DUMPSTER FIRE
- 2020 -

A spatial audio percussion piece for two industrial dumpsters, performed by two live percussionists and a musical robotics system.

Twin fires burn crimson, concealing forms that rise in silhouette from the wafting fumes. Watchers circle, ghostly in the light of the silver moon.


An outdoor performance piece utilizing two industrial dumpsters as percussion instruments. Dumpsters were used as percussive bodies played by rakes, mallets, angle grinders, and giant hammers in collaboration with a solenoid based musical robotics system. Listeners were encouraged to walk throughout the outdoor space in order to experience the spatial audio field created by the dumpsters’ 50 feet stereo placement.

Musical robotics system development and live robotics control by Emmett Palaima. Live percussion by Thor Harris (Swans) and Lyman Hardy (Pong). DMX lighting and fog effects by Kyle Evans (Dadalab, Rolling Ryot). Organizational support and dumpster acquisition by Barna Kantor (Dadalab, Rolling Ryot).