This week I was brought on a journey through the cosmos with Stephen Hamm – everyone’s favorite theremin man. When presented with this album, I was told to expect “space rock and psychedelic electronic music” and theremin. Going into the album, I was absolutely unsure of where it would take me, but I was so curious to find out!
For those unfamiliar, the theremin is an incredibly unique instrument. Originally developed in 1920 by Russian inventor Leon Theremin, this electronic instrument sets itself apart from all others with one extremely unique characteristic: it is played without physical touch. Music is produced by controlling volume and pitch, which the instrumentalist does by hovering their hands over/beside two metal antennas. Theremins are notably used in science fiction films, including Rocketship X-M and The Day the Earth Stood Still, among others.
Live From Planet Earth features live performance recordings of songs from Hamm’s album Songs of the Future. And, as always, I’d love to highlight a couple of the best songs from the album, rather than comment on the album as a whole.
Let’s start with my favorite song off of the album – Planet Earth. This song really felt like it belonged in a retro-futurism space film. I immensely enjoyed the instrumentals in this song. The build, ebb, and flow of the theremin and synth on this track were incredibly fun. It felt like something was flying. To me, this song felt the most spacey out of all of the tracks.
Talk Amongst Ourselves – This track felt the most psychedelic rock to me. The looped backing instrumentals really push the psychedelic feeling for me. There was also something about this track that felt a bit familiar to me, but I still can’t quite place what it reminds me of. I also really liked the concepts in the lyrics for this song. As someone who absolutely loves language, a song all about shared coded language is really up my alley!
Since I was sent the live performance video for this album, I did want to take the chance to talk about the actual performance. I can’t say I’ve ever seen someone actually play the theremin (but I’ve definitely seen people sort of mess around with one), but it was really intriguing to watch Stephen Hamm command the instrument. Having grown up playing a bit of piano and guitar, instruments with clear indications of where notes are, I was absolutely marvelling at the ease and flow with which Hamm plays the theremin. Like many instrumentalists on stage, Hamm seems incredibly locked in while playing the theremin, but he also exudes such radiant joy while performing his music.
My journey through the unique blend of psychedelic music, space rock, and the theremin was an incredibly enlightening experience. I am definitely walking away from this with a newfound appreciation for the theremin!
You can find Stephen Hamm on YouTube, Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram, and his website.
