Phonoautomat: the instant recording booth

Remember the thrill of the photo-booth? The magic of cramming into a tiny space with your friends to capture a fleeting moment in a series of indelible images, the evidence drying on a strip of photo paper in your hands? 

Now imagine the same experience, but with sound. The Phonoautomat is exactly that: a miniature, instant recording booth where you can record up to five minutes of anything you like and walk away with physical copies on cassette to share with friends and family. 

Completely solar-powered, mobile, self-contained, and off the grid, the Phonoautomat is built into a 1970s camper trailer, and comes complete with backline (drums and amplifiers), a fully analog recording studio, and a cassette duplicator. Built and run by engineer Jake Nicoll, the Phonoautomat is open for spontaneous collaborations, music, spoken word, poetry, sound art, audio collage: the possibilities are endless. 

Step inside the Phonoautomat, grab a guitar or a microphone, and off you go for five minutes of live recording. Once you’re finished, why not relax in the art lounge outside and make your handmade album artwork while you wait for the engineer to finish mixing and duplicating your project. In less than 30 minutes from start to finish, you and your collaborators will have a sonic souvenir to cherish forever.

Whether you’re a professional musician and want to collaborate with other artists at a festival, get that sudden flash of inspiration down to tape instantly, or you have no musical experience whatsoever but always wanted to cut a single: the Phonoautomat is open to everyone.