X

These robots can play electrifying techno music

It sounds legit.

Abrar Al-Heeti Technology Reporter
Abrar Al-Heeti is a technology reporter for CNET, with an interest in phones, streaming, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. She's also worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.
Expertise Abrar has spent her career at CNET analyzing tech trends while also writing news, reviews and commentaries across mobile, streaming and online culture. Credentials
  • Named a Tech Media Trailblazer by the Consumer Technology Association in 2019, a winner of SPJ NorCal's Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2022 and has three times been a finalist in the LA Press Club's National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards.
Abrar Al-Heeti
Robots techno music

Moritz Simon Geist makes techno music with robots.

Screenshot by Abrar Al-Heeti

Robots may be great for manual labor or providing companionship. They can also crank out some awesome beats.

Moritz Simon Geist uses sonic robots to make techno music. The small machines click and whir together to form catchy tunes. 

Geist builds his "instruments" in a workshop in Dresden, Germany, according to Wired. Some are made from everyday tools like screwdrivers, while others use 3D-printed parts and metal pieces. 

"I wanted something I could touch," he told Wired. "So I built my own instruments."

Geist's upcoming The Material Turn will feature four songs fully created with instruments he made, such as beat machines made from hard drives, according to Wired. The EP comes out in October.

"Robots and techno—I mean, come on," he told Wired. "It's machine music."