{"id":106023,"date":"2024-07-17T15:49:16","date_gmt":"2024-07-17T19:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=106023"},"modified":"2024-07-18T08:00:02","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T12:00:02","slug":"scoop-uk-firm-based-upon-unveils-twist-d-radical-piano-redesign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/07\/17\/scoop-uk-firm-based-upon-unveils-twist-d-radical-piano-redesign\/","title":{"rendered":"THE SCOOP | UK Firm Based Upon Unveils The Twist\/D: A Radical Piano Redesign"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The Twist\/D Piano by Based Upon (Photo courtesy of Based Upon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

UK based firm Based Upon introduced a new piano design recently called the Twist\/D. It\u2019s the latest of the firm\u2019s ventures into piano design, and their first autonomous model. The piano was unveiled in June 2024 at a London\u2019s Eye of the Collector trade show, and the moniker comes from the company\u2019s signature twist design.<\/p>\n

Based Upon is a UK based design house with a difference. Their projects range from art to jewellery to, as in this case, grand pianos. Brothers Ian and Richard Abell, and Alex Welch, founded the company they still run in 2004. The Based Upon team takes its inspiration from global stories and traditions, with designs that balance material practicality with emotional responses.<\/p>\n

Previous piano projects include The Baby, a collection of five baby grands now housed in private collections around the world, The Manhattan and The London, collaborations with Steinway & Sons, Digi-Baby, an avant-garde digital series, and several bespoke commissions. Other projects have seen the company partner with firms like Rolls-Royce and Tiffany & Co., with public projects that are on view in New York City, Mumbai, and Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Twist\/D Piano by Based Upon (Photo courtesy of Based Upon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Details<\/h3>\n

The structure of the Twist\/D was reconceived from the ground up, taking elements of both functionality and artistic aesthetic (sculptural form) into account. It emulates the touch and feel of a concert quality grand piano.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Based Upon, we often question why functionality is so frequently deemed to destroy the purity of an artwork. Why should one be compromised in preference of the other? During our 12-year exploration of pianos as a subject, our intent has always been to create a credible piece of art, while preserving the integrity of the instrument.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Twist\/D, we have gone further, introducing an immersive element to heighten the user\u2019s experience. Twist\/D is at once compelling, both as an artwork, and as a radical contemporary instrument,\u201d comments Based Upon Co-founder Ian Abell<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Twist\/D Piano by Based Upon (Photo courtesy of Based Upon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Company Co-founder Alex Welch<\/strong> elaborates on the design.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe set out to create a work that marries sculptural beauty with the feel of a world-class piano, enhanced by experiential, interactive soundscapes captured by Based Upon as we journeyed into landscape.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, the best art comes from artists, designers and musicians who are confident enough to strip a piece back to its component parts; the essence of taking away to get more. This ethos has led to our approach to Twist\/D. A series of large brass dials, inspired by analogue vintage synthesizers, offer a playful and tactile experience which allows the player to choose a sound, acoustically sculpt it, and then select a reverb location to perform in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Materials used include the firm\u2019s proprietary Tramazite finish, along with a graded blue and white patina, brass, steel, aluminum timber, and liquid minerals.
\n\u2022 The dials also let you control attack, tuning, and reverb.
\n\u2022 The pianos uses the sounds and tonal qualities of computer modelled Steinways and Bechsteins from different time periods. They\u2019ve also replicated details like the pedal and hammer action of the sampled instruments.<\/p>\n

The autonomous instrument can be played manually as well as via playback. They\u2019ve also included a set of sounds captured on the Isle of Skye using balloons, letting you recreate the natural soundscape.<\/p>\n

The unique instrument won\u2019t be for everyone\u2019s pocket, however, the innovations in technology and construction can only add to the growing, and fascinating, field of piano design.<\/p>\n

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UK based firm Based Upon introduced a new piano design recently called the Twist\/D, their first autonomous model, at the Eye of the Collector show in London.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":106024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40967,36,39,47],"tags":[40433,41340,41339],"yst_prominent_words":[9944,7941,13137,14901,11733,21054,9224,8757,12857,7141,7449,36115,18429],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/07\/Copy-of-NEWS-34.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-rA3","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106023"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106023"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106034,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106023\/revisions\/106034"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106023"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=106023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}