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NICK DEMOPOULOS is a musician, composer, and instrument builder whose project, Smomid, brings together sound, light, and kinetic sculpture. With a background in jazz guitar, sound design, and electronic music, he designs and builds his own instruments, including the Smomid (String Modeling MIDI Device) and the Pyramidi. They respond to the gestures of playing an acoustic instrument while producing sound, controlling embedded LEDs and video, and driving robotic servos, so each musical choice appears at once as sound, light, and motion. The instruments are made from custom electronics, microcontrollers, and 3D-printed parts, and run on open-source visual programming languages.
Smomid’s music moves between glitchy, scattered beats, sampling, abstract textures, ambient spaces, and improvisation. Its influences range widely, from minimal techno and microtonality to Gregorian chant and Taiko drums, which sit side by side in the same piece. Demopoulos has released four full-length albums with these instruments: Rhythms of Light (2015), A Smoment in Time (2017), Pyramidi Scheme (2019), and Cyber Solstice (2022).
As a guitarist, Demopoulos worked with NEA Jazz Master Chico Hamilton from 2008 to 2013 and recorded on the albums The Inquiring Mind, Revelation, and Euphoric. With Exegesis, a group that mixes jazz and electronic music, he toured Bahrain, Yemen, Oman, the U.A.E., and Kuwait as a cultural diplomat for the U.S. State Department. He has also performed or recorded with Vernon Reid, Camille Brown, George Bohannon, and Jimmy Owens. His work has been presented at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Whitney Museum, LACMA, the National Geographic Museum, the Montreux and Hamburg Jazz Festivals, and the Jogja Noise Bombing Festival, and has been featured by Discovery Science Network, BOMB Magazine, Guitar World, and Create Digital Music. |
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SMOMID (String Modeling Midi Device) is a unique, custom-built electronic instrument created by musician Nick Demopoulos. It resembles a futuristic guitar but functions as a MIDI controller, allowing users to generate electronic sounds, trigger samples, and manipulate effects in real time. Unlike traditional guitars, Smomid has touch-sensitive surfaces, LED feedback, and deep integration with digital audio workstations (DAWs), making it a powerful tool for live performances and experimental music production. Demopoulos designed Smomid to push the boundaries of musical expression, blending technology with improvisation. |
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