We recently connected with Ben Neill and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Ben thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
By far the most meaningful project for me has been the invention and continued development of my self-designed instrument, the Mutantrumpet. It is a hybrid electro-acoustic instrument with three bells, two sets of valves, and extensive interactive computer capabilities that enable me to control digital audio and video.
I began developing the Mutantrumpet in the early 1980’s while completing my Master’s Degree in trumpet performance at the Dana School of Music in Youngstown, Ohio. During these formative years I developed a strong interest in avant-garde music and performed a wide variety of experimental music by contemporary composers. The music I was studying at that time made use of many timbral modulations through the use of mutes and extended playing techniques. The music and writings of John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen were a major influence on my thinking.
Around this time I started to become disillusioned with the idea of a conventional classical music career, even though I had made the finals in my first few orchestral auditions. While contemporary classical music held a strong interest for me, my musical tastes were quite diverse and I was particularly passionate about the art rock of David Bowie, Brian Eno, and Todd Rundgren the electro-jazz experiments of Miles Davis, Jon Hassell, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and the emerging sounds of punk and new wave. The experimental punk/new wave scene in Northeast Ohio was thriving, with bands such as Devo, Pere Ubu and Carsickness incorporating experimental sounds and ideas into popular music forms. In 1980, I started experimenting with modifying the trumpet by putting a removable trumpet bell on the first valve slide of a normal trumpet. This allowed me to experiment with multi-timbral muting effects acoustically, however, it defeated the normal pitch function of the first valve which severely limited the utility of the instrument. The timbral shifting was compelling however, and led me to think about creating a different instrument that would expand on that idea. I began developing the concept of a multi-belled, electronically equipped instrument that would drastically expand the capabilities of the normal trumpet.
I envisioned the Mutantrumpet as the focus of a composer/performer project, an expanded version of the acoustic trumpet with electronics as an integral component. My goal was not just to create a vehicle for producing extended techniques, but rather to build an instrument system that could be the conceptual foundation for a compositional approach based on notions of hybridity and amalgamation, to which I was instinctually drawn. Emulating electronic sounds in the acoustic realm through timbral manipulation and then further processing those sounds with electronics was the fundamental concept of my original design, and has remained so up to the present time.
I worked with brass instrument technician Rob Cole to create the first acoustic Mutantrumpet. Cole was a French hornist in my brass quintet at the time and had worked at the King instrument factory in Elkhart, Indiana. The first version was cobbled together from two beat up Bundy student trumpets. It had two bells with an extra set of valves for switching between the bells, and also a quartertone valve. I didn’t have a case for it initially, so I carried it around in a laundry bag. In 1983 I contacted Robert Moog, who was doing custom work through his company Big Briar, to see if he might be able to create an electronic processing system for it.. He invited me to visit him at his home/workshop in Asheville, NC, and he took a great interest in my project. Moog designed my first system for integrating the acoustic Mutantrumpet with electronics, consisting of a Gentle Electric Pitch to Voltage Converter, a small rack of analog synthesizer modules, and several custom voltage control interfaces. In 1984 Moog was working with Ray Kurzweil on the first touch sensitive MIDI keyboards. He invited me to his home in Newton, MA, to pick up my synthesizer and spent several days with me exploring interface and sonic possibilities with the new instrument. Moog and I remained friends and frequently saw each other until his passing in 2005. This was in the early days of MIDI, and pitch to MIDI devices were just starting to come on to the scene. the was the first one to appear. While working with Moog he also introduced me to the IVL Pitchrider and the idea of a MIDI-capable acoustic instrument. Just prior to moving to New York City in 1983 Cole created the second version of the mutantrumpet which I played for the next decade.
In 1984 I moved to New York City, and shortly thereafter I bought my first computer, an Atari 520 ST, and an IVL Pitchrider. This brought me into a new phase of my work with live electronics. Around the same time I began working with David Behrman on a series of pieces for his interactive electronics system, and this was an extremely influential part of my development as a composer/performer. Behrman was creating interactive pieces that were activated by live musicians, and through this experience I became introduced to the possibilities of an intelligent dialogue between acoustic playing and computer-generated sound. These works can be heard on the recordings Leapday Night and Unforeseen Events. During this period I began composing my first pieces that incorporated a computer into their live performance. These pieces were released on my first CD, Mainspring, Ear-Rational (1988), re-released in 2019.
