Space controlled music has entered the laptop personal studio world with Leap Motion's new Muse.  Good to see Lev's ideas are still alive at Berklee College of Music and making their way into new music production tools.

Nearly everyone has covered this song on every instrument imaginable... and now it's the theremin's turn.

Thereminst Thomas Grillo has announced the release of his new album, Secret Agents From The Id.  The album features all original compositions written and performed by Grillo on the theremin with accompaniment produced using iPad and PC apps such as Chordbot, Garage Band, and Band In a Box Pro.

The album has a modern light rock / country ballad feel that sounds as if the music were written back in the 70s.

Grillo tells us he composed the music in a way that others would be able to easily perform in any band as the accompaniment tracks were designed to include, and emulate guitars, bass, drums, and keyboards backing up the theremin. 

The entire album was performed on the Etherwave Standard theremin using Thierry Frenkel’s ESPE01 module.

Currently, the album is only available as downloadable MP3s, but physical CD, and VINYL production is being considered for possible production a month from now, if all goes according to plan.

You can purchase the album in digital download form from CD Baby, iTunes, or Amazon.com.

I recently learned about a really fun blog called Retro Synth Ads.  If you're like me and spent your youth pouring through issues of magazines like Keyboard, Electronic Musician, and others looking at gear, this blog will bring back some great memories. 

In January, they featured a theremin that I'll admit I was not very familiar with: the Big Briar Model 500 Theremin Controller (circa 1984).  Check out the post for more information on it and another related Big Briar product, the model 331 Touch Plate.

From: Retro Synth Ads

Theremin 2.0 from Bassonism on Vimeo.

Ohad Basson, an industrial designer from Israel, wasn't content with the standard theremin.  For the past several months, he's been working on a bold evolution of the instrument.