So, I totally forked NZ$900 on a Moog Etherwave Theremin (thats like ~US$500).
Most muso's will have heard of the theremin and/or recognise the sound, but most people give me some of the blankest looks. Naturally, I'm quite excited about my purchase (it doesnt arrive for a month or so yet), so I thought I'd share it with you friendly folk.
Easily the most curious and bizarre instrument I've ever seen, the theremin is played with no physical contact; instead it has two aerials, and you interrupt the electromagnetic field of each aerial with the field of your own body, providing impedance. One aerial controls pitch, the other volume. The sound ranges from strange and alien to soft and silky, I personally think its one of the most beautiful sounds.... it sounds like an opera singer on a very old record.
visit
www.thereminworld.com for loads of great links - also search 'theremin' on youtube for interesting results! Thereminworld.com also has an extensive list of modern bands and artists that use or feature theremins, but here's a few:
- in the chorus of Tier, by Rammstein
- the intro of Just So You Know by American Head Charge
- quite a few songs by Portishead, but notably Mysterons
- Greenwood from Radiohead uses something called an Ondes-Martenot, which is
not a theremin but sounds almost exactly the same, you can hear it on Motion Picture Soundtrack and The National Anthem.
- Those weird, weird bastards from Add N to X.
- Queens of the Stone Age make quasi-regular use of a theremin, or so I'm told.
- Bill Bailey, british comedian makes pretty good use of his Moog theremin during live shows, he does a lot of music-based material. Once he had two of them (!).
Hope I've got you interested, check out youtube for some interesting performances.
*doesn't want to wait a month*
- Lak