In conversation with Yuri Landman: ‘There can be a kind of serenity wi

Yuri Landman is a musical instrument designer, musician and comic artist. On Saturday 26 September, he will lead the Cloudbusting Organic Workshop by Error Instruments at [GRID]. During the workshop, participants will build their own experimental synthesiser.

For those who don’t know you yet: who is Yuri Landman?
I’m an inventor of musical instruments. That’s how I usually explain it in simple terms. I played in bands during the 1990s and was a huge fan of Sonic Youth. They modified their guitars with alternative tunings and additional pickups. This created new sounds and ultimately different music. I found that fascinating and started doing it myself.

Eventually, I stopped building conventional guitars and began making tabletop string instruments. When you change the shape and ergonomics of an instrument, you play it differently. That naturally results in different music.

You originally started as a comic artist. How did instrument building become your main discipline?
As a child, I wanted to become a comic artist. Drawing was my first form of expression, and my first book was published when I was about 23. At the same time, I was already playing in bands.

Instrument building became my third discipline. I quickly realised that I was doing something unique. Experimental instrument building is a small and obscure field. Within a few years, articles about my work appeared around the world. As a result, my other disciplines gradually moved into the background.

What attracted you to the sound of Sonic Youth?
I always wondered how Sonic Youth could make such an almighty racket while simultaneously creating a kind of serene calm. Their music is loud, but also very dreamlike.

I later discovered that there are certain sweet spots within that noise. These are harmonic and mathematical relationships that create interesting or pleasing sounds. I apply that knowledge when designing instruments. The musician doesn’t need to understand the theory and can simply play intuitively.

Who is the workshop for, and what will participants make?
The workshop is suitable for anyone who is curious about sound and electronics. You don’t need to know how to solder, and no technical or musical experience is required. With our guidance, you will build a working instrument in four hours.

Participants will make the Cloudbusting Organic, an experimental synthesiser with twelve connection points. By connecting these points in different ways using cables and alligator clips, you can create drones, loops, rhythms and unexpected sounds.
You can use the instrument for an intro, an unusual layer underneath a track or simply to experiment with endlessly. You will go home with a self-built instrument that you can genuinely use in your own music.

Saturday 26 September 2026
Time: 14:00-18:00
Duration: 4 hours
Price: €100

Limited places available.

→ Sign up for the workshop