In the world of music the Dorkbot Ensemble takes a decidedly different approach to its creation.
The four-member ensemble is part of Dorkbot Regina, a group within an international community, explained Jeff Morton.
"It's an international, loose knit community of artists that work with electricity," he said Wednesday before a performance at 5th Avenue Cup & Saucer in Yorkton. The ensemble was brought to Yorkton by the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery.
Morton said while there are Dorkbot chapters in cities around the world (www.dorkbot.org), there are no fees.
The Regina chapter is small, around 10-members, but it is an active one meeting monthly. Anyone interested can follow them at Dorkbot Regina on Facebook.
The Regina group's performance in Yorkton was a musical effort, utilizing electronics and found items in strange and unusual ways. However, Morton said Dorkbot is actually a broader based artistic fraternity.
"A lot of Dorkbot members do installation art," he said, adding music is just one aspect of what members can explore. " It's basically any kind of art endeavour."
Ryan Hill said the idea of Dorkbot is really one of exploration.
"We're just having fun playing around with it (electricity)," he offered.
Hill said the group provides a place to discuss a common interest, and in the case of the ensemble, a platform to create their music from. The Yorkton show was the group's first outside of Regina.
The show Wednesday encompassed six pieces, two involving all four artists, and then four soloist numbers allowing each to show their own efforts.
The works ranged from an electronic manipulation of droning sounds by Ernie Dulanowsky, to one using a bass and electronics by John Hampton.
While the music created ranged from an actual recognizable bass, to a bent metal bar that was tapped, one underlying element was the use of electronics to manipulate the sounds.
"The computer would be at the top of the list," said Morton, although cell phones were generally part of the pieces too.
Morton said it is rather easy to make music with a computer, but Dorkbot members generally take it farther than following the programming already in the software.
"It's really getting inside the computer and making something on our own terms," he said.
