The Walrus - Music With Big Fuckin' Teeth!

08/07/2008

Best Contest Ever: Win a Theremin Prize Pack!!!

This is awesome! Our friends at Unusual Times, purveyors of all things unusual and the some mighty tasty gin, are giving one lucky winner a full Moog™ Etherwave® Theremin exploration kit just for signing up! The prize pack includes:

(1) Standard Moog™ Etherwave® Theremin, with 110VAC Power Supply
(1) 10' Audio Cable
(1) Microphone Stand
(1) KB-15 Theremin Amplifier
(1) Etherwave® Gig Bag
(1) Instructional DVD w/ 2 video tutorials

Plus, they are throwing in the rad documentary DVD Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey, which features Robert Moog, Brian Wilson and other influential musicians discussing the innovative instrument.

If you don't know what a Theremin is, you really should. Invented by Léon Theremin in 1919, the earliest and most ethereal electronic instrument allows the player to control two radio frequency oscillators via hand position around two antennae. One of the oscillators controls frequency, and the other volume. The electrical signals of the instrument are amplified through an amplifier. It has been used in classic Sci-Fi films and by bands like The Beach Boys, Cornelius, Flaming Lips and sooo many more.

Read more about this fascinating instrument and watch it in action, as this guy performs "Video Killed The Radio Star" on the mysterious box:

Youtube Link

and here is a clip of Theremin virtuoso Clara Rockmore:

Youtube Link

-----ENTER THE CONTEST HERE-----. It ends September 10th!

Also, Unusual Times has a really cool post called "All-Time Top 10 Theremin Moments in Pop Culture History" that you should check out. One more thing, here are some classic tunes re-imagined using theremins: