Showing posts with label Veronik. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Veronik. Show all posts

[S07E05] February 2026 - Lydia Kavina




In the February 2026 edition of the Theremin 30 podcast, host Rick Reid plays music from Canada, Finland, Peru, and Russia. Rick's guest is thereminist and teacher Lydia Kavina.

FEATURED MUSIC*

*The full-length recordings featured in this show were used with the knowledge and permission of the artists and composers. Please support the artists by visiting their websites, purchasing their recordings, and attending their performances. 

ADDITIONAL MUSIC

INTERVIEW GUEST

CALENDAR OF THEREMIN EVENTS

MEDIA & NEWS LINKS

SUPPORT THIS PODCAST

CONTACT

CREDITS 

Copyright 2026 Rick Reid 


--------------------------------------------

TRANSCRIPT

Please note: This transcript was created with the help of speech-to-text AI.  It may contain some errors.

David Brower  0:04
  
This is Theremin 30. 30 minutes of Theremin music, news, events, and interviews, with a new episode about every 30 days. Now. Here's your host, Rick Reid.

Rick Reid  0:17
  
Hey! Welcome to the February 2026, edition of the Theremin 30 Podcast. I'm actually recording this in January, but it's so close to the end of the month that I decided to round up. For this edition, I've rounded up some innovative and fascinating Theremin music from around the world, and my special guest is Lydia Kavina. She has a new website designed to help Theremin beginners with recorded lessons, demos and other training resources.

Rick Reid  0:51
  
To get started, I've got new music from Canada and Finland. The second track I'll spin is from Susanna Viljanmaa, who does live looping for a haunting and dark rock track that debuted just a few weeks ago in an online Theremin mMusic Ffestival. But first up, KeriLatimer of the Winnipeg folk band Leaf Rapids goes almost all electronic with an ambient side project she calls oFukami. This first single from her new album is called DR34M, which is kind of a scifi way of spelling D, R, E, A, M, dream. I'll tell you more about both recordings on the other side.

Rick Reid  8:42  

We began the show with a track called DR34M, or Dream from oFukami, an experimental project from Keri Latimer. It's the first single off her debut solo album called When the Future Tried to Take Me. Keri plays Theremin, analog synthesizers, a makeshift Koto, and sings the ethereal vocals. The album is available for pre-order now from her website at ofukami.com. To get there, click on her name in this month's show notes. After that I played Borrowed Time, a new track from Susanna Viljanmma of Espoo Finland. It features Theremin, vocals, beatboxing, bass guitar and more. Susanna composed and recorded the song all in a single day and made a performance music video to go along with it for the Theremin Times annual Christmas Thereminology online music festival on YouTube. I have a link to the video in this episode's show notes at Theremin30.com. 

Rick Reid  9:39  

It's time now for the theremin 30 calendar of Theremin events. On February 1, Charlotte Dubois and Gregoire Blanc play a pair of sold out scifi music recitals in the Vity of Music museum in Paris. On February 17, Rob Schwimmer celebrates his 71st birthday with a show at Joe's Pub in New York City. And on March 28 the All Japan Theremin fFestival takes place in Tokyo with an all-star lineup of Japanese and European performers and a pop-up Theremin museum curated by Yoko Onishi from her private collection of instruments. For details about these events and more. Click the Calendar tab at Theremin30.com. 

Rick Reid  10:24  

Another event I want to give special attention to, occurs on March 5. It's a fundraising raffle called All for Vero. It will benefit recording artist and teacher Veronik of Lima, Peru. Just a few days before Christmas her house caught fire. The good news is that the damage was mostly contained to one room and nobody got hurt. But the bad news is that her family can't live there while making extensive repairs, including replacing all the electrical wiring. And she told me she hasn't yet been able to test all of her musical instruments and recording gear, so she doesn't know how much of it may have to be repaired or replaced due to damage from smoke and heat. If you'd like to offer her a little help by purchasing a raffle ticket, there's a link in this episode's show notes. I've also included Veronik's PayPal account. If you don't live in Peru, it may be easier to show your support with a direct donation, rather than through the raffle. Let's listen to some music now from Veronik. This is from her 2024 album, Dangerous iIllusions. It's a track called Cancion para un regresso, which Google tells me translates to Song for a Comeback. That title seems appropriate right now.

Rick Reid  12:02  

That was Cancion para un regresso, or Song for a Comeback by Veronik. I realized recently that I've been pronouncing her name as Veronik, but she says Veronik, so I'm going to go with that from now on. 

Rick Reid  15:24 

Professional thereminist and teacher, Lydia Kavina has unveiled her brand new website, ThereminSchool.com. It's a comprehensive collection of information and other resources for people who are new to Theremin and want to learn how to play. I recently spoke with Lydia from her home in Oxford, England, to get the details. 

Rick Reid  15:38  

Lydia, thank you so much for being on the theremin 30 podcast.

Lydia Kavina  15:42  

Yes, my pleasure, really, to be here again.

Rick Reid  15:45  

The last time we talked on the show, you were just starting your online Theremin lessons, and that's still going right?

Lydia Kavina  15:52  

Right. Must have been six years ago then, because I've been doing it for almost six years now.

Rick Reid  15:59  

And you've got a new project that I'm pretty excited about. It's a new website that kind of goes along with your teaching. Tell us about that.

Lydia Kavina  16:06  

Well, the new website is actually the online platform for it's called Theremin School, and it is the platform for Theremin learners, for Theremin beginners, but also for teachers, for both sides to meet each other, to find each other, and of course, big part of this learning platform are my exercises and links to my teaching and online classes In particular, but a lot, also a lot of links and information about Theremin, learning books, teaching videos of different Theremin teachers like Carolina, Ike Kay processor and Randy George and Whatever, so many, many teachers from the world, but also useful links to such platform as CEM and world.com and, of course, to your podcast, to chats in Facebook so that people can exchange their experience and ask questions and find the answers to the questions.

