Love Hultén's Latest Creation, D-Symbiote, Ties a Ferrofluid Visualizer Into a Deton8 Drum Machine

Swedish technologist, artist, and musician Love Hultén has given a Twisted Electrons Deton8 drum machine a visual overhaul — by integrating a sound-responsible ferrofluid visualizer into its design, creating the "D-Symbiote."

"[I was] inspired by [fellow artist and technologist DADK Jung of] BurnSlap and his ferrofluid speaker," Hultén writes of the project — which rehouses a Twisted Electrons Deton8 sample-based drum machine in a new wooden housing with carry-handle and room for the star of the show: a ferrofluid visualizer which dances to the beat.

Ferrofluid is, when left to itself, a somewhat unremarkable thick, dark liquid which sits there passively — until exposed to a magnetic field, at which point the ferrous particles held in suspension are attracted accordingly. Alter the magnetic field, and you can alter the shape of the liquid; tie the magnetic field to music, and you've got a mesmerising way to visualize sound.

The Deton8 is a drum machine using vintage-style eight-bit samples and wavetable synthesis in a compact, USB and MIDI-compatible housing — but lacks any visualization capabilities of its own, bar indicator lights on its soft-touch buttons. Hultén's version retains these buttons and extends the control knobs to reach out from a custom-built wooden housing — with its handle-cum-kickstand evoking vintage boomboxes.

To the right is a window which exposes the ferrofluid, sitting idle while the device is unpowered then bursting into life while the Deton8 keeps a beat. A rear-facing speaker makes the whole thing standalone, and means you can both hear and see what's going on. The ferrofluid is also the source of the gadget's name: in motion, it looks a lot like the Venom symbiote familiar to fans of Spider-Man.

More information on the project is available in the above video and on Hultén's website.