Reed Ghazala
Qubais Reed Ghazala is an American author, photographer, musician, composer, and experimental instrument builder. He was described by Motherboard as the "father of circuit bending". Ghazala, who is from Cincinnati, Ohio, has built experimental instruments and/or consulted for many prominent musicians including Tom Waits, Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, and the Rolling Stones.
Also recorded as Qubais Reed Ghazala · Q. R. Ghazala · Sound Theater
Reed Ghazala
- Name
- Reed Ghazala
- Birth Name
- Qubais Reed Ghazala
- Born
- Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
- Occupation
- * Author
- Nationality
- United States.
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Documentary summary
Qubais Reed Ghazala is an American author, photographer, musician, composer, and experimental instrument builder. He was described by Motherboard as the "father of circuit bending". Ghazala, who is from Cincinnati, Ohio, has built experimental instruments and/or consulted for many prominent musicians including Tom Waits, Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, and the Rolling Stones.
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Reed Ghazala was musician, photographer and writer and United States. Reed Ghazala was born in 2000.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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In this article
Biography
Biography
Ghazala's work has been covered globally in the press including the New York Times 's declaration of circuit-bending as part of the fine arts movement. Ghazala's work is held in various galleries internationally including the permanent collections of New York City's Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim and the Whitney Museum of American Art as part of the Fusion Arts compendium. Ghazala's influence upon creative electronic design is global, having originated the planet's first "grassroots electronic art movement" (while Ghazala has noted that he was not the lone, or first, experimenter in the field, it should be recognized that his contemporaries' work, regardless of date, did not spawn an international and specific art movement replete with original terminology, processes and an ever-increasing fellowship). Ghazala's practice with chance art (the root of circuit-bending) also involves studies in dye migration materials and Japanese suminagashi, as well as liquid, gel and smoke chambers, mobiles and pyrotechnics.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Reed Ghazala • Birth Name — Qubais Reed Ghazala • Born — Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. • Occupation — * Author • photographer • musician • composer • instrument builder • Years Active — 1960s–present
History
History
Ghazala accidentally discovered the technique of circuit bending in the 1960s when a toy amplifier in his desk drawer began to make "very strange oscillating sweeping sounds". The amplifier's casing had been opened, exposing its inner circuitry and allowing it to short circuit against another metal object. Ghazala's work in the field progressed with the introduction of the Speak & Spell toy in 1978. Ghazala has built many instruments during his career, mostly consisting of electronic toys modified with the circuit bending technique and customized until they barely resemble the original product. He has produced numerous audio compositions with these instruments which have been featured on many albums. He has also written a series of works relating to and teaching the circuit bending process, including his book, published by Wiley & Sons, titled Circuit-Bending: Build Your Own Alien Instruments. Ghazala coined the term "immediate canvas" in his work with circuit bending, which is the concept that through circuit bending the hurdles of electronic design are avoided. Anyone can step up to an open circuit and create, without needing to know electronic theory or daunting equations. Another term coined by Ghazala is BEAsape which means BioElectronicAudiosapien. When body contacts are used, the body of the performer is used as a variable resistor – there is a fusion between man and machine into one purpose which Ghazala says is something new zoologically and musically.
Identity
Identity
Reed Ghazala is recorded with the occupation photographer. Recorded as musician, writer and photographer. Established in Discogs under 192335.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
2000
Reed Ghazala born.