Rick Reid  17:23  

So it's not just about promoting yourself as a teacher. You're actually promoting your competition in a way other teachers around the world.

Lydia Kavina  17:32  

Yes, because I think that's what people need. If you are new for the to theremin and look how you can learn the theremin of what is the teaching resources? What teacher you can find near you? You go online. So everything is learned online today. So I thought that's where such people have to find this information, you know?

Rick Reid  18:04  

So somebody who is interested in a theremin maybe hasn't purchased one yet. Where do they start on your website?

Lydia Kavina  18:12  

First of all, they can learn what the theremin is. So what is this instrument? So it is a brief explanation. And also they see some videos immediately, because we we know that theremin is worth to see first, to answer a lot of questions. What it is so and, and then I hope it is quite a clear system, like every school has got, the classroom teachers, a library, books, exercises, so and, of course, the events calendar, with the events of different teachers and different Theremin societies. When I say Theremin societies, it belongs to Theremin learning process very closely, because every time we have got Theremin sessions, thereminist gatherings, we play ensembles, we exchange, we teach, or we organize workshops, for example, for for ceremonies, and we organize concerts together, festivals together. So this is very close to educational process, because very often, big part of Theremin communities are students of the same class or several teachers. So that's why Theremin the promotion of Theremin classes and promotion of Theremin associations or societies community. Is are both very present on this website.

Rick Reid  20:03  

You have some self guided exercises. How does that work? What would we expect to see on your website?

Lydia Kavina  20:09  

Well, this page is for those who like exercises, because it's not everyone, everyone who likes exercises, but they are people who like exercises and they they want to have in front of them, like pages of exercises that they can go through and gradually master their skills. They are my exercises, so a part of many links to other tutorial books of other terminists. I do not have a book. I have it online. So I think this is this is this must be very comfortable for people today, because everyone wants to learn online and at the same time, it is not a not a perfect finished book. I add exercises like every week new and add videos for those exercises or audio files. So it is like growing and flexible page.

Rick Reid  21:23  

Do you see these exercises as a supplement to working with a teacher or a replacement for working with a teacher if you don't have access to one in your community?

Lydia Kavina  21:33  

it depends on the person you know. Every everyone is, every person is so different. We know that there are people who like to to learn by themselves. So they will deeply dig in all kind of resources and very closely learn from exercises, from videos, from books, from information other people need a personal contact. So they would say, online, it's not for me. I want to come into your and have it offline. But how they would find this teacher? They can find the teacher, for example, in their country, you know at least, or a festival or offline workshop in their town, for example. And some people read music, some people don't. So for those who, who like who went through this process of learning another instrument and know how, how it is, normally classical way to learn traditional instrument. For example, violin, you always go through the exercises. So that would be something that they would expect from the learning Theremin as well. So they would look for exercises for the theremin and they can find the exercises on my page.

Rick Reid  23:05  

How long did it take to put this together? It seems like quite a big project.

Lydia Kavina  23:09  

Yes, of course, it has been developed through many, many years. So the whole idea was developing very slowly. In the end, it has been just several months that Alexander lovrinovich managed to put it everything technically, you know, but the initial idea was by my husband George. About 20 years ago, he just registered the domain ThereminSchool.com and said, This is something that you have to do. But to develop what exactly this platform should be, it took many, many years, yes. And and I have to say that the activities of Theremin school have been realized already through at least since pandemic, yeah, at least since 2020. Everyone went online, and the community grew and got these communications from from all the countries, yeah, and now I just put it on the website.

Rick Reid  24:24  

Well, congratulations on the new website, and I hope it's just a huge success for you. And thank you so much for all the time and effort and energy you put into helping people around the world learn about and learn to play the theremin.

Lydia Kavina  24:36  

Thank you Rick for having me.

Rick Reid  24:39  

ThereminSchool.com is up and running right now, so check it out. There's a link in this episode's show notes at Theremin 30.com. Now let's finish the show with music from Lydia Kavina, along with Olesya Rostovskaya and Agnes Paz from their new improvisational music album, Triple Reflection: Three Theremins. Here is an excerpt from the first track, Movement 1 - Whispers's Reflections.

Rick Reid  28:49  

That was a portion of Movement 1 - Whispers' Reflections from the improvisational Theremin album Triple Reflection: Three Theremins featuring Lydia Kavina, Olesya Rostovskaya, and Agnes Paz. You can buy and download the stereo version of the album from Bandcamp. It's also available in several surround sound formats from NativeDSD. There are links for both sites in this episode's show notes. 

Rick Reid  29:14  

Thanks so much to Keri Latimer, Susanna Viljanmaa, Veronik, Lydia Kavina, Olesya Rostovskaya, and Agnes Paz for sharing their music. Also, thanks to Lydia for visiting with me about ThereminSchool.com. Finally, a big thank you goes to the listeners who support this show with small one time and monthly donations. If you'd like to help me cover my time and expenses, look for the tip jar on the website or click on the new button that says, "buy me a wave." Til next time, I'm your host, Rick Reid, and I'll see you somewhere in the ether.

David Brower  29:51  

You've been listening to the theremin 30 podcast. Visit Theremin 30 on the web at Theremin30.com.
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[S06E02] July 2024 - Shueh-li Ong



In this July 2024 edition of Theremin 30, host Rick Reid plays new theremin music from Peru, the Netherlands, Finland, and Singapore. Rick's guest is Shueh-li Ong, who has a new album out called MissOriented Metaphor.

FEATURED MUSIC*

*The full-length recordings featured in this show were used with the knowledge and permission of the artists and composers. Please support the artists by visiting their websites, purchasing their recordings, and attending their performances. 

ADDITIONAL MUSIC

INTERVIEW GUEST

CALENDAR OF THEREMIN EVENTS

MEDIA LINKS

SUPPORT THIS PODCAST

CONTACT

CREDITS 

Copyright 2024 Rick Reid 


--------------------------------------------

TRANSCRIPT

Please note: This transcript was created with the help of speech-to-text AI.  It may contain some errors.