As I continued to perform and to collaborate with many musicians in the downtown New York music scene, the original Mutantrumpet was in need of revamping. While on tour with Petr Kotik and the SEM Ensemble, I was introduced to the director of the Museum Bochum, Germany, which has a sizable musical instrument collection. The museum was interested in purchasing my original mutantrumpet, and this development allowed me to pursue creating a new version of the instrument with some improvements. In 1990, a new acoustic version of the trumpet was built by Cole. The new instrument incorporated a new element, a piccolo trumpet bell attached to a trombone slide that enabled a true glissando. Shortly thereafter my duo project with Nicolas Collins brought me to the STEIM studios in Amsterdam, where I was introduced to the array of new performance technologies being developed there. I was offered a residency to further develop my instrument, and during this time I was able to greatly expand the computer interactive capabilities of the Mutantrumpet. The design used 4 switches, a potentiometer, and 2 pressure sensing pads to send MIDI controllers in addition to my notes and dynamics through a Yamaha MCS2. At this time I was also introduced to the STEIM software applications such as the Lick Machine, which greatly facilitated my exploration of live interactive performance.
With a new, much more powerful instrument in hand, I was ready to embark on a set of pieces that used electronics in a more deeply interactive way. Up until this time I had been primarily performing in the context of experimental avant-garde music both in the US and Europe. However, my own musical interests continued to tend away from classical music toward popular culture, and my work with Rhys Chatham’s rock guitar orchestras in the 1980’s contributed to my belief that it was possible to bring the vocabulary of popular music into the realm of the concert hall. Electronic trumpeter Jon Hassell, who was a very important mentor to me in during my early years in New York, had encouraged me to move more in the direction of popular music rather than staying in the avant-garde classical world. My early compositions all utilized visceral rhythmic material from the popular music vocabulary along with the exploratory sensibilities of the Mutantrumpet.
When I was introduced to the electronica/rave scene in the early 1990’s I was immediately very excited by this new strain of musical expression in which experimentation was embraced by a new generation of artists and audiences. My music was already characterized by repetitive beats and ambient textures, and I immersed myself in the electronica culture, creating a series of works that could be performed in this newly emerging arena alongside DJs and purely electronic musicians. Once again, aesthetics and technology converged in a very interesting way which produced a whole new result. Through this development I was able to find a larger audience for my work, and since 1992 I have continued working in the realms of DJ culture, electronica, drum and bass, dubstep, and other forms of popular electronic music. However, my approach to these musical forms has always remained somewhat singular since most of the practitioners were primarily DJs, not instrumental performers. My entire artistic project has been to bring the experimental instrument design and performance capabilities of the Mutantrumpet into a visceral, accessible musical context, which I continue to pursue today.
In 2004 I began designing version 3 of the mutantrumpet based on the Junxion system from STEIM with Frank Balde and Jorgen Brinkmann. The physical instrument was built from a trumpet I already owned and spare parts by Terry Pierce, a brass instrument technician in New York City, along with James Lo, a hardware and software programmer. Version 3 featured an ergonomic design which included 8 continuous MIDI controllers and 8 momentary MIDI controllers in addition to the acoustic note and volume control from the instrument’s natural sound. Version 3.0 has three bells, two sets of valves, and a trombone slide. The extra set of valves controls switching between the 3 bells, frequently different mutes are used to give each bell a distinctive timbral quality. There are two normal Bflat trumpet bells, a quartertone valve, and one piccolo trumpet bell that is attached to a trombone slide.
The acoustic trumpet sound is converted to MIDI data via a pickup in the mouthpiece connected to a pitch to MIDI converter. The converter generates Note, Velocity, Volume and Aftertouch information. A Steim Junxion board mounted under a plate of clear Lexan plastic powers the 8 momentary switches on the Lexan panel, as well as three continuous MIDI controllers in the form of potentiometers and a fader. On top of the bell, right next to the second set of valves, are two joysticks with X/Y axis controls. There is one other potentiometer on the first valve slide, on the other side of the instrument body. The mutantrumpet connects to the computer via USB; the Junxion software program maps the controllers on the board to a variety of routings. Many different configurations can be created in Junxion, including tables which shape the response curves of the controllers, a very useful feature. There is a clip-on microphone attached to the bottom bell, this makes the acoustic sounds of the instrument available for processing. All MIDI notes are generated by the mouthpiece pickup, which helps to minimize feedback or glitching of the Pitch to MIDI device. Software applications frequently used include Junxion, LiSa, the Steim live sampling program, Ableton Live, Jack Router, and Logic Pro.
During the 1990’s I also continued to develop my approaches to working with visual elements in my musical performances. The new context of the electronica/DJ culture was very conducive to this pursuit. As new technologies have become available I have explored many different ways of interacting with visual elements. With the emergence of VJ software such as Modul8 and Resolume, I continued to refine my system of programming and structuring environments for live performance.
The design of Version 4 of the Mutantrumpet began in 2014. It became apparent that the STEIM hardware and software were not compatible with new Mac operating systems, so an upgrade was necessitated. Frank Balde recommended the Teensy board for this instrument along with RoSa and a software based pitch follower, and began mocking up a version of it during a Summer 2014 residency. James Lo and I began creating a template for the control panel, keeping it as close to Version 3 as possible to preserve the technique that I’ve developed with that instrument. Rather than using parts of used instruments as I had in the past, this time I wanted to have the physical instrument fabricated from scratch to incorporate more modern brass technology. It was important to me that Version 3 continue to be operational for all of my existing repertoire, so refitting that instrument was not an option. Through my recent work in Europe with Marco Blaauw and other European trumpeters in performances of La Monte Young’s The Second Dream, I was introduced to Hub van Laar, founder of Van Laar Trumpets. Hub was willing to build a new mutantrumpet for me based on the design of the old instrument. I visited his shop in Termaar, Netherlands several times, and actually got to watch as he and his assistant built the instrument from two B3s. When the acoustic instrument was complete, James Lo built the hardware controllers for this version as he had for Version 3. The configuration is quite similar, just doubling the number of switches and adding two motion sensors for a total of 28 onboard controllers
Today, more than 40 years after starting to develop the Mutantrumpet, I have finally realized my original vision of being able to create a complete musical statement using only the acoustic sounds of the instrument as the sound source. Through live sampling and multiple techniques for triggering and processing, I am able to sculpt my acoustic sounds in real time, creating a dynamic synergy between acoustic and electronic sonorities that has seemingly unlimited possibilities. I am looking forward to continuing my exploration in the coming years, and am grateful for the many people who have assisted me in developing this career-long project.
Ben , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Composer/performer Ben Neill is the inventor of the Mutantrumpet, a hybrid electro-acoustic instrument, and is recognized as a musical innovator who “uses a schizophrenic trumpet to create art music for the people” (Wired Magazine). Through his use of interactive computer technologies, Neill generates unique musical and visual experiences that blur the lines between acoustic and electronic music, minimalism, and visual media.
Neill has recorded twelve albums of his music on labels including Universal/Verve, Thirsty Ear, Astralwerks, Six Degrees, and his own Blue Math label distributed by AWAL/Sony. His most recent recording, Prana Cantos, was released on Six Degrees Records in two formats; a version combining guided spoken word meditation by Neill’s daughter, Kadence, and an instrumental album. Performances include BAM Next Wave Festival, Big Ears Festival, Lincoln Center, Whitney Museum of American Art, Bing Concert Hall at Stanford, Getty Museum, Cite de la Musique Paris, Moogfest, Spoleto Festival, Umbria Jazz, Bang On A Can Festival, ICA London, Istanbul Jazz Festival, Vienna Jazz Festival, and the Edinburgh Festival, among many others.
Neill is a longtime close associate of minimalist pioneer La Monte Young, and leads international performances of Young’s music. The list of creative innovators with whom Neill has worked includes David Wojnarowicz, John Cage, John Cale, Petr Kotik, Pauline Oliveros, Rhys Chatham, DJ Spooky, David Berhman, Mimi Goese, and Nicolas Collins. In addition to his many collaborations, Neill was the Music Curator at The Kitchen from 1992-98, and also curated music at the World Financial Center Winter Garden where he organized large scale concerts for the River to River Festival and WNYC New Sounds Live.
Other recent projects include Trove, a 104 track ambient collection that was created during the Covid pandemic. A live version utilizing a wireless outdoor sound system that projects sound up to two miles was premiered in 2022 at Manitoga/The Russel Wright Design Center in Garrison, NY, and repeated in 2023. Neill’s electronic chamber opera Fantini Futuro (2019), based on the life and music of early Baroque composer/performer Girolamo Fantini blends early music, minimalism, and immersive visual media using an array of interactive technologies. In 2018 ITSOFOMO, his collaboration with the late David Wojnarowicz was mounted by the Whitney Museum and presented internationally.
Neill began developing the Mutantrumpet in the early 1980s. Initially an acoustic instrument combining 3 trumpets and a trombone into one, he collaborated with synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog to integrate electronics. In 1992, while in residency at the STEIM research and development lab for new instruments in Amsterdam, Neill made the Mutantrumpet fully computer interactive. In 2008 he created a new version of his instrument at STEIM, and in 2019 Version 4 debuted in the premiere of his electronic opera Fantini Futuro.
A native of North Carolina, Neill holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from Manhattan School of Music. He studied composition with La Monte Young and was also mentored by composer/performer Jon Hassell in the early 1980’s. Since 2008 he has been a music professor at Ramapo College of New Jersey, where he recently founded an MFA program in Creative Music Technology.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The greatest delight for me is when I can set up a situation where creativity takes off on its own. Often times when working with my instrument system, sounds and musical structures emerge that I could not have thought up consciously. I always enjoy that process where the work seems to be leading me through as it develops. I try to follow that and create a dialogue between the unconscious and conscious which is an experience that I never grow tired of.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My goal has been to model a new paradigm for bridging the worlds of acoustic instrument performance and digital/virtual technologies.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.benneill.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mutantrumpet/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mutantrumpet/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-neill-a223342/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ben_neill
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mutantrumpet