The snail-min

I've heard of a lot of "interesting" experiments in sound and performance art involving theremins. From theremins in trashcans played by wandering cats to theremin motorcyles to a theremannequin that gets flown over an audience. But I think the bar has been raised (or lowered?) with music duo Matmos's most recent entry into the realm of extherementation.... snails.

Mystery novelist Patricia Highsmith gets music made by snails, who trigger a light-sensitive theremin by interrupting a laser in a darkened room.

"When the snails crawled towards the light and wiggled their eye-stalks in the path of the laser, it was so awesome. We couldn't believe that it really worked," says Drew Daniel, the other half of Matmos. "I think these were just particularly groovy snails -- I think other snails might have ignored the laser. But these were like the Paganinis of the invertebrate world."

Read on... Matmos transfroms everyday sounds into melodies (Pittsburg Tribune Review)