David Brower  0:00  
Rick, this is Theremin 30. 30 Minutes of Theremin, music, news, events and interviews with a new episode about every 30 days. Now. Here's your host from Chicago, Illinois, Rick Reid.

Rick Reid  0:18  
Hey. Welcome to the July 2024, episode of the theremin 30 podcast. This time around, I've got new Theremin music from the Netherlands, Peru, Finland and Singapore. My special guest is Shelley Ong here to talk about her new album called Miss oriented metaphor. And if I sound a little spaced out today, I'm just having trouble getting back into a good sleep schedule. I recently traveled to Denmark to spend a week with a bunch of Theremin playing friends from I think, 11 different countries. And between jet lag exploring Copenhagen late into the evenings and the very short nights in the Scandinavian summertime, I didn't get much sleep, at least not at the right times. Even a week later, I'm still feeling it, but I think I can manage to stay awake for the next 30 minutes. I hope you can too. So let's get started.

In just a bit, I'll play a track featuring Wilco Botermans on Theremin first though, I have new music from veronik When I interviewed her for the october 2021 episode of the theremin 30 podcast, she told us about a new album she was working on at the time. She's released a couple of singles from the project since then, but now the full album, illusionist pelagrossas is out on her Bandcamp page, Spotify and other streaming outlets in my poorly pronounced Spanish, this track coming up is called concione para un regress, and according to Google Translate, that means song for a comeback. 

We started the show with the Peruvian recording artist Veronica with song for a comeback. It's a track from her new album, illusionist pellegrosis, or dangerous illusions. If you go to this month's show notes at Theremin thirty.com and click on her name, you'll go right to her band camp page where you can listen to and purchase the full album. And after that, I played a track called opti stool, or on this stool from the eclectic Dutch band overlanders, featuring guest musicians, vilko bodermans on Theremin and Joris Vermeulen on a double Reid instrument called tenora. To hear more music from overlanders, click on their name in this month's show notes. It's time now for the theremin 30 calendar of Theremin events. Lydia Cavanagh continues her online group Theremin classes on most Sundays on July 18, modulate featuring thereminist Chris Conway and sound artist Jez Creek, will perform at the Church of sound event in Nottingham, England. July 23 is the birthday of the late great Dr Samuel Hoffman. Commemorate the day by watching a movie featuring his Theremin in the score. On July 25 noritaka ubukata performs with his custom made there sin in Tokyo, and Stephen Hamm has a gig in Vancouver, BC, Canada. For details about these events and more, check out the full calendar at Theremin thirty.com and if you have an event you'd like me to place on the calendar, contact me through the website. Let's get back to the music now, with a single from Kepa Lehtinen that came out about three months ago, but I haven't had a chance to play it until now. This is called Unet in Finnish or dreams in English. 

That was Unet or dreams by Finnish composer and thereminist Kepa lechtinen. You can see the official music video for that song on the theremin 30 YouTube playlist. Just. Search for Theremin 30 on YouTube or follow the link in this month's show notes.

Shueh-Li Ong is a multi Continental, multi instrumentalist with not one, but two live streaming shows on YouTube, and she just released her fifth studio album, Miss oriented metaphor. I visited with Shelly recently to find out all about it. Shelley Ong, it's so good to see you again, actually hear you again on the theremin 30 podcast. 

Shueh-Li Ong  15:36  
Thanks, Rick. So good to see you and hear you too. It's been a few years, but always glad to see your smiling face.

Rick Reid  15:44  
It's been about three years since you've been on the show, and back then we talked about your musical history and how you got involved in the theremin. So I don't want to repeat that, but I do want to find out what you've been doing since then. 

Speaker 1  15:57  
Well, in the last few years, I've endeavoled to experiment with different ways in which I could articulate the voice of the theremin, and it was a slow kind of assembly, because there was a lot of playing around with until I got something that I went, Aha, I could use this. So it's been a while since I released an album. I thought, why not consolidate these experiments in new composition and then further develop them as I put them together as I went along? And I wanted to also create a repertoire of original music. You probably know this, I have a degree in piano performance, and I did study synth techniques during my post grad period. So I'm naturally inclined towards live performance. It's kind of like, you know, kids in the playground I like to play.

Rick Reid  16:53  
Yeah, I seen some videos on your YouTube channel where you collaborated with some of the musicians that I think are on the new album. Sort of the early development of some of these tracks. 

Speaker 1  17:03  
I was road testing these works for venue versatility and playability with live musicians again, because I wanted to make sure these could be executed live. And again, these pieces were really more for my live performance repertoire. But you know, people like to receive my fans and friends like to receive these finished works in a recorded version. So hence the album. That seems to be the way musicians do it. They write, they record it, and then they play it. So, but I wanted to play it and then record it a friend of mine, bassist Brian Mooney, who appears on the album, he had reached out to me to work with me in live performance. So he played the first gig with me on the New Jersey prop house music series in 2018 and I enjoyed working with him live and on my music video, so much. And I said to Brian, you know, these are new pieces. Would you like to play on the music video with me, as you know, version one? So I I had a, I had, like, a recording or a document of what I had done. And he said, Sure. And I enjoyed his working with him so much, he repeated his performance, so to speak, on the album. And guitarist Dean parks, he didn't appear on my music videos for this album, but he had worked with me before on my third album, which was written under my Monica zanovites. And when he record on my third album, Crossing Paths, I became such a fan of his excellence, and I'm not mad another musician like him, I plotted to have him appear on this fifth album, Miss oriented metaphor.

Rick Reid  18:50  
The album title is mis oriented metaphor. Yes. What does that mean? 

Speaker 1  18:57  
Miss oriented metaphor was nicknamed the concerto. So it began as a concerto because I had in mind it would be an instrumental with the soloists being the theremin the synthesizer, and I had a tin whistle in there as well, against luscious orchestration. You know, as you would imagine, a concerto would be the title plays on the words oriental, disoriented and the Cassandra metaphor, which in Greek mythology, Cassandra is the daughter of Troy, and she was given the gift of prophecy, but cursed With having her prophecies disbelieved. 

Rick Reid  19:41  
You play multiple instruments and you're playing with the band this time. Did you record together in the same room at the same time, or is this a multi track thing that was done remotely? 

Speaker 1  19:52  
I wanted this album to feature a few of my friends, and because of the nature of the genres. Yes, and the style in which the tracks, I call the movements, because it's supposed to be a concerto, they each movement has different sections to it and and they span several genres, so I wanted a real person's appearance to kind of tackle these changes, these transitions, but they would follow my written score, but in certain parts, they would imbue their lines with their own. What take on things for a drama it be feels for bass players, similarly, and of course, I had a guitarist, the one and only Dean parks, where lines were written for him, of certain guitar sounds that I was looking for, but others where I went, I said, Just do what you feel you hear in whatever genre it is that We're working in egy. I'd say this will be stadium rock in field, you know, but he's had six, almost seven decades of experience, so no big deal. And there was one part in the finale where I said, you know, this is your solo cadenza. I'd like you to be flamboyant dean. And I recorded remotely, but in real time. So he looked at me and he said, You asked for it. The other musicians recorded independently of me, but again, I had directions and I had my demo. So my method of writing is I write record straight into my door, and I play the instrumental lines the way I would want to hear it in my finished product. Bear in mind, these pieces must be playable live. All those things that you hear, those will be reproduced live.

Rick Reid  21:55  
Now, speaking of live performance, the way you're releasing this album is non conventional, non traditional, as well. 

Shueh-Li Ong  22:03  
Well, I've been running this live stream that features friends and friends of friends in the music and entertainment industry called music and chat. And Rick you and I talked about that previously, so I thought, well, you know, I have my viewership there already, and these are the people who've been supporting my work and supporting me in this live stream situation. So why not use the live stream and thank my friends and fans at the same time in the release of this album, end of June on the 29th and 30th of June, that's the weekend before Fourth of July. And I will release the album in two parts. The album is in digital form, so first part will be the first three tracks, and the second part will be the next three tracks, and I'll feel questions live as well. So, yeah, live stream. So anyone can put in questions in a live chat, and I will respond to them. The album, again, is in digital form. But if I have what I call YouTube chat, my youtube channel donors. It's a PayPal, you know, donation, little spot, if you donate 35 and above, I will actually hand assemble a physical CD, autograph it, and mail it to you, US residents only, because postage overseas is quite exorbitant.

Rick Reid  23:36  
Okay. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me about your new album. You have such an interesting and unique take on the theremin, especially, and really all the genres that you draw from. It's really fascinating to listen to. 

Speaker 1  23:51  
Thanks, Rick, thanks so much for having me. It's always a pleasure talking to you.

Rick Reid  23:56  
 If you missed the live streamed album release event on Shelley's YouTube page. It's still available to watch anytime there's a link to it in this month's show notes on Theremin thirty.com and you can stream and purchase the full misoriented metaphor album on her band camp page. I have the link for that too. Now let's finish the show with a track from Miss oriented metaphor. This is called calor, which is the Spanish word for heat. Shelly tells me this part of her concerto was inspired in part by flamenco music. 

It's time to thank Veronik, overlanders, Kepa Lehtinen, and Shueh-Li Ong for sharing their music with us this month. Please support these artists by following them on social media, streaming or downloading their music and attending their live performances. Also, thanks to Shueh-Li Ong for being my guest this month, and as always, a special thanks to the listeners who helped me cover my expenses with small one time or monthly donations. If you'd like to help out, go to the theremin 30 website and look for the tip jar while you're there. Check out the library of past episodes for more great Theremin music from around the world. I'll be back soon with another episode. Until then, I'll see you somewhere in the ether.

David Brower  29:50  
You've been listening to the theremin 30 podcast. Visit Theremin 30 on the web at Theremin three zero.com.
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[S05E01] May 2023 - David Levi


David Levi of MicroKits.net



In the May 2023 episode of the Theremin 30 podcast, host Rick Reid plays theremin music from Canada, England, Peru, and Italy. Rick's special guest is David Levi, designer of the MicroKits Theremin Electronic Kit.

FEATURED MUSIC*

  • "Son coin de paradis à lui" featuring Thorwald Jørgensen (Hoogezwaluwe, Netherlands) - Sébastien Lafleur (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
  • "Memory" - Monelise (London, England, UK)
  • "կ​գ​ա​ն ա​վ​ե​լ​ի լ​ա​վ ժ​ա​մ​ա​ն​ա​կ​ն​ե​ր (Ya vendra​́​n tiempos mejores)" - Veronik (Lima, Peru) 
  • "Nimereht" - Unreal Project and Toroids (Italy)
*The full-length recordings featured in this show were used with the knowledge and permission of the artists and composers. Please support the artists by visiting their websites, purchasing their recordings, and attending their performances. 

ADDITIONAL MUSIC

INTERVIEW GUEST

CALENDAR OF THEREMIN EVENTS

MEDIA LINKS

SUPPORT THIS PODCAST

CONTACT

CREDITS 

Copyright 2023 Rick Reid 


--------------------------------------------

TRANSCRIPT

Please note: This transcript was created with the help of speech-to-text AI.  It may contain some errors.


David Brower  00:04

This is "Theremin 30," thirty minutes of theremin music, news, events and interviews, with a new episode about every 30 days. Now, here is your host from Denver, Colorado, USA -- Rick Reid!

Rick Reid  00:20

Hey, welcome to the May 2023 episode of the Theremin 30 podcast. This is the first episode of Season 5.  If you're new to the show, this all started way back in April of 2019. Since then we've featured approximately 160 theremin songs and more than 3 dozen interviews with some of the most influential artists, teachers, historians, and technology experts in the theremin community. If you haven't listened to all the previous episodes, I encourage you to put them on your playlist. 

