Germans Ermičs and Bang & Olufsen’s musical object blends sound, sculpture and science
‘Circle of Fifths’ is an experiential Wallpaper* Handmade X project, exploring the relationship between the tangible and the intangible
![Handmade exhibition](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kJbGs7GeDcW6w8959Ybdx3-415-80.jpg)
Sound meets sculpture in ‘Circle of Fifths’, a Handmade collaboration between the Danish audio specialist Bang & Olufsen and the Latvian artist and designer Germans Ermičs. For Ermičs, music is a lifelong passion. ‘I used to play guitar in a band, and I went back to it with this project,’ he says. ‘Before I ever thought of the object form, I was thinking about sound.’ The Amsterdam-based practitioner’s familiarity with Bang & Olufsen helped. ‘I lived in Denmark in 2005, and that’s when I realised what a design leader Bang & Olufsen was,’ he says. ‘They are true craftspeople; their pieces are handmade, almost like sculptures.’
A sculptural aluminium object, ‘Circle of Fifths’ is designed to be caressed. Stroking the undulating circle of polished aluminium elements plays a series of notes, carefully selected to complement one another to form a dynamic aural landscape. One element Ermičs wanted to incorporate was the Danish firm’s ‘magical’ way with technology. ‘I really like products with panels that can be opened by an approaching hand,’ he explains, and the piece’s interactive nature sprang from this desire. ‘I also knew how good Bang & Olufsen are with materials such as anodised aluminium.’ A factory visit, including a tour of the company’s sound laboratories, cemented his high opinion. ‘It really helped me understand how they worked,’ he says. The sonic component was developed in collaboration with Bang & Olufsen’s tonmeister Geoff Martin, the sound engineer responsible for tuning the company’s Beoplay range.
Top, a sketch showing the elements assembled in undulating form, encouraging the touch that will trigger their sound. Bottom, a board used to test the different electrical components.
‘Circle of Fifths’ is an exercise in harmonic synchronisation, an experience which took Martin back to his former career as a teacher of electroacoustic music composition. To create the sculpture’s musical element, he began by sampling a selection of unfinished aluminium Bang & Olufsen products – ‘I played them like cymbals,’ he recalls. The resulting sounds were synthesised and digitally enhanced to create a trio of notes – the root, plus a fifth shifted upwards and a fifth shifted downwards.
Each of the eight curved aluminium sections is linked to an Arduino board, which in turn sends the signal to Bang & Olufsen’s bespoke speaker-tuning software (a program originally developed by IRCAM in Paris). The final trio of notes, each of which is looped and slightly varied in pitch with a touch of delay, is played through an off-the-shelf Beolab 17 speaker. As you move your hand around the circle, the notes change yet stay harmonious. ‘There’s an element of randomness in there, but it’s constrained,’ Martin explains. ‘The idea is that 12 people can play at once without it sounding busy.’ Ermičs agrees. ‘It’s like a musical instrument, but not everything sounds perfect,’ he says.
Elements for the piece, one seen at a raw anodised aluminium stage, far left, and two others with their coloured satin finish.
The end result is sensual; the sounds it produces are otherworldly, both soothing and slightly dissonant. The seductive experience is enhanced by the undulating curve of the eight elements, each one coloured in shifting hues of satin-finished anodised aluminium. ‘I wanted to create an object you desired to touch,’ says Ermičs. ‘It’s a very experiential piece – you can really sense the shape of the sound. It has allowed me to go deeper into the relationship between the tangible and the intangible.’ Kresten Bjørn Krab-Bjerre, Bang & Olufsen’s creative director of Staged and Flexible Living categories, concurs: ‘Bang & Olufsen exists in the space between art and science, and our engineers are very familiar with giving designers possibilities. We also like to explore how things feel when you touch them; our products have to feel right; forms have to correspond with the way things sound.’
Ermičs is adamant that he’s not a conventional industrial designer. ‘I’m an artist working with spaces and functional pieces,’ he says. ‘I work a lot with colour – especially in glass,’ he continues, ‘and it’s the transition between two and three dimensions that interests me. This project has sound as an indefinable element – it’s about materialising the sound, giving it a physical shape and colour.’ For now, ‘Circle of Fifths’ creates a symbiotic relationship between art, sound, technology and manufacturing perfection.
As originally featured in the August 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*245)
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
INFORMATION
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Moog’s mood-altering Labyrinth and five more new synthesizers and sound tools
Explore soundscapes and ambient realms with these new synthesizers and other desktop composition tools for shaping all forms of audio
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
From Tangerine Dream to cult PlayStation hits, eight books chronicling the art of noise and play
We explore eight titles that get under the skin of music history, technological evolution and the art and experience of digital culture
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
San Diego-based audio specialists Wrensilva update their elegant Record Consoles
With new materials, upgraded electronics and input from three industry greats, the new Wrensilva Standard and M1 Record Consoles are the ultimate in audiophile furniture
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
A new limited-edition Rhodes piano and Gibson doubleneck guitar aim for the stars
The new Rhodes Mk8 Earth Edition piano and Gibson Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Doubleneck guitar revisit classic instruments at a price
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Bang & Olufsen’s Recreated Classics series continues with a CD player revival
Bang & Olufsen’s Beosystem 9000c music system brings the original digital compact disc format back to life and pairs it with the latest in speaker design
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
20 of the best CD players as the compact disc comeback continues
We expand our guide to the best compact disc players with a fresh selection of good looking and great sounding models
By Jonathan Bell Last updated
-
The Beosound A9 x MonoNeon brings bold colour to the ultra-refined Danish speaker system
Bang & Olufsen’s Beosound A9 limited-edition speaker with musician MonoNeon sees the brand continue its collaborative streak
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Year in review: top 10 audio products of 2023, as selected by Wallpaper’s Jonathan Bell
Every audio brand offers high fidelity as a gilt-edged promise – which products matched up to the claims? Consult our top 10
By Jonathan Bell Published