The NY Theremin Society have announced a limited edition vinyl release to celebrate 100 years of the theremin. Theremin 100 will feature 50 artists from 18 countries around the world, a foreword by author/theremin scholar Albert Glinsky, and high quality downloads of 50 tracks (which include 38 bonus tracks.)
President/CEO of Moog Music Inc, Mike Adams, has already praised the project as “some of THE best Theremin music I have ever heard compiled.” Certainly a must-hear for any electronics obsessive or music lover.
The Theremin has received a loving centennial vinyl compilation, celebrating its indelible impact on electronic music.
One of the first electronic musical instruments and the first to be mass-produced for the musician market, the theremin was created by Soviet inventor Lev Termen (named Léon Theremin in the US). His other significant inventions include a device named ‘The Thing’, one of the first covert listening devices (a bug) that was planted in plain view in the United States Ambassador’s Moscow office, enabling Soviet agents to eavesdrop on secret conversations for seven years.
The theremin has popped up in our favourite pop songs too. Brian Wilson infamously enlisted one for his pocket symphony Good Vibrations in the 1960s. Other incredible bands like Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and Portishead have made the theremin part of their arrangements.
Albert Glinsky wrote this on the NY Theremin Society website:
“As we mark the 100th anniversary of Lev Theremin’s beguiling etherphone, the instrument has come to enjoy a rich repertoire and an enduring identity its inventor would be proud of. Lev’s primal “electronic Orpheus’ lament” has spawned innumerable works and experiments across genres…
“The collection of music on this release is a testament to that legacy, representing the rich variety of approaches to a now classic instrument – an instrument that will forever inspire musicians to conjure new creations out of the spellbinding ‘ether.’ ”
Theremin 100 is available for pre-order and will be released on January 17th 2020.
