{"id":39,"date":"2025-11-08T17:06:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T17:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/preparedcello.com\/?page_id=39"},"modified":"2026-04-07T17:10:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:10:07","slug":"mechanics-the-project","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/preparedcello.com\/index.php\/mechanics-the-project\/","title":{"rendered":"MECHANICS – the project"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

MECHANICS<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

from ancient greek \u039c\u03b7\u03c7\u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae<\/strong>, the art of building a machine

Concert for CELLO and OBJECTS<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MECHANICS<\/strong> is a concert for prepared cello that emerges from an ongoing exploration of objects, materials, and assemblies. It seeks to develop new extended techniques, experiment with creative processes, and discover unheard sounds and unexpected behaviors of the instrument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The performance balances on the edge between the subjective<\/strong> and the objective<\/strong>, questioning the role of the composer<\/strong>\/improviser<\/strong>. The musician\u2019s free will is constantly countered by objective, mechanical elements\u2014devoid of intention or imagination\u2014that slip beyond his control and participate in the act of creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mauro<\/strong> Basilio<\/strong> <\/a>applies various unstable physical systems to his cello\u2014vibrating, bouncing, and rotating objects that interfere with the musical gesture and introduce elements of chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electric motors, pegs, sticks, and everyday items are repurposed as extensions of the instrument, turning it into a kind of automaton that produces a responsive soundscape to comply with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mauro Basilio allows the music to compose itself\u2014ever-changing yet coherent. The musician is subject to external, neutral, and accidental forces as a cog within an autonomous machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research into extended techniques for cello aims to expand the instrument\u2019s sonic range and polyphonic possibilities without relying on electronics, but rather on simple electro-mechanical tools, often handcrafted by Mauro Basilio himself. His approach embraces a return to simplicity, experimental instrument building, and the recycling of found objects and materials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cello preparation kit<\/strong>\u2014that is, the collection of objects the performer keeps within reach during the concert\u2014is constantly evolving. Each step of the journey becomes an opportunity to compose with the environment \u2014 its materials, its people, its sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In 2025, Mauro Basilio begins producing a phonographic object that embodies his musical concept. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The album MECHANICS<\/a><\/strong>\u2014released on both CD and cassette\u2014investigates how the uniqueness, unpredictability, and fragility of improvised performances can be preserved within the reproducible format of a physical medium. Though the packaging is serialized and all copies appear identical, each one contains a different recording.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The album is a work in progress \u2014 an ongoing musical flow that moves from one device to another, from one listener to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To bring this singular vision to life, Basilio establishes his own independent record label: StudioFa<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MECHANICS from ancient greek \u039c\u03b7\u03c7\u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae, the art of building a machine Concert for CELLO and OBJECTS MECHANICS is a concert for prepared cello that emerges from an ongoing exploration of objects, materials, and assemblies. It seeks to develop new extended techniques, experiment with creative processes, and discover unheard sounds and unexpected behaviors of the instrument. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-39","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/preparedcello.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/preparedcello.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/preparedcello.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preparedcello.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preparedcello.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/preparedcello.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112,"href":"https:\/\/preparedcello.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39\/revisions\/112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/preparedcello.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}