Cornish semiconductor corporation
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Making techno using naturally grown semiconductors fossicked from mine waste around Cornwall. Also providing workshops for kids (called Organised Atoms).
In an age of harmful technological myths detached from the earth - these sounds are an attempt to reconnect with the dirt.
This site documents research with natural semiconductors, new synth designs and sounds. The technology used (tickling the surface of crystals with thin 'cat's whisker' wires to create point contacts) comes from the early days of radio, when the newly discovered (and not really understood) properties of certain minerals to have a asymmetric response to electricity (now known as 'semiconducting') was used to convert radio signals into sound. Read more about inspirations, references and linked work. Find out how to go about finding your own semiconductors.
News
25/06/2026: New music: Live at Pattern Club Sheffield
A new release - a live recording of the gig earlier in the month. I used the Variscan Synthesis live rig for the first time - which is designed to be portable and easier to set up for gigs - in comparison to the Crystal Log Synth anyway. I've also swapped to sterling silver cats whiskers, which I *think* work better than steel or copper, but I need to do some proper tests as I haven't actually looked at any curve traces with them yet.
It also included the 1920s galena point contact diode in the circuit, probably quite close to where it was mined, so a sort of local guest collaborator along with all the Cornish minerals. This is responsible for most of the resonance going on. It took a while to 'tune' everything up, so I cut a bit of that from the start, but it also includes field recordings from Wheal Unity mine which cut through quite nicely at times.
Thanks to all at Pattern Club Sheffield this was their Sunday Experiments night, which had a really good feeling about it, with the other performers (Dundass and Ryan Treanor) also trying out new experimental things.
01/06/2026: Arts council funding
This project is now supported using public funding by an Arts Council England Research and Development grant. There will be a lot more updates to this site soon, these are some of the things in the proposal:
- Investigating Cornish mine sites - there are many thousands of abandoned mines in Cornwall each with their own histories and unique crystal material which has grown differently, all of which seem to create distinct sonic possibilities.
- Rediscovering the first electronic 'devices' (crystal radios) from the 1920's, which were much more obviously linked with the earth through their use of natural minerals to convert radio waves into sound.
- Developing new electronic instruments which can incorporate this pre-silicon semiconductor technology. The aim is to use Cornish granite, soldered copper pipes, and CNC milled copper circuit boards alongside natural semiconductors to use raw materials to embrace, rather than obfuscate the earthly roots of our technology.
- Record and release music to document specific locations and histories of the sites the semiconductings come from (who worked there e.g. the Bal Maidens and stories we know of the sites).
I'll be updating this page with ideas, plans and notes from this project and using Category:ACE R&D for pages made in work from this funding.
14/06/2026: Live at Sheffield Pattern Club
Time: 7pm-9pm, Sun 14th June 2026 Place: Sheffield Pattern Club, 2-4 Matilda St (next to EE/opposite popeys), Sheffield S1 4QD Cost: £3/8/12 tickets Dry bar: Soft drinks + alcohol free – please BYOB if you’d like to drink something else
Sunday evening experimentation hosted by Sheffield Pattern Club, showcasing unconventional ways of generating crackles, drones and kick drums.
Featuring:
- Rian Treanor – bringing handmade interfaces for participatory experiments
- Cornish Semiconductor Corporation – aka Dave Griffiths up from Cornwall. Dave will be exploring his handmade circuits, generating sounds using crystals that he’s ‘fossicked’ from mine waste.
- Dundass – Lyra haunting us with augmented textiles
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