HouseOfTheRisingSun

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  • Retro gadget orchestra nails House of the Rising Sun, puts your garage band to shame (video)

    by 
    Terrence O'Brien
    Terrence O'Brien
    12.05.2011

    YouTube user BD594, also known as James Cochrane, is no stranger to pushing retro tech to its musical limits. Back in 2009 he coaxed a scanner, an Atari 800XL and a host of other antiquated gadgets to perform Bohemian Rhapsody. The results, while certainly enjoyable, were a tad tone deaf. Well, in the years since he's tweaking his "musicians" and his orchestra has just issued its second single -- a stunning rendition of House of the Rising Sun, in the style of the Animals. Seriously, this staple of '60s high school rockstar wannabes is absolutely nailed by the assortment of hard drives, oscilloscopes and the scanner. Cochrane isn't alone in his quest to turn obsolete tech into musical magic. Christopher Mitchell managed to hack a Ti graphing calculator and floppy-disk drive into a monophonic media player. While his accomplishment is impressive, he loses this round for wasting his skills on the saccharin stylings of Cold Play. Check out both videos after the break.