Fluxweed Pyrophone

Fluxweed. This device was made February 2010.  Inspiration came from an illustration of the plant Fluxweed in 'Culpepper's Herbal' which called out "Make Me"; so here it is as an 8-note 'pyrophone' type instrument - the notes are sounded by high pressure propane gas being ignited in a steel organ pipe. Take a look & listen to the short video clips below which Elke took.

Many thanks to Sammy Samkin for inviting me to make this. rspx.

Fluxweed installed on the Bandstand |  July 2011

Video | Heat The Streets

Blackpool February 20th 2010.  Fluxweed's first show.

There's a crew of brass players blasting away too. Not sure if we were jamming together at this point but I think you'll get the idea. It looks like not all the pipes & propane are igniting in this clip - it must have been shot just before a refresh of the batteries powering the Ignition circuits.. Man, they sank some current.

Video | Final system test

The night before show day...  A quick check of the rig before crating it up for transport.

Video |  Fluxweed & Minotaur

High Legh Rave Re-enactment Society's Summer Fete - July 2010

A short clip of  Fluxweed & the 25 foot high Minotaur fire sculpture we built, with pre-burn photos below. The red-eye is a poppy, and the horns are the real deal.

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Addendum

Not shown here are the bass pipes I made after the build. These were so crazy I have decided to develop a new device just for the Low End.  More on these to follow... ( Here at last ! Check out the Bass Cannon in the devices menu.)

The link below is for an article about Fluxweed in the LPG trade press... it also made the front cover of the LP Gas Magazine  !

http://www.lpgasmagazine.co.uk/equipment/Lpg-Making-Sweet-Music.htm

I love that sub-title... 'The Voice of the Industry'.   And the dry statement regarding fabrication. Classic.

Thanks to Kevin Tetchner at Intergas UK for the tip-off :-)