Expanding the "Anywhere" organ...

[KB7DQH]

http://kck.st/anywhereorgan

About this project
What's this all about?

I'm Matthew Borgatti. I make and build and do and teach and tinker. Over the last year I've built a huge mobile pipe organ out of salvaged organ parts. It's called the Anywhere Organ. I've got almost 50 pipes running through an electronic system that can be played by anything from a keyboard to a laptop to a cell phone through a simple MIDI interface. Now, It's time to scale everything up into the room shaking, space filling, world touring monster I've been dreaming of.
So why have a Kickstarter?

Since its first twinkling moment this sculpture has been about replicating all the most incredible aspects of pipe organs: the way they fill a space with sound, how the instrument and the building that houses it are all part of the same sonic system playing each other, how beautiful the pipes are when seen rank upon rank together, how they can mix different voices and instruments together to create complex other-worldly sounds. The crucial difference between your ordinary run-of-the-mill organ and the Anywhere Organ is that the Anywhere Organ can be brought anywhere, turning any space into a cathedral of sound.

Since church organs are fading out, steadily being replaced by digital music systems, it's become easy to find salvaged organ parts. I've created a design that can easily be scaled to fit any collection of pipes from any organ. That means I can integrate pipes from hundreds of different derelict organs into one complete instrument.

I'd like to make the Anywhere Organ as large, beautiful, and easy to play as possible. I'd like to create elaborate installations that make music in response to people dancing. I'd like to hybrid with musicians to make Bach concertos in abandoned buildings. I'd like to stun people with the power of this instrument, but I need your help to make that happen.
What do you want from me?

I want your support. Even one dollar helps. Please tell your friends. Spread the love. Let folks know that I'm building this thing and I want to bring it to their town to help them party down. If you know an amazing musician who might like this project please let them know. I'd love to find a way to collaborate with them and blend our creative juices. If you know of festivals that would want an Anywhere Organ hanging around please send me a note.
Ok, so where does the money go?

The prototype I've produced cost roughly $4500 to build. I got some incredible support from the Awesome Foundation and FEAST Brooklyn which helped get the ball rolling, but I funded most of the project myself. I'd like to gather enough resources this time to devote myself to this project full time without having to decide whether to spend money renting a van and driving it to a festival or investing in new blowers to improve the sound. I'd rather not have to make those choices. I'd rather be asking "Is this awesome?" and doing everything that comes up in the affirmative.

The way it breaks down is that each $1000 I gather adds another 2 octaves of sound on to the sculpture. I'm aiming to add another voice to the organ with the $3000 I'm proposing to raise in this Kickstarter. If I go over that amount every penny will be put into making this project bigger and better, as well as getting it out in front of more people to enjoy.
Anything else?

If you're in the NYC area next weekend (Sept. 17-18) come out to World Maker Faire and see the Anywhere Organ for yourself. I'll be there all weekend demonstrating, chatting, and letting people give it a whirl.

Eric
KB7DQH