The strange sounds – and history – of the theremin

If there’s any instrument that gets misunderstood and under-appreciated in music, it’s the theremin.

Countless bands have employed the warbly, eerie-sounding electronic instrument, from The Pixies to the White Stripes. It was perhaps most famously used by The Beach Boys in “Good Vibrations.”

The theremin was created by a Russian physicist, Lev Sergeyevich Termen. He’s the main character in “Us Conductors”, the debut novel by Montreal-based writer and music critic Sean Michaels, who spoke with KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis. Also in the studio is Eban Schletter, a composer and thereminist.

They’ll be part of a theremin tribute night on Wednesday at the Largo at the Coronet.