it further, there are so many other directions you could take it in.

Many directions indeed, but what kind of music would it suit?

Joseph: I think it would be suited to more experimental music. We put on a performance of fifteen people to promote Ototo. We connected the Ototo to plants, cardboard, anything we could find.

Yuri: We definitely want to expand to more sounds within the kit. I’d definitely want Zooey Deschanel or maybe Ok Go to use it.

Could you see there being Ototo bands in the future?

Joseph: After the first performance I think anything’s possible.

Rad, thanks Yuri and Joseph!

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