Campbell makes beautiful noise with household gadgets

By ERIN KAVANAGH-HALL LOUD: Campbell Kneale specialises in noise music -- blending instrumentals with noise -- and is soon to create an orchestra of household gadgets.

From taking his alternative compositions to overseas festivals, to his latest project creating a New Zealand sinfonietta of household appliances -- Campbell Kneale's mission is to "blow people's minds".

Fresh from a tour of Europe, where he is known for his experimental noise music, Featherston dweller Kneale will be this year's Artist in Residence at The Audio Foundation in Auckland -- set up to promote independent music.

There, Kneale, with help from an ensemble he is recruiting via Facebook, will be creating orchestral pieces for "as many people that can fit in a room".

The musicians will bring both an instrument of their choice and a household gadget -- anything from a vacuum cleaner, to a coffee grinder, to an electric egg beater.

Kneale's aim is to create layers of sound with the different instruments and electronic noises, creating a harmonious racket.

An eccentric project -- but one Kneale hopes will be a sensory experience.

"It will be like walking into Noel Leeming and turning everything on," he said.

"We'll be creating in a unique environment -- sitting people down, and unleashing some gentle white noise.

"It's different, but I'm finding people don't want what's churned out on the radio -- they want music that will take them to places and blow their minds".

Kneale's musical career began at 12, when he and a group of school chums formed a rock band.

He played in bands throughout the 1980s, and eventually, inspired by the heavy distortion and feedback from the electric guitar, made the transition into noise music in the mid-90s.

With a small sound mixing desk, he began recording music from his home and, thinking New Zealanders "wouldn't get it", pitched it to independent labels overseas.

He developed a keen fan base in Asia and, in 2000, embarked on his first Japanese tour, with tours of Europe and the US to follow.

He has since produced about 200 albums, and has performed everywhere from taverns to outdoor festivals.

"It sounds glamorous, but it really isn't -- I'm sleeping on people's couches, and catching trains by myself.

"It's always an interesting experience, however."

Kneale said his latest idea came from some of his earlier work, recording sounds with "washing machines and vacuum cleaners going in the background".

The orchestra projects aims to find the musicality in noise, as appliances produce different tones and pitches.

"A vacuum cleaner, for example, makes one note -- you can hum along to it.

"We'll be looking at what notes are available from each appliance, and putting those together."

While the result won't be "beautiful Beethoven music", Kneale hopes to create an effect similar to ambient drone music, which uses repeated sounds and notes and known for its meditative quality.

"It's very spiritual -- it takes the mind from the physical to places more compelling and creative. It's powerful, which is what music should be."

Kneale said he is welcoming musicians of all skill levels -- master bagpipers or those who bang pot lids together. The orchestral performance debuts in Auckland at the end of April.