In this episode, I have some recent music and some tracks that didn't make it into previous episodes, featuring thereminists Veronik, Monelise, Thorwald Jorgensen, and Lorenzo Di Marcantonio.  And my special guest is David Levi, the designer of the Microkits theremin circuit building kit for kids.

To get the show started, I have a 2022 album track  by  Montreal-based recording artist Sebastien LaFleur. It features Thorwald Jorgensen on theremin. This is called "Son coin de paradis à lui" or "His Own Corner of Paradise."

Rick Reid  08:13

We started season 5 of the Theremin 30 podcast with ""His Own Corner of Paradise,"" from Sebastien Lafleur and featuring Thorwald Jorgensen on theremin.  It's from the 2022 album called Strates, which is available on Bandcamp. After that, we went back to 2019 to hear ""Memory"" from the Hauntology album by Monelise. Among many other music projects, Monelise has begun releasing a series of theremin-infused meditation music tracks for her Patreon susbcribers. You can get more details about both artists by clicking on their names in this month's show notes at Theremin30.com.  

I'll be right back with the Theremin 30 calendar and a lovely new recording from Veronik.  Also, later in the show, I'll visit with David Levi from Microkits. And I'll play a new ambient track from an Italian duo.  So stay tuned."

It's time now for a look at the Theremin 30 calendar of theremin events!  On May 20th, Sheuh-Li Ong hosts a new episode of her live ""Music and Chat"" show on YouTube. On May 23rd, Michelle Moog-Koussa conducts exclusive tours of the Moogseum in Asheville, North Carolina, to commemorate the birthday of Bob Moog. On May 26th, Yoko Onishi performs at the Zushi Culture Plaza in Zushi City, Japan. On Saturday, June 3rd, The Divine Hand Ensemble performs its annual Concert Among the Crypts at the Laurel Hill Cemetery in the Philadelphia area. And on June 4th, Dorit Chrysler performs at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in Katonah, New York. For details about these events and many more, check out the interactive calendar on Theremin30.com. If you have a theremin event you'd like me to list on the calendar, send me a note with all the details.

One of the very first songs I played on Theremin 30 was from Lima, Peru-based recording artists Veronik.  When she was my guest on the show back in October of 2021, she told us about a rock music album she was working on.  The first single from that album is out now and it's called "Ilusiones Peligrosas" or "Dangerous Illusions." I am not going to play it for you today, but you can check out the music video for it on the Theremin 30 YouTube Playlist.  Instead, I'm going to play a lovely new instrumental than Veronik recorded during the final days of her father's life. The title comes from reassuring words from her father, "Ya vendra​́​n tiempos mejores," "Better times are coming."

That was ""Ya vendra​́​n tiempos mejores,"" ""Better times are coming"" by Veronik.  You can find that track on the album ""El Ele,"" a music compilation to raise funds for the victims of the recent major earthquake in Turkey and Syria. There's a link to the album in this month's show notes. 

Coming up after this break, I'll visit with David Levi, inventor of a fun little theremin project kit for kids, so stay right here."

Rick Reid  14:17

David Levi is an amateur musician and professional electronic designer who specializes in electronic toys. David recently started selling his popular theremin circuit building kit in the giftshop at the Moogseum in Asheville, North Carolina. I visited with David recently to find out all about it.

David Levi  14:39

Hello. It's nice to be here. Rick,

 

Rick Reid  14:41

you have the distinction of being the designer of the smallest cheapest Theremin that we've ever featured on the show.

 

David Levi  14:50

Yeah, I'm cornering the gateway Theramin market. The Fairman that I make isn't a full instrument that you can play somewhere over The rainbow one but what I do have is a miniature Theremin kit that a 10 year old can put together in like an hour. And then they have their own Theremin, it's actually capacitive sensing to antennas also automatically calibrate, so you don't have to turn the knob, but a little miniature Theremin so that so many more people can play around with electric fields and get to experiment with a Theramin in person.

 

Rick Reid  15:28

We'll talk more about the Theramin in a moment. But first I want to talk about you. How did you get interested in Thurman's?

 

David Levi  15:34

I know that I got into electronics because of the Theramin. I'm trying to remember like the first time I saw the Theramin. I saw it somewhere. But I remember going back that night to like Wikipedia, and trying to read all about the Theramin and not believing it. It's like this, this is a made up thing. I must have seen a YouTube video, I didn't see it in person. I'm like, Oh, this is a made up thing. They're using camera tricks. Because I didn't think that that's how physics worked. But luckily, I had a bit of background in working with electronics, because I had a math teacher in middle school who taught me to solder some. But I found out about the theorem. And when I was probably a sophomore in high school. And that's when I really got into electronics, I'm like, I need to build one of these I need to build these other circuits I need to make my own instruments. So the Theramin for me was a gateway into just making different electronic circuits.

 

Rick Reid  16:35

How did you jump from a hobby to a business,

 

David Levi  16:39

it definitely helps to have gotten an electrical engineering degree. And after that I went and actually worked in the toy industry for a couple of years. So that's my background is I worked a little bit at Hasbro and Mattel, worked on making toys light up and play sounds. And that kind of toy design, I had the opportunity of being laid off in 2020. And that's when I was able to get this little Theremin circuit that I had designed over a couple of years and just start making more of them and see if I can turn it into a little business. And it's been successful enough that I've also started working on releasing my second product, which is a synthesizer and I'm also starting to work on a third product,

 

Rick Reid  17:23

which according to your website is secret still,

 

David Levi  17:26

it's secret right now, I have a prototype that works. But it's electronics, it takes a ton of time to develop anything. You can design something quickly. But making sure you've designed it right is a whole other process. So third product probably take another year or so

 

Rick Reid  17:43

I thought it was interesting that you described being laid off as an opportunity. What's the opportunity in that?

