An Interview with Koja Kugler of the One Love Machine Band at Maker Faire Rome

Events like Maker Faire are always amazing, and it's difficult to pick a best or favorite thing. That's still true of Maker Faire Rome 2022 - we can't pick a favorite - but the One Love Machine Band were certainly the most unique-looking and sounding thing we saw there.

Comprising a huge robot drummer and bassist, several metal singing birds, and a pair of disembodied dancing metal legs, the One Love Machine Band clank along with their instruments and get into the groove in a way you wouldn't think possible of several tons of scrap metal.

It's the long (and we mean LONG) term project of Kolja Kugler, the Berlin based artist who has been building and tweaking the band for the last twenty years. He was gracious enough to sit down with us between performances to chat about the project.

Everything about the band fits together. They look how they sound and sound how they look. Originally static sculptures, Kolja started adding subtle movements using pressurized air. The rest is history.

To keep up with the One Love Machine band and Kolja, it's probably best to watch Kolja's Artist Facebook page, which seems to be the most updated place for following their travels!