Discography
• A Watch in the Sea, Sound Theater (Cassette) 1982 • Sound Theater One: Music and Event, Sound Theater (Cassette) 1982 • Mind Over Matter, Sound Theater (Cassette) 1983 • Sound Theater Two: Visions, Sound Theater (Cassette) 1983 • Bring Your Room, Sound Theater (Cassette) 1985 • The Dreams that Insects Dream, Sound Theater (Cassette) 1985 • Requiem for a Radio, Sound Theater (Cassette) 1985 • The Sound Theater Radio Special Sound Theater (Cassette) 1985 • Suite for a Radio and Turntable: Outdoor Operations, Sound Theater (Cassette) 1985 • Posters in the Underground, Sound Theater and Sound of Pig (Cassette) 1986 • Vinegar versus Cats, Sound Theater (Cassette) 1986 • Go Mad Xmas, Sound Theater (Cassette) 1987 • Natural Science, Sound Theater (Cassette) 1987 • Spzz Tapes, Sound Theater (Cassette) 1987 • Artifacts, Sound Theater (Cassette) 1988 • Behind the Emotional Mask, Sound Theater (Cassette) 1989 • Cassette Mythos: Feast of Hearing, CM (Cassette) 1989 • Schematic, Pointless Music (cassette) 199? • Three Rings on the Ground, Pointless Music (Cassette) 199? • Clones and Friends, EJAZ (Cassette) 199? • Assemblage 1990, Realization Records (Cassette) 1990 • Anti White Bastards, PBK-USA (Cassette) 1991 • Cassette Mythos: Audio Alchemy, What's Next? Records (Cassette, CD) 1991 • Electricity, Pointless Music (Cassette) 1992 • From the pages of EMI, No. 7, Experimental Musical Instruments (Cassette) 1992 • 4 X 4, Ladd/Frith (CD) 1993 • Burning Suns of Shadow Worlds, Ladd/Frith (Cassette) 1993 • Drum, Spilling Audio (Cassette) 1993 • Gawk: Lore of the Ox Owl, Sacrifice (Cassette) 1993 • A Darker Solvent/EnTerres, Edicion, Spain (LP) 1993 • Postal Sound Surgery, Pointless Music (Cassette) 1993 • There is a Secret Garden, Sound Theater (Cassette) 1993 • From the pages of EMI, No. 8, Experimental Musical Instruments (Cassette) 1993 • Blacklight Braille: Sleep Not Yet, Vetco (CD) 1994 • Gawk: Marc Sloan, Reed Ghazala, Askance (Cassette) 1994 • No Dub, Spilling Audio (Cassette) 1994 • Objekt 5.5, Ladd/Frith (Cassette) 1994 • Objekt 5, Ladd/Frith (CD) 1994 • Objekt 666 (double cassette), Ladd/Frith (Cassette) 1994 • Redrum, Spilling Audio (Cassette) 1994 • Smells like 7, Spilling Audio (Cassette) 1994 • State of the Union, MR (CD) 1994 • The Little Fiddles in the Grass, Epitapes (Cassette) 1994 • From the pages of EMI, No. 9, Experimental Musical Instruments (Cassette) 1994 • Blacklight Braille: Songs for the Longhaired Son, Vetco (CD) 1995 • Better Things are Electric. M&M 1995 • Gawk-Gawd, Askance (CD) 1995 • Requiem for a Radio, Realization Records (CD) 1995 • Threnody to the New Victims of Hiroshima. Realization Records (CD) 1995 • From the pages of EMI, No. 10, Experimental Musical Instruments (Cassette) 199? • Gravikords Whirlies and Pyrophones, Ellipsis Arts (CD/Book) 1996 • Blacklight Braille: Songs from Moonlight Snow (CD) 1996 • State of the Union, Atavistic (CD) 1996 • From the pages of EMI, No.11, Experimental Musical Instruments (Cassette) 1996 • Blacklight Braille: Into the world of the Gods, Vetco (CD) 1997 • The ReR Quarterly; v.4 #2; ReR (CD) 1997 • From the pages of EMI, No. 12, Experimental Musical Instruments (Cassette) 1997 • Blacklight Braille: Black Moon Selection, Vetco (CD) 1998 • Mad Art River; Askance (CD) 1998 • HOPE; Audio Research Editions (CD) 1998 • Blacklight Braille: Dietles Tavern; Vetco; (CD) 1999. • Blacklight Braille: Sailing Away; Razzle 1999 • Blacklight Braille: Old Bones and Sacred Stones; Razzle; (CD) 1999 • Blacklight Braille; The castle of the Northern Crown; Razzle; (CD) 1999
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Reed Ghazala”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
institutional register
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q5757723: Reed Ghazala
General reference · Wikimedia Foundation
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Ghazala interview. www.anti-theory.com.
- 2.Anderson, Brian. Meet Reed Ghazala, the Father of Circuit Bending. VICE. 7 August 2014.
- 3.Yeaton, Sean. Inside the psychedelic workshop of circuit bending founder Reed Ghazala. cnn.com. June 22, 2011.
- 4.Mirapaul, Matthew. Technology Section. New York Times. April 8, 2004.
- 5.Dye Migration: Landfall Set. Flickr.
- 6.Suminagashi. Flickr.
- 7.O'Shaughnessy, Jack. Circuit bending, modding and the analog future. Resident Advisor. 16 May 2011.
- 8.Inglis, Sam. REED GHAZALA * DESIGNING 'CIRCUIT-BENT' INSTRUMENTS. Noise Works.
- 9.Qubais Reed Ghazala. The Folk Music of Chance Electronics: Circuit-bending the Modern Coconut. Leonardo Music Journal. 14. 96–104. 2004. 10.1162/0961121043067271.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessinstitutional register
Wikidata, structured authority record Q5757723: Reed GhazalaWikimedia Foundation
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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