Makoto Oshiro is a Berlin-Tokyo-based performer and artist. His primary medium is sound, but he also combines other elements including light, electricity and movement of objects. In live performances, he uses self-made tools and instruments that are based on electronic devices, everyday materials, and junk. His installation work handles sound as a physical and auditory phenomenon, and focuses on characteristics such as vibration and interference. 

In his presentation, Makoto showed some of his own acoustic devices, he used electromagnetic relays to switch between high and low voltage and to create a clicking sound. There is also a device he has made called an acoustic oscillator and he can control the amplitude of the oscillation. In his presentation Makoto also demonstrated the instrument he was making called the Kachi Kachi, where he placed two Kachi Kachi’s on a table and pressed a stone against them and the Kachi Kachi would resonate with the table, which I thought was very interesting. While I was researching sound design in games, I also discovered that many audio artists had created their own sound-making devices to be used in games. For example, Samuel Laflamme, the composer of the horror game Outlast, recorded the sound of banging in an empty barrel in order to achieve the horror of the soundtrack.

Makoto’s work also has a lot of light in it, and he has learned Arduino and combined it with sound to make it work. I think it’s a great option to combine sound through a microcomputer. I also took part in the school’s physical computing workshop, where I learnt to use Arduino to control the distance between objects and the closing of lights. I thought it would be a great option to use microcomputers in my work in conjunction with sound. I may also use Arduino in my sophomore exhibition.