Max Eastley was born in
Torquay in 1944. Don't worry if you hadn't heard about him until now. I hadn't heard about him either until recently.
Max Eastley is one of the most prominent artists in a lesser known art form - Sound Sculpture. He often uses electronic motors to drive his sculptures, but often lets nature power them, be it wind or water. To me, his most exciting sculpture is a group of reed crosses (I think it is reed) on the beach. The cross' four apices are connected by some sort of string. The beach is very windy, and so the strings all vibrate strongly, producing a sound that is a mixture of tribal music and nature's music (I know that last term sounds a bit poetic and mushy, but that is what it sounds like).
Eastley has designed instruments on which to accompany his sculptures. It may sound a bit silly, to accompany a musical sculpture, but the sound is quite interesting. Nothing is crude or rough. Rather, his sculptures and instruments are more on the soft side. He mostly uses material like clay pots, wood and string, which do not create harsh sounds.
He has performed with several other prominent artists, most recently collaborating with David Toop in Sound Art-Sound as Media in Tokyo.