welcome theramin

October 22, 2020 5:39 PM

Mezerg is a unique one man theramin-centric EDM band.

In addition to the theramin, he also plays fruit. He also plays a piano that makes cocktails. And this weird ring. And many more on his YouTube channel.

posted by Lutoslawski (13 comments total)

I lost it when he reached for the kiwifruit in the second video. The cocktail piano looks pretty great, too!
posted by col_pogo at 6:35 PM on October 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

Coincidentally, Moog just announced the lovely new Claravox Centennial theremin.
posted by Foosnark at 6:42 PM on October 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

Moog just announced the lovely new Claravox Centennial theremin.

Lothar and the Hand People must be thrilled!
posted by TedW at 7:41 PM on October 22, 2020

Moog just announced the lovely new Claravox Centennial theremin.

To do then, now, would be retro. To do then, then, was very nowtro.

This is now-and-thentro.
posted by not_on_display at 8:37 PM on October 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

I like Blu Tack On Piano very much indeed. And there's some very nifty foot pedal action going on in Rave. Nice find!
posted by flabdablet at 2:24 AM on October 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

This is better than expected. It solves the EDM problem of "what does a live performance look like?" I will never forget that Aphex Twin concert which was a disheveled guy reclining on a couch poking at his laptop. A couple of folks in rental bear suits were sort of capering around trying to add some sort of joy on stage, but apparently I didn't have the right drugs to appreciate them.

Live drums are nice but I really like the way the motions on the theramin work. It's a bit goofy but very dynamic and you can really match what he's doing to the sounds you're hearing.

(That blue tack on piano is from a long tradition of messing with pianos. John Cage's collection of music for prepared piano is some of my favorite music of the 20th century.)
posted by Nelson at 8:34 AM on October 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

Also this reminds me of the one-man bands from when I was a young pup.
posted by not_on_display at 10:02 AM on October 23, 2020

Talk about a 21st-century drum set. This is terrific.
posted by LooseFilter at 10:52 AM on October 23, 2020

Also, creative work like this + pandemic-forced mediated music teaching has me convinced that our basic undergraduate music curriculum (in the U.S.) needs to be fundamentally reoriented around experimentation and creative play at least as much as performance skill development. The tools are just so amazing now. I can think of a few places where new space could be made, but mostly it would best be accomplished by fully integrating such practices into the fabric of the traditional, musicianship-building core courses and praxis.
posted by LooseFilter at 11:13 AM on October 23, 2020 [2 favorites]

Theremin fans should also not miss the YouTube channel of Theremin Virtuoso Grégoire Blanc. Astounding skill and performance.

come for the otherworldly solos, stay for the headcanon where Benoit Blanc is his estranged dad and they reunite to solve crimes together, Grégoire using his talents to amp up the unease and tension during pivotal moments of suspect interviews
posted by ulotrichous at 12:21 PM on October 23, 2020

It solves the EDM problem of "what does a live performance look like?"

Autechre already solved that.

Black. Just black. Lights out.
posted by symbioid at 12:46 PM on October 23, 2020

Oh, this is tasty.
posted by flabdablet at 7:09 AM on October 24, 2020

This is amazeballs. A subsequent video where's he's jamming with a second multi-talented bloke wielding a didgeridoo and stuff it 53 minutes of captivation for me. Oh I just noticed @flabdablet linked the same thing heh
posted by ephemerae at 4:39 PM on October 24, 2020