 

David Levi  17:50

The funny thing is I actually got into the toy industry, because of the same Theramin kit. I designed it back in 2016 Or maybe early 2017. And I was showing it around to like job interviews and such. And that's how I got a job working in the toy industry. But then I was you know, working on Power Rangers working on Barbies, and I'm like, oh, man, I want to release my own circuit. But you know, I couldn't compete with my employer.

 

Rick Reid  18:18

Yeah. Okay.

 

David Levi  18:19

So I was like, oh, man, one of these days, I'm going to go do my own thing. And it happened a little bit earlier than I expected. But that gave me more time to figure out how to turn into a business. I've been doing this since like September 2020. And I've been going to a few like maker fairs, which is a lot of people who make circuits or 3d print stuff or other tech craft type things. I was actually just a couple of weeks ago in Asheville, North Carolina Maker Faire. And that's of course, where the mode companies that after going to the Maker Faire showing everyone my pheromones in person and my synthesizer, I actually visited the Moogseum, which is the Robert Bob Moog foundation about Moga not not mode music. They share the name, but they're separate entities. So I got to see like the old vacuum tube Theremin they have one there. And then they have another really old transistor Theremin. And they have a few ether waves that you can play. So that was great. And then I just shipped 10 Theremin kits to be sold at the Moogseum. So that's very exciting. So if you're near North Carolina, if you're dropping by, you know where to get my kids, my introduction to electronics, you may have heard of this.

 

Rick Reid  19:40

You're probably too young but RadioShack used to sell kits and they had springs on them so that you didn't have to solder anything. You just slip the wire into the spring. And so I made a photo Theremin with one of the 101 kits. That was my favorite toy.

 

David Levi  19:55

Yeah, I think I had one of those 100 and ones too. Yeah, that's one of the ones instead, people mentioned.

 

Rick Reid  20:01

So this kit that you've designed, I assume there's no soldering involved. But you use a different system. There are no springs on this one.

 

David Levi  20:09

They're sort of springs, but they're hidden inside a plastic, I wanted to make something that they didn't need tools or extra skills, you know, I wanted to make it as easy to go in from no electronic experience to, hey, look, I built my own thing. And now I get to play a fair amount. So I use a breadboard, which is just a piece of plastic, it has a grid of holes in it. And you can place different parts into those holes, kind of like putting different Lego bricks on a Lego baseboard. And that's what makes the electrical connections is there's metal clips inside that connect by row and column. So you just have to place parts on one side, and then you've made a circuit,

 

Rick Reid  20:51

it is advertised as being appropriate for STEM. Can you explain what you mean by that?

 

David Levi  20:57

STEM is science, technology, engineering and math. And that's a big buzzword in education is we want our children to learn stem or Oh, the economy needs more STEM workers. It just means people who are working more with technology and developing technology. And yeah, I mean, it's a important skill to have nowadays, because technology and society just keeps getting more complicated. And it's important to remember how to design the electronics are all depending on and then there's also something called steam, which is science, technology, engineering, arts and math. And that's just the idea of let's get all this technical stuff by combining with art. And that's something I'm trying to do with this Theremin kit too, is I'm tricking the kids who just want to make a circuit I'm tricking them to like oh, hey, now you have a musical instrument. And the kids who just want a cool instrument. Oh, you got to learn a little bit about electronics nowadays.

 

Rick Reid  22:05

Can you demonstrate it for us? Let's hear it.

 

David Levi  22:08

Yeah, I've have it right here. So let's see. Don't remember if it is two or three octaves of range, but it's sensitive out, like three or four inches. So it's just a fun little thing to leave on your desk if you ever feel the need to make some Theremin noises. And I'm guessing that, you know, to the listeners, like they're much more likely than the common population to have access to their own Theramin. But, you know, they probably know people or families and friends, they've been trying to tell him about the Theramin. But now, here's a little miniature Theramin that they can actually share without having to pack up the antennas and all that.

 

Rick Reid  23:11

how can listeners get their hands not on but around one of your Theramin kits.

 

David Levi  23:16

So I have my website. It's micro kits.net. So that's micro kits with an S and then.net. That's where I have my Theramin and my other creations. I'm also on Amazon. If you go to Amazon and type in the word Theremin I'm probably going to be one of the top results there. And then as I mentioned I'm also just got into the mogsie I'm in Asheville, North Carolina, so it should be there in a little while.

 

Rick Reid  23:43

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit with us on Theremin 30 podcast and I'll see you again too.

 

David Levi  23:50

Thank you Rick morth airman's for more people.

To learn more about the MicroKits Theremin kit designed for kids age 10 years and up, follow the link in this month's show notes.  And if you would like to be on a future episode to discuss a product, service, or event that would be of interest to the Theremin 30 audience, get in touch with me with all the details, or click on the "Be Our Guest" tab on the Theremin 30 website. 

Now, with the time remaining, let's finish the show with a new, ambient collaboration from Italian thereminist Lorenzo Marcantonio and guitarist Rocco Saviano. This is called NimEreth," which is, of course, Theremin backwards.

Rick Reid  28:41

That was "Nimerth," or Theremin backwards, by Lorenzo Marcantonio who records under the name "Unreal Project" and Rocco Saviano who records under the name "Toroids." There are links to both artists in this month's show notes.

Before we unplug this episode, I want to thank all of the artists that share their music with us.  If you like what you heard, please support them by purchasing their music and attending their performances.  As the saying goes, ""you can't buy groceries with exposure."" So, please help them to be able to make more music for all of us.  I also want to thank the listeners who support this podcast with small one-time and monthly donations, or by shopping with advertisers that appear on the Theremin30.com website. It really does help me keep this show going. I'll be back soon with another episode. In the meantime, please tell your friends about this show, and share links to it on social media. You can also rate and review Theremin 30 on Apple Podcasts to help get the word out. Until next time, I'm your host Rick Reid. I'll see you in the ether."

David Brower  29:49

You've been listening to the "Theremin 30" podcast. Visit "Theremin 30" on the web at Theremin-three-zero-dot-com.

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[S03E07] Bonus Episode - October 2021 - Veronik entrevista



In this bonus episode, October 2021 interview Guest Veronik answers Rick Reid's questions in Spanish. Veronik is the producer and host of Magica Escuela de Theremin, a series of short, Spanish-language instructional videos for people who would like to learn how to play the theremin. Listen to the regular October 2021 episode to hear the full show and interview in English.

▶️ Listen to this episode on your favorite podcast platform.


BACKGROUND AND THEME MUSIC

INTERVIEW GUEST

SUPPORT THIS PODCAST

CONTACT

CREDITS 

Copyright 2021 Rick Reid 


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TRANSCRIPCIÓN

Tenga en cuenta que esta transcripción se generó con IA de texto a voz. Puede contener varios errores de ortografía y puntuación y otras inexactitudes hasta que tengamos tiempo de hacer correcciones manuales.

David Brower 00:02

This is Theremin 30, thirty minutes of theremin music, news, events, and interviews, with a new episode about every 30 days. Now, here is your host from Denver, Colorado, USA, Rick Reid.

Rick Reid 00:20

Hey, there! This is Rick Reid with a bonus episode of the Theremin 30 podcast. Since my October 2021 guest Veronik talked about her Spanish-language theremin lesson videos on YouTube, I thought Spanish-speaking listeners would enjoy hearing some of her answers in Spanish. I only know a few words in Spanish, myself, so I didn’t shorten her responses like I normally would because I don’t entirely know what she is saying. I hope you enjoy esta entrevista. Veronik, thank you for being on Theremin 30.

Veronik 00:54

Hi Rick. Thank you for inviting me.

Rick Reid 00:57

I invited you on this show because I wanted to find out your history with the theremin, first of all. How did you get involved with the theremin?

Veronik 01:05

inicios con el tenim. Yo ya tenía tiempo tocando porque yo empecé a tocar cuando era muy chica.

La de los once y doce años. Yo y había escuchado mucha música clásica cuando era pequeñita, pero los once empecé a tocar la flauta. La flauta fue realmente mi primer instrumento y en esa época yo vivía en Francia, en París. Toda mi adolescencia la pasé haya. Entonces me puse a estudiar flauta primero dulce, luego flauta, atraverse del Conservatorio y me gustaba mucho esto de estudiar música hasta que me aburrí.

y me aburrí de la presión del Conservatorio y aprendí y descubrí el rock. Y entonces empecé a buscar más cosas sobre el rock y mi sueño de repente se convirtió en tener mi banda de rock y tocar la guitarra eléctrica y lo logré hacerles. Tiene los dieciocho años. Me convertí en cantautora y componía mis canciones y cantaba y tocaba la guitarra y estaba por producir mi primer disco solista.

Cuando conocí el theremin por casualidad, Cuando llegó a mí. El la película del documental es para mí de electrónico, dice Termin una noticia electrónica de Steve Martin. y la película era increíble y lo primero que pude ver fue Clara rock humor tocando el theremin. Y es esto me me pareció tan increíble que comprendí como se tocaba.

El tiene mi Hasta entonces sólo lo conocía por el sonido que era este cliché de instrumento terrorífico. y solo o después de ver la película entendí que era un verdadero instrumento electrónico y dije Simplemente necesito esto en mi vida. Yo voy a aprender a tocarlo. Así que necesito esto ya. Y en una semana investigue todo lo que pude.

Me pedí mi primer Tenim por IBI un Edelweiss estándar. y empecé a tomar mi lecciones con un Thomas Grillo y sus vídeos en Youtube y y era en tiempos de Máis Peyser en otras épocas. Pero así empecé. Era mucho más difícil de lo que parecía. Todo se movía. Todas las notas se movían y bueno, qué bueno. Al cabo de un mes, como los músicos ya me conocían en el medio, me llegó mi primer trabajo en mi primer reto.

como Tele ministra, que fue grabar unos arreglos de Theremin para el disco de unos amigos, Los protones, que era una barca, una banda de soul folk. me fui al estudio a grabar y esos fueron mis primeros inicios como como termin istas. Y así fue como empecé y hasta el día de hoy sigo tocando.

Rick Reid 03:48

The next thing I wanted to ask you about is your current project that I think is really fun. You're doing a series of lesson videos on YouTube in Spanish, and I think it's called something like Magica Theremin Escuela, which I think means “Magic Theremin School”?

Veronik 04:08

mi proyecto, la mágica escuela determinen en empieza en con unas ganas de difundir el tee mi mi idioma es español porque bueno, yo ya tengo mucho tiempo con el instrumento tocando, trabajando y también enseñando a principiantes y la experiencia que tengo es que hay mucho contenido sobre el theremin y algunos contenidos son muy buenos, pero hay muy poco en español.

y lo que yo tengo ganas de hacer es dar a conocer instrumento y en en toda su dimensión, no sólo como un generador de efectos o de una manera muy limitada. Quiero destruir un poco los clichés y dar a conocer un instrumento que puede ser muy versátil. pero para eso creo que hay que explicárselo a la gente que recién empieza y también a la gente que no conoces de mí.

Para que cunda la información correcta, sepa que existe y pueda intentar acercarse más a este universo, ya sea para aprender a tocarlo. o para enterarse de que este instrumento existe y todas las cosas que se pueden hacer. Entonces yo creo que estos contenidos tienen la idea de educar Por un lado a un público que puede no saber nada, ayudar a los principiantes o a los curiosos que están con la duda de si tocar un empezar a aprender o eh.

Qué instrumento comprar fuera empezar con el theremin. La idea es compartir la información, guiar a las personas entre tenerlas, que el contenido sea divertido, que sea ágil, que no sea demasiado largo. Por eso trato de hacer lecciones, pero también de hacer vídeos sobre temas específicos que puedan ser necesarios.

