Just found the website of this musician specialising in ultra-rare electronic music instruments. The glass harmonica is way cool. Plus he's worked with everyone from John Cage to Radiohead.

http://thomasbloch.chez.com/

It would seem he finds an odd instrument, masters it and then gets to work with big names who are looking for a new sound( although it does say he has collaborated with Mozart!) I'll check the audio later, I'm curious what these things sound like.

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

Glassharmonica was used for the soundtrack of the movie 'Hostel', and till now I used to think that it was Nathan Barr's innovation.

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SoundCloud

Nice link - thanks!

If anyone likes the sound of these instruments, SonicCouture have an excellent sample library featuring them:

www.soniccouture.com/en/products/g14-glass-works

“When beginning to research the Glass / Works instruments, we found that one name was ubiquitous; that of Thomas Bloch. A classical musician specialising in rare instruments, Thomas is a virtuoso who has worked with many famous names - Radiohead, Gorrilaz, John Cage, Tom Waits, and Milos Foreman to name very few. He is best known for 3 instruments - Ondes Martenot, the Cristal Baschet and the Glass Armonica. We