The Hornet is a small, powerful improvising instrument played using a distance sensor. It runs a granular synth and creates a wide range of sounds, from lofi-flute to outright noise.
The standard hornet has speed and decay controls, a mode switch (polite/rude) and a voice switch (human/robot). The pro version adds CV/Gate control (5v max) for speed and pitch.
Opposite are sound clips and instructional videos.
Hornets are for sale at £110 for a Hornet and £130 for a Hornet Pro, plus £5p+p (overseas postage please mail me first). To buy, please email us.
The Hornet was developed during my BOOM! residency with Oxford Contemporary Music, and the initial run was crowdfunded with the help of Crowdfunder.co.uk.
Overtones - polite mode, speed at around halfway (Hornet and HornetPro)
Robot mode, speed at 0 (Hornet and HornetPro)
Robot mode overtones, speed at around halfway (Hornet and HornetPro)
Rude mode (Hornet and HornetPro)
Robot rude mode (Hornet and HornetPro)
Robot mode sequence, Korg SQ1 controlling note pitch, speed control varied manually (HornetPro only)
Polite mode sequence, Korg SQ1 controlling pitch and speed. Delay added after 4 bars and then a few bars changing the speed parameter on the SQ1. At the end I override the sequencer by turning up the speed knob...cosmic... :) (HornetPro only)
Standard Hornet walkthrough, showing sound options and playing ideas:
Video showing CV/Gate control of the Hornet Pro using a Korg SQ1 sequencer: