Diego Stocco

Interview with a Sound Designer

Normally we wouldn’t believe that a pleasant sound could come from bits and pieces of an electric bass, a guitar, piano keys, a cabinet handle and a chimney cap, but Diego Stocco, a Sound Designer, a Composer and Performer from Italy puts our doubt aside in the form of the “Bassoforte,” one of his latest instrumental creations. Stocco assembles his inventions using household materials and everyday objects and then inconceivably pieces them together to form unique sounds that are sometimes hard to fathom. Apart from the “Bassoforte” some of his other impressive instruments include a pulsing, vibrating Light Controlled Oscillator, the foreboding Experibass, a burning piano (self-explanatory) and a bevy of other remarkable inventions. You thought extreme ironing was cool? Welcome to extreme crafting.

Interview

Bulb in Blue: It’s hard to look at your videos without smiling at the inventiveness behind some of your most inspiring creations (Music from a Bonsai springs to my mind). What advice can you give on looking outside the box and taking risks when coming up with ideas?

Diego: I'm very glad to hear that my works can make people smile. I'm also trying not to look too serious in my videos but sometimes I'm so focused on what I'm doing that I end up looking very intense : )

Coming up with new ideas requires a fearless approach because you can't be sure about the final result until you actually get there. In my musical experiments, besides the technical aspects that can be quite complicated, it's essential to use a different kind of thinking about what a musical element is and how to make it part of a composition.

I like unusual projects because I enjoy finding a musical dimension where apparently there isn't one.

Bulb in Blue: A big part of this site is centred on sustainable crafting and recycling so let’s talk about instrument reconstruction. Do most parts of your inventions come from old, broken or recycled instruments? And as for other additions (the originally non-musical parts), where do you find them normally?

Diego:Yes, I don't use expensive instruments in my experiments.

There are a lot of broken instruments sold on eBay and occasionally I can buy them from instrument manufacturers, if they happen to have something that got damaged by accident.

Regarding the other non-musical parts, I find them at hardware or thrift stores, you'd be surprised by the quantity of objects that can produce an interesting sound.

Bulb in Blue: What comes first in the process of inspiration for a new invention, the instrument (piano, bass, guitar, etc) or the everyday object (the tree, light bulb, etc)? How do you make the initial connection that their sounds would mix well together?

Diego: Most of the time inspiration happens spontaneously because I happen to hear a sound coming from an object I left around in the house or by noticing something in a way I haven't seen before.

I'm a strong believer in creative chaos and I tend to leave instruments and stuff all over the place. I've made so many nice discoveries because of this habit of not being ordinate : )

The second step is to figure out the techniques I would need to make it musically happen, if I need to customize microphones in a certain way, use the object/source as it is or transforming it into something different.

Bulb in Blue: Of all the instruments you’ve designed, which is the most creative in terms of materials used? And of course, which are you the most proud of?

Diego: I can tell you that some materials are easier than others to shape but I don't really have a favorite one, I believe each one is a discovery that adds something valuable to the way I make music. For sure some instruments end up being more playable than others, but I really feel that each project was worth the time I spent working on it, especially because the more I build the more ideas I get. I prefer not to get too attached to something in particular, it would take away energies that I can use to think about something new.

Thank you for the interview!