Para informar mejor a las personas alrededor del instrumento y crear un universo y una plataforma de intercambio. lo de la escuela En realidad no es no es una escuela, es una plataforma, pero como yo también doy clases, es un poco en un hombre que nos nos ayuda a un montón de cosas y sobre todo quería que el nombre fuera fácil de recordar y que tuviera algún poco roquero.

Y por eso se llama mágica Escuela de Theremin porque Al inicio en fue inspirado por El, nombre del Magic ado Ministro Eidur, el disco de los Beatles y de hecho me me gusto el del nombre como suena rítmicamente, entonces es un proyecto que a mi me gusta bastante porque me permite compartir el conocimiento que ya tengo y todo y compartir lo que ya se, pero también me emociona el descubrir y aprender nuevas cosas.

Mientras las comparto con un público que también se interesa por el término. Es una forma de crear comunidad y seguir con un trabajo que ya ha estado haciendo gente como al mes Paz en Chile con el festival Electromagnética y son proyectos que buscan generar un plataforma y un espacio de aprendizaje e intercambio alrededor de un instrumento que nos apasiona.

Ese es el proyecto de la mágica Escuela de Theremin y de verdad es…

Rick Reid 08:03

You have a new single out where you are the guest artist on someone else's recording. The track is called Ballena, which I learned means “Whale.” Tell me about “Whale.”

Veronik 08:13

Éste Tras Ballena el es una colaboración entre un amigo de años, Oliver Castillo, que es un gran bajista que el año pasado sacó su primer disco como solista y su Su disco fue una fue diseñado como un laboratorio en donde cada cáncer Sony va a ser construida en conjunto con un invitado como músico invitado.

Entonces esa combinación era como un laboratorio donde cada canción iba a ser construida de esta manera y dándole un sonido bien especial a cada tema. Me pareció para Carmen gusto el primer disco y inició este año en enero. Oliver me llama para preguntarme si quería participar. Para el segundo volumen de su segundo disco como solista con esta misma este mismo sistema de laboratorio.

Entonces demandó dos ideas y escogí esta que me que me pareció que tenía algo acuatico que me gustaba. Me sugirió explorar Por el lado del Tel y de la voz. Con este sonido que tiene un poco que ver con una Parece entre una ballena y una sirena y me gustó, me gustó. Hay una parte que no sabíamos mucho que cosa meterle y se le ocurre hacer las voces y le dio un acosada bacana el tema y de hecho me gustó mucho crear algo nuevo técnicamente que no hubiera hecho antes.

Y a sugerencia del propio Oliver que me pese al explorar con uno que llamáis les Flight de la muerte, que es cuando usas todo el registro del, temen que quiero un registro muy amplio desde lo más Agudo moverte hacia la parte más grave del registro super rápido, no cosas que solo instrumento puede hacer.

Y me gustó hacer ese tipo de cosas en este tras emm que debió haber salido a inicios de la de de este año, pero por la situación de la pandemia realmente se retrasó muchos más. El ingeniero de sonido que estaba trabajando con nosotros en falleció a causa del virus. Fueron tiempos muy duros. Él era muy amigo de Oliver.

Yo también lo conocía. Entonces realmente ha sido un trayecto muy accidentado. Encierro momentos muy duros, pero al final ya sacamos el tema y nos gusta como ha quedado. y de hecho también es un pedazo de historia que que nos acompaña, no, que nos ha tocado vivir

Rick Reid 10:46

You are working on a new album. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Veronik 10:50

A ver, estoy trabajan donde o algo Como cantautores. Se puede seguir más que nada un álbum de rock con canciones donde va a verter Emmy, pero como un instrumento ya no protagónico. no como parte de mi paleta de sonidos. Es un álbum conceptual porque habla de las relaciones tóxicas. Esta va a ser la temática y tenía muchas canciones que hablaban sobre ese tema.

En cada canción tiene su personalidad, su, su sonido y también hay, si bien la mayorías, un sonido eléctrico de roquero. Hay también temas acústicos. y el theremin va a estar presente de todas maneras porque es parte de mi, de mi sonido, de mi, de mi y marca registrada. Y luego tengo otro. Este sería mi tercer disco como solista, pero tengo otro proyecto de disco para después que ese si va a hacer un disco de The Enemy porque tengo cosas que hacer todavía con instrumento que no ha hecho antes.

De repente voy a lucirme más en aspectos técnicos, pero ya no va a ser un disco como anómala, que fue un disco de rock progresivo experimental para el theremin como instrumento protagoniza, pero me gusta que cada disco sea diferente. Entonces ahora tengo que tengo una deuda con las canciones y con la guitarra.

Entonces me voy a dedicar a este disco. y es un poco difícil. Es un reto para mí porque no tengo tiempo para tocar la guitarra. Siempre estoy tocando el theremin y dando clases de theremin. Entonces necesito hacer este disco. para empezar a trabajar en el otro. Asi que ya tengo en tengo trabajo para ir a ver una reedición del disco anómala para fines de año con un sello europeo.

Y estos son los planes de este año. Hace lo

Rick Reid 12:43

Veronik, it's been so much fun visiting with you today. Thank you for being on Theremin 30.

Veronik 12:48

Thank you, Rick.  

Muchas gracias por invitarme. Estuvo super divertido de la entrevista es pero al no haber fallado con el inglés y no hagamos QUE pronto de visita en el canal de la mágica escuela decir y nos vemos muy pronto.

Rick Reid 13:03

Gracias to Veronica for answering my questions in two languages this month. To hear an edited version of our conversation in English, be sure to listen to this month's regular episode of the Theremin 30 podcast. Until next time I'm your host, Rick Reid. Hasta la vista.

David Brower 13:21

You’ve been listening to the Theremin 30 podcast. Visit Theremin 30 on the web at Theremin30.com.



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