DeKALB | It is not very often that I find a local band that still manages to push boundaries.

So I was very pleased when I learned of CMKT4 and the process behind circuit-bending, which blurs the line between instrument and equipment. Circuit-bending is the modification of electronic equipment – anything from kid’s toys to synthesizers to modified amplifiers and contact microphones – in order to produce varying tones and pitches of sound. The process, as CMKT4 displays, can be applied to create a truly unique listening experience.

“First, you start off with something battery operated so you can’t kill yourself,” said Zach Adams, one of the members of CMKT4, half-kidding. “Then, you use standard electronic components, so you can modify the electronic circuit. With experimentation you find ways to change the sounds that are produced.”

According to Adams, it is a much easier process to learn than one would think, and the band is more than willing to teach how to do it. This focus on educational workshops gives what Adams feels is a high amount of integrity to CMKT4’s work.

Their dedication to music, progression, and experimentation is one that is hard to rival in the local community, and their involvement with the circuit-bending world at large is impressive, to say the least, as Adams recounted the various places they have been involved with workshops (from basements to for-profit businesses) as well as their contributions to Make Magazine, a publication dedicated to DIY and learning-based projects.

CMKT4 started through the friendship between Adams, Austin Cliffe, and Jeff Cox. Each of the members had their own backgrounds in circuit-bending before forming the group, but Adams said Cliffe was the one who gave a name to what the other two considered a hobby. They create a multifaceted experience at every show through the unique sounds provided by their Frankenstein instruments and their jarring blend of acid rock. However, the circuit-bending quality of their band is not what makes them truly definitive from other artists, according to Adams.

What sets CMKT4 apart from their contemporaries is that it intertwines circuit-bending with more familiar, traditional music, going beyond the noisescapes and sound experiments specific to the genre.

“You never know what to expect; you’ll never see the same kind of show twice,” Adams said.

CMKT4 also values modesty, as Adams explained, because the band never records outside of live shows. He feels that this way what you hear is what each of the trio is capable of producing, unaltered and unadulterated (something that can be appreciated in the Age of Auto-Tune).