Printer cutter Versastudio BN-20. © Jean-Philippe Renoult
The artist Jean-Philippe Renoult makes the Roland BN-20, a vinyl printer cutter, swing for Makesound, his binaural sound column. Headphones highly recommended!
The Japanese brand Roland knows how to sing a song. TB 303 bass sequencer, TR 808 drum machine, SH 101 synthesizer… and this BN-20 Versastudio—the genesis of house techno owes almost everything to the first three…
So yes, although it isn’t made for this purpose (but to print/cut posters, stickers…), I feel obliged to make the BN-20 “groove”… It is naturally discreet, although mighty because of its size. Its song is drowned in the uproar of the fablab Carrefour numérique at the Cité des Sciences in Paris. But for those who can hear it, it offers delightful rhythmic patterns. I take pleasure in revealing them with several accompaniment sounds…