The phrase “music technology” may not naturally go with hand percussion or “plywood” for you. But there are plenty of people wanting to jam and play on the streets. So, what’s the big news for them?
I think it’s this, frankly. It’s the Roland EC-10 EL Cajon. It weighs just 6 kilograms (under 9 lb). It runs on just six AA batteries. And it could sell you on hand percussion – or be the one hand percussion box you covet this year.
Lest you think Roland put me up to this, EL Cajon was literally introduced to me as “something you’re probably not interested in.” And it was my favorite thing in their booth. Also, Roland, I’m refusing to pronounce it “E-L Cajon,” when it’s obviously, in Spanish, “El Cajon.”
But first, let’s back up. The cajon is a Peruvian percussion instrument, originating in the slave trade there and spreading to various forms of Latin music. But Roland isn’t looking to expand heavily in the Peruvian market. The point is that this kind of hand percussion has itself started to grow. Even as more conventional rock instruments have begun to wane, jamming, busking, and mobility in general are growing. The cajon is easier to move around than a drum kit. It’s easier to busk with. It’s easy to pick up – musically as well as physically.
What Roland has done is make a good cajon, then make it do more than a cajon normally would.
In the same size and weight as a conventional cajon, Roland additionally adds a sound module for more sounds. You can layer electronic renditions of acoustic and electronic percussion sounds atop the acoustic sound of the instrument. You can even layer sampled sounds of the cajon on the cajon. (Cue Xzibit: “yo dawg, I hear you liked cajons…”)
EL Cajon has its own amp, too, so those sounds work with the acoustic sounds.
The effect is weirdly natural. It’s a cajon for the one-person band. You get the normal sound of the instrument, but then can rotate through 30 built-in kits, with different sounds based on where you hit (two independent sounds are triggered from the head and edge of the surface).
You can 30 built-in kits, and various controls for playing.
But it’s the battery power that glues this together – with power consumption something Roland has been honing for years. (They claim you can get up to 12 hours of playing time with this.)
The other smart thing Roland has done is to partner with Heidi Joubert. She’s just fantastic on the cajon to begin with – the new face of the instrument, with her own line of boxes. So in place of what could have been just another forgettable, embarrassing video, she shows off why the thing is fun and musical.
(Heidi is touring from London as home base, with her own band, as a singer and percussionist.)
She continued that demo at the show:
And, from all the way in Western Australia, here’s an explanation of what the whole EL Cajon is about.
More:
http://www.rolandus.com/products/el_cajon_ec-10/features/
Just remember, the phrase you’re thinking is “tener cojones,” not “tener cajones.” But after seeing this thing, I’m ready to do the latter.
Peter, I think you need to establish your bona fides vis-a-vis busking by providing video proof of you busking with the above technology at rush hour in the mass transit system of the city of your choice. 🙂
Agreed. There’s a huge gap in my mind, between imagining busking electronic music, and actually seeing it happen.
I’ve seen people busking with maschines
In London there is a guy that busks some ambient/trance electronic music with his two microKORGs. This is the only video I could find of him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0B4mMXygA4
Chango do a pretty bang-up job in NYC! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7XsxLuLeGw
I’ll consider it. What do I get from you in return?
Adoration, love, etc. You know, the usual.
THIS SENTENCE NO VERB: “You can 30 built-in kits, and various controls for playing.”
Peter accidentally some grammar.
Substitute “have” for “can” and your mind will be blown.
it seems that the layered sounds are not so responsive samples. doesn’t seem to be as responsive as Korg Wavedrum. although I hope it will because I love the concept of this!
I can’t decide if this is kind of dumb, or if it’s fantastic. But I bet my hands could decide if I had the chance to play one. 😀
As a percussionist, I’m definitely intrigued. But no MIDI out and no custom samples makes this far less useful…
I wish they would do something like this with a Handsonic. Battery power and built-in amplification with more sound options (and the ability to add your own) would be nice. If the EL Cajon does well, maybe Roland will give us electronic congas next year.
Worth watching just to hear him say ‘burgeoning market’ in that Oz accent.
https://youtu.be/_LytgLdsmjg
I think this is a concept that Korg’s wavedrum technology could do a lot better.
SCENE: ROLAND R&D MEETING –
SUIT: People aren’t dropping cash on Fantoms anymore! that whole segment is shrinking and being vacuumed up by the Modular synth market. Where aren’t we seeing?
R&D: Looks like musicians are taking to the streets again. Thanks, Spotify!
SUIT: Well what the hell do street musicians play? Bring me a bucket or some shit with patented Roland something or other in it. We need it for NAMM
R&D: How bout a box?
SUIT: BRILLIANT.
Sat thru enough “brainstorming” meetings to know this happens … A LOT!
speaking of buckets REMO introduced this w/ a snare: http://www.remo.com/portal/products/3/12/978/rhythmpaldrumhead.html
Heyyy. My local music store. 🙂
I think Heidi’s jungle outfit is the best new busking technology. Never seen that on a street musician before. Give it a go, Peter!
In Heid’s case the phrase would not be tener cajones but tener cajas. :p
Hate to quibble, but 6 kg is about 13.2lbs
Seems like a huge shame that they didn’t put a trigger in the left and/or right side walls. Every cajon player I’ve seen uses 1 foot to play some of the bass tones; with the EL Cajon, this will presumably work for the acoustic tone, but nothing else.
You can use the Aux In jack to feed in a signal from a Roland TM-2 trigger module, loaded with with your own samples and/or backing tracks, and triggered with either the KT-10 kick trigger or suitable pad/trigger.
since i’ve moved to buenos aires, i always admire the cajon players for making the decision to pick an instrument that is also a chair
Is that instrument as stupidly easy to play as it looks?
$400 is a tad expensive, but – I can see this catching on with college students: it’s a lightweight box/chair that’s also about the least-intimidating musical interface I’ve ever seen. Heck, I might get one for my own kids.
I think the simplicity is part of the charm, but if this catches on, I could see: MIDI OUT, custom face designs, a built-in LED “light-show”, an iOS/Android app that allows downloading new sound-packs, and perhaps some ability to network when you have two or three of them. Oh, and a built-in waterpipe mount.