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A 23-foot tall theremin has taken up residence in Melbourne, on the banks of the Yarra River. It makes the trademark disturbing woo-woo sounds you remember from 1950s science fiction movies, in response to anyone who moves or dances near it. In essence, you control it by dancing in its vicinity. More »
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We love the theremin for being a staple of science fiction soundtracks, so we're just tickled that YouTuber and robotics researcher MsPetiteGeek has recorded one of her robots jamming with one of these warbling instruments. More »
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Some of the strangest sounds in scifi movies and television come out of equally strange musical instruments. Here are three weird instruments you've probably never seen, but have almost definitely heard before. More »
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The first electronic instrument, the theremin, was popularized by 1950s scifi films and the original Star Trek theme song. It has no strings and no keyboard, and was invented in the 1920s. Find out how it works. More »
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Novmichi Tosa, of the kooky art collective Maywa Denki, demos his theremin-like instrument, the Otamatone. The instrument is meant to resemble a tadpole, but it looks more like a smiling sperm with a Muppet-like mouth when it sings. More »
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With the opening of Abrams' Trek comes an outpouring of fan vids. We picked out our favorite submissions including Breakfast Club Trek, old Star Trek updated Abrams style and a Theremin Trek jam session. More »
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You've probably heard the ethereal theremin, often called the first electronic instrument, in countless scifi movies and the Beach Boys song "Good Vibrations." A simple device which produces sound when your hands come into contact with an electro-magnetic field, it was invented by an engineer named Leon Theremin in the early 1920s. An amazing documentary from the early 1990s called Theremin explores the life of this bizarre inventor, who also created the first perimeter alarms, passive listening devices, and color television. You can see him performing here in the early 1930s. He stunned the New York art world with his interracial marriage to the American Negro Ballet's prima ballerina Lavinia Williams, and then disappeared mysteriously in the late 1930s. More »
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