Meet the Musical Melodyians, a race of musical aliens who eat music, create music, and travel through space in a cosmic quest to save their dying civilization and the musics of the universe. This is a transmedia production featuring music, comics, videos, art, musical robots, and electronic instruments - all unified by the Melodyian story universe.
The creative team behind this on-going production consists of artists J. Sayuri and Scott Tooby. Working in collaboration, they’re busy creating a graphic novel, music, videos, and art that tell the story of the Melodyian saga and expand the boundaries of the narrative art form.
To stay informed about the latest Melodyian news, music releases, comic publications and more, please contact us so we can add you to our email list. You can also follow the Musical Melodyians Facebook page and Instagram to stay in the loop about all the latest project developments. Stay tuned!
Project Pictures
Introducing the Musical Melodyians
Meet the main characters of the Musical Melodyian universe as featured in the graphic novel. In many ways, this is where the project began circa 2012.
Up Close and Personal with the Cast
Close-up shot of some cast members of the Melodyian web series - Primid, Jerrida, Rashmanoo, and Primid's evil-twin brother lurking around in the background. Talk about drama-rama....
Primid
Meet Primid. He is one of the leaders of the Melodyian envoy for extraterrestrial communication.
Musical Powers: master controller
Disposition: controlling
Interests: alien music
Jerrida
Say hello to Jerrida, life long friend and compatriot of Primid.
Musical Powers: percussion
Disposition: laid back
Interests: jokes, having a goodtime
Rashmanoo:
Rashmanoo is a fun Melodyian and likes to be entertaining for friends.
Musical Powers: Fat Bass
Disposition: fancy, jovial
Interests: Cosmic picnics, pickles, and periwinkles.
Turlina
Turlina means well, but often makes other melodyians uncomfortable.
Musical Powers: harmony wizard
Disposition: grumpy
Interests: backwoods bonfires and frontier fun
Jinjoom
Jinjoom is a total wildcard but has a way with words and is quite the charmer.
Musical Powers: granular synthesis
Disposition: unpredictable
Interests: interstellar weather
Domtor
Domtor is a mysterious melodyian that most others don't talk to regularly. He likes it that way.
Musical Powers: subtractive synthesis
Disposition: imposing, spooky
Interests: no body knows...
Jeemlo
Jeemlo is small in stature but makes up for it with his big ideas and bigger voice.
Musical Powers: lead vocals, perfect pitch
Disposition: hot-tempered, bold
Interests: translation, xenolinguistics, holidays
Melodyian Stage v2.0 - Tech Breakdown
A closer look at the mechatronic technology of the automated Melodyian stage system used in the making of the Melodyian video web series. It features a programmable LED lighting system, robotic LED spotlights, servos, and is all controlled with an Arduino Mega 2560.
1-2-3 Melodyian Robots
A closer look at the inner-workings of some of the second-generation Melodyian robot puppets that are featured in the Melodyian webisode series.
Melodyian Printed Circuit Board
The printed circuit board (PCB) fabricated for the Melodyian music robots and puppets. This circuit houses most of the electronic components that allow the Melodyian robots to light up, move around, and make music via wireless control.
Melodyian Robot Synth v2.0
This is what the second-generation Melodyian robot prototypes look like without their decorative 3D-printed shell facades. Lots of stuff going on under-the-hood!
The Guts
Here's a look at v1.5 of the Musical Melodyian robot prototype and it's hand-made circuit.
Arduino microcontroller + 2 DC motors + motor driver + Bluetooth transceiver + battery + LED = 1 Melodyian robot...
Behind the Scenes: Under the Hood
Interior view of one of the early Melodyian robot prototypes. Sorry to shatter the illusion of the movie magic, but this is what actually makes these Melodyian robot puppets tick.
Sneak Peak Behind the Scenes
Early project photo of some freshly 3D-printed musical aliens.
Primid MIDI Controller
This is a prototype of a large Primid in MIDI controller form. Its eyes are buttons and there are many sensors embedded beneath its skin to allow for expressive musical control of all your favorite electronic instruments. This was constructed in 2012 and was the first project that sparked the larger Melodyian transmedia production. View a video of it here.
Primid MIDI Controller (interior)
Here's an interior view of the Primid MIDI controller. Its face can open up and allow access to the internal electronics. Its parts have since been cannibalized for other projects, but the memory of this progenitor of the Melodyian project lives on!
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More About the Creators...
Scott Tooby is a composer and multimedia artist who tells stories with music, sound, and technology.
After graduating from the music composition program at the College of Creative Studies at UCSB, Scott moved to LA and worked in the new media and Hollywood industries. Concurrently, he spent countless hours working in a hot garage to develop the Melodyian robots, write the graphic novel, and produce Melodyian music and videos.
In the fall of 2015 Scott retreated to the cooler forests of Santa Cruz to pursue graduate studies in environmental acoustics and electronic music technology at UCSC.
Visit Scott's website to see his latest project updates!
J. Sayuri is a multimedia artist currently living in Oakland, CA. After graduating from UC Berkeley’s Art Practice program, she returned to her hometown of Los Angeles where she made animatronic horses in the prop industry and started illustrating The Musical Melodyians graphic novel.
Sayuri moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area in May 2015 to run in the redwood forests, work on comic book projects, and find ways to integrate art practice and technology to create interactive experiences that elevate our lives and expand our minds.
Some of her interests include – machinery, the Maker Movement, robots, 3D printing, collaborative work spaces, and comic books.
Read her blog and support the Melodyian Patreon!
©2015 Scott Tooby and J. Sayuri. All Rights Reserved.
