Don't forget to tune into the live Electro Music 2008 theremin performances starting tonight! Our beloved Theremin World members Kevin, Kip, and John are each taking the stage over the next 3 days, and you can listen to their acts live over the Intertubes.

John Hoge kicks off the event tonight at 8pm. Kip Rosser performs Friday night at 7pm. Kevin Kissenger wraps up the theremin trinity on Saturday at 9pm (all times Eastern time zone).

When the audio stream is available, a button should appear on the electro-music radio page to start the stream, the players you can use are listed there and free to download if needed: http://electro-music.com/radio .

The Schedule for all performers is posted on the festival web site:

• Thursday, August 14 - http://electro-music.com/event2008/Thursday.html
• Friday, August 15 http://electro-music.com/event2008/Friday.html
• Saturday, August 16 http://electro-music.com/event2008/Saturday.html

I'd love to see your comments after each performance. Share your thoughts in our forums!

This Friday is Lev Termen's birthday.
Lev (Leon Theremin) was born August 15, 1896 in Russia.

Where would we be without him? Life would be very different for a lot of us and the world of modern music as well.

His invention the Theremin remains the simplest and most elegent music playing interface.
And though most were lost, his genius produced many other inventions that inspired modern synthesizers and set the stage for the electric age as well as the tone of modern day espionage.

It turns out that the electro-music Festival is featuring three thereminists this weekend, and Kip Rosser will be performing on the date. That's great aether timing.

Are you playing theremin this Friday?

Lev tells a little of his history in the excerpt from Olivia Mattis' article here on TW.

Happy Birthday Lev
We're Gald You Came Along!

A big thanks to GordonC for finding this contest and posting about it in our forums. I've bumped it to the front page for a little more visiblity. Just add yourself to the Unusual Times' mailing list for your chance to win an Etherwave Theremin package including an Etherwave, amp, microphone stand, cables, gig bag, and 2 DVDs. What could be easier?

Good luck!

Randy George (a.k.a. 0006) has done it again! Just 2 days ago, he posted a video of himself playing Super Mario Bros. on his Etherwave Pro theremin. The blog-o-sphere is already abuzz with chatter about his latest video which is doing wonders for World Thereminization.

You might remember Randy from his previous high-profile videos (Don't Worry, Be Happy, Legend of Zelda, Crazy). Maybe you were lucky enough to catch him at Ethermusic 2008. Either way, he's doing a great job of tapping into pop culture in a way that gets the theremin in front of countless new potential devotees!

I think SMB sounds best on a theremin, of course, but to be fair to all the other instruments, here's a roundup of the song performed in other non-traditional ways:

• Beatboxing SMB with a flute
• Zack Kim playing SMB on 2 guitars at once!
• SMB on an 11 string bass guitar
• SMB on a banjo

Ok, we know you watched them all... which is your favorite?

First it was theremins wearing cat costumes, then cats playing theremins, and now this...

Meet Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. Jr. - the Owl Theremin! Hats off to new Theremin World member youngpedals (Marcus Young) for creating this beast and sharing photos of his construction process.

In true Dr. Frankenstein fashion, Marcus gave this stuffed owl a brain transplant consisting of a theremin based on Art Harrison's Model 145 Theremin.

When not mixing taxidermy and theremin construction, Marcus is busy building analog effects pedals and working towards an Electrical Engineering degree. Read more about him and his project on the owl theremin thread in our forums. Thanks Marcus!

Cover: Brian Brandt

Opening with Howard Shore's Suite from Ed Wood (premiere recording), Lydia Kavina entrances us into an amazing musical journey in her new album "Spellbound!" on Mode Records.

There are more premieres, Suite aus "Bählamms Fest" by Olga Neuwirth and Exercise 28 by Christian Wolff. The program is rounded out with three Percy Grainger pieces and closes with a luscious performance of the Miklós Rósza Spellbound Concerto (premiere recording of the chamber ensemble version).

Traveling through a wide range of styles and musical textures, this is one of the broadest theremin albums around, with vital performances conducted by Charles Peltz, captured in new pristine hi-fi recordings (except one of the Grainger from a previous album). The booklet includes extensive program notes by Theremin scholar Olivia Mattis which adds a lot to the CD and offers insights into Theremin and the five composers.

There's a bonus too! the CD is enhanced for use in a computer with a video of interviews with Lydia, the composers, and shots of the sessions from the making of the album. (It is in mp4 format so you may need to get a player for it.) It looks like Lydia is playing one of the theremins custom built for her by Anthony Henk, an unusual and very open looking design. A witty photo of her with it is on the back cover.

A indispensable addition to our theremin music collections from one of the finest musicians of our time. Thank you Lydia for this wonderful music and theremin playing.

Special thanks to Olivia Mattis for her assistance to ThereminWorld in finding this CD.

Adding to his impressive list of futuristic music devices (Sonar*Axe, Super Synth Drums, etc.), Tony Amendolare of ElectroKraft has announced the new Solar Module (next generation from the Lunar Module).

The Solar Module is a combination MIDI controller and 8 bit synthesizer. Using a photocell sensor to detect changes in light and shadow to provide a motion sensor playing interface, sometimes known as an "optical theremin", it can generate MIDI signals as well as audio. Tony has a video of the synth operation.

This device should bring hours of creative Summer fun, be the first on your block to get one, and let us know the sounds you make!

Poster: Senster and spacedog

Thereminst and sound artist Sarah Angliss has been perfecting her Theremin Playing Robot Doll Clara now at version 2.0.

Sarah's also known here at TW as part of the science inspired performing group Senster and is the artist known as spacedog (in honor of the first K9 cosmonaut). Her creation, Clara 2.0, has been getting a lot of stage time lately. An astounding and sometimes unnerving art piece, the Theremin Playing Robot Doll is expanding Sara's Theremin outreach as well as her performance pieces.

Sarah was also at the UK Hands Off event last year. There's a nice interview with Sara at Dolly Mix and a video and more pictures of Clara 2.0 on Sara's spacedog site.

It's wonderful to see Sara's creativity and the Theremin coming together in such a provocative and successful way. Can't wait to see what's next from her "laboratory of the unexpected".