Japanese 88-Member Pop Group Selects Lead Singers in Rock-Paper-Scissors Tournament
Japanese music group AKB48 currently holds the Guinness record for the world’s largest pop group, with an impressive 88 female members split into various teams. But fitting all the girls on a single stage is tricky, so every time they launch a new single, AKB48 members hold a knockout rock-paper-scissors tournament to select a limited […]
Playing with Lightning – Chinese Band Uses 1-Million-Volts Tesla Coil in Its Electrifying Concerts
If you’re ever passing through China’s Fujian province, make sure to stop by Dacuo Village and catch a performance by local band Lightningfan. The group specializes in producing electric arcs from Tesla coils that are charged with 1 million volts of electricity, and are in sync with the music they play. 31-year-old Wang Zengxiang, founder and […]
The Future of Music – Japan’s New Robot Rock Band
They are called Z Machinese and they are about to take the Japanese music world by storm. This unique rock band is made up entirely of futuristic automatons able to play guitar, drums and keyboards better than any human. Z Machines is the brainchild of Yoichiro Kawaguchi, an IT professor at the University of Tokyo, and […]
The Great Stalacpipe Organ Plays Real Rock Music
The Great Stalacpipe Organ is a unique musical instrument that produces tones of symphonic quality by tapping stalactites in Virginia’s Luray Caverns with electronically-operated rubber mallets. Recognized as the world’s largest musical instrument, the Great Stalacpipe Organ was created by Leland W. Sprinkle, a mathematician and electronics scientist at the Pentagon. After visiting Luray Caverns with his son and experiencing […]
Mind-Reading Headphones Play Music Based on Your Mood
Finding the right song to suit your mood can be pretty frustrating, but thanks to the new Mico mind-reading headphones from Japanese company Neurowear, you won’t have to scroll through your playlist anymore. They’ll just scan your brain and play the perfect song. The Mico mind-reading system is made up of two parts: a pair […]
Sound of Silence CD Sold by Church Proves Big Hit
St Peter’s Church, in East Sussex, England, has found a novel way to found its repairs – selling CDs with the sound of silence recorded inside the 800-year-old house of worship. Believe it or not, the 30-minute recording featuring only dull sounds like squeaking pews, soft footsteps and the hum of distant traffic proved a […]
Robot Band Compressorhead Puts the “Metal” in Heavy Metal
Compressorhead is not your usual heavy-metal rock group. The band’s three members are all robots, but they’ve proven they can cover hits by rock legends like Motorhead or AC/DC honorably. They’re even scheduled to play alongside The Chili Peppers and The Killers, at the Big Day Out Festival, in Australia, this summer. Assembling, cooking, waiting tables, […]
Sharp Music at New York’s Annual Musical Saw Festival
Who would have thought that an ordinary carpenter’s handsaw could be used to produce music? But apparently it can, and has been for the past 300 hundred years. And in order to commemorate this bizarre yet unique tradition, the NYC Musical Saw Festival is held in July of every year, in Astoria (Queens), New York City. […]
Violin Player Is Awarded the Title of World’s Fastest Human
He might not have the superhuman running speed of The Flash, but violonist Ben Lee can play Flight of the Bumblebee note perfect on the electric violin in just 58.03 seconds, which makes him the fastest human alive. Usain Bolt’s not going to like this, but a panel of judges and researchers working on the Discover […]
Yohio, the Japanese Doll-Like Rock Star Who Is Actually a Swedish Boy
Ok, so we’ve had plenty of doll-like Internet celebrities featured on Oddity Central, but Yohio, a Japanese visual kei singer is pushing the envelope even further, as he’s actually a 16-year-old Swedish bot who looks like an anime girl. The androgynous look isn’t exactly something new in music. Singers like David Bowie, Boy George and even […]
Talented Composer Makes Beautiful Music with Instruments Provided by Mother Nature
Meet Diego Stocco, the guy who can make music from anything, even raw nature. In celebration of Earth Day, he staged an innovative musical experiment in which he used all kinds of unusual but completely natural instruments. Who knew tree bark or orange peel could sound so groovy, if orchestrated by the right person? In his […]
The Orchestra of Recycled Instruments
This group not only plays music, but builds the instruments from scrap. That’s right, they make their ‘recycled’ instruments out of things like kitchen spatulas and cookie cutters. Their music, nonetheless, is wonderful to listen to. The Orchestra of Recycled Instruments is from Paraguay, a majority of them so poor that they had to resort […]
Students Take Up Boxing to Become Better Musicians
The students of the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, N.Y., learn more than just music. In groups, they are asked to attend classes of a highly different nature. Classes that test and train them physically, and teach them the basic skills of boxing. While it’s perfectly understandable that a musician may enjoy a little physical […]
Turkish Doctors Use Islamic Music as Medicine
A group of doctors at the Memorial Hospital in Instanbul, Turkey, have started using traditional Islamic music as complementary treatment for various illnesses. Using music as therapy might sound strange in an age where medicine is relying more and more on science and technology, but the benefits of musical treatments have been known for almost […]
Tennessee Musician Creates 27-String Guitar
Keith Medley has been a master guitar builder for most of his adult life, and while he has created custom instruments for many famous musicians, his most impressive guitar is the one he made for himself. If you’re missing a guitarist or two for your band, stop worrying, because the 27-string guitar Keith Medley invented […]