Rhythms from the Heart Inc.

Music Beyond the Ordinary

Experience the distinctive sound and musical expression of Rhythms from the Heart, performing on a unique custom percussion instrument that brings rhythm, melody, and texture together in an uncommon live performance.

A Different Kind of Musical Experience

Carl performs on an unusual custom percussion instrument — a large horizontal arrangement of wooden percussive elements played by hand. The instrument's physical design makes the performance as visually compelling as it is musical: rhythm, melody, and texture emerge from a hands-on playing style unlike anything in conventional performance. The best way to understand what Carl does is simply to watch him play.

Carl Mueller holding his instrument on the beach
Mahogany 2022 — Carl Mueller's current instrument

From Sculpture to Instrument

From Sculpture to Instrument

Carl's work began with sculptural experiments in the 1980s — large wooden objects that followed the grain and form of the material, built to release sounds he could hear inside the wood but had no way to amplify.

What followed was decades of listening, building, tuning, testing, and redesign. Each instrument taught him something the previous one couldn't. The result is a family of original electro-acoustic idiophones that are still evolving.

Music + Invention

The Sound Hidden Within Wood

Carl Mueller is a musician, artist, designer, and instrument maker whose work explores the sound hidden within wood. Since the 1980s, he has developed original idiophone and percussion instruments combining sculptural form, natural materials, acoustic vibration, and piezo technology.

Four Decades of Invention

1989Random Rhythms
1989Bana Ana
1989Wind
1992Whailer
1993Burning Seal
2011Vibe
2011Element
2011Mini Element
2012The Fence / Carlophone

Bring Carl's Music to Your Event

Interested in having Carl perform? Get in touch to start the conversation.