"Voting starts today as we countdown towards our next IPTV series, the Top 20 Weirdest Instruments. And it's not just synths - you can vote for acoustic instruments, outboard effects, circuit bendery, software, even toys - in fact anything that makes a sound and is truly strange will be considered for the shortlist.
Sonicstate.com has featured lots of strange instruments in news stories and videos from NAMM and MESSE, as well as frequent visits to Jack Waterson's Future Music shop in LA. So what is the attraction of weird technology? "Everyone is fascinated by odd-looking gear that makes weird and wonderful noises," says Simon Power who produced the recently broadcast 'Top 20 Greatest Synths' IPTV series, "when you hear something new and different on a recording it really makes you sit up and listen. We'll be featuring some very leftfield gear in this show. And now that it's possible to emulate lots of these sounds, I think it's interesting to see the hardware origins. Hopefully the programme will inspire the viewers to seek out some of these amazing instruments."
The series will feature more exclusive interviews with producers, musicians and users as well as instrument demos and film footage. "This series is less chart-based than 'Top 20 Greatest Synths'. It will have a different feel to it with a lot of emphisis on the instruments," says Power. "We've already lined up some interviews that I'm really excited about. I can't wait to get started. It's great fun putting these series together for Sonic."
"We always try to push the boundaries a bit, but we were really surprised by the popularity of the show, adds series cameraman and Sonicstate co-founder Andy McCreeth. "It was interesting to see how passionate some of the chatroom discussions about chart positions were too We'll be interviewing more musicians, producers, and hopefully some of the inventors behind some truly oddball instruments - I'm really looking forward to it."
As usual the shows will be presented by 'Professor Marc Norris' who's eccentric comments and links became a feature of the recent Top 20 Synths series. But how did he get involved with Sonic State? "Those fine fellows at Sonic found me on YouTube drifting around in Cyberspace," said the Professor (AKA actor and comedian Marc Norris), "I've always had a great passion for electronic music and I was very excited about being asked to present the show."
The Top 20 Greatest Synths links were recorded at the Sonic offices in a single day as Marc was due back on stage for an evening performance. "It was all a bit of a rush, but I had great fun working with Simon and Andy. We had a script but we sometimes just wandered off to see where it would take us."
And what can we expect from the professor in the new series? "I think we'll be seeing more facets of the professor's twisted personality. He's a great character to play with, but leaving him behind at the studio is becoming more and more of a struggle for me!"
The weird instruments to be included will be decided by a combination of voting and the choices of the people interviewed. There will also be suggestions from the Sonic staff and a few unexpected surprises thrown in for entertainment value!
So vote now for your top 3 weirdest instruments of all time, and remember, it's your vote that counts!
Links
Weirdest Instruments Voting
Top Twenty Synths"
Title link takes you to shots via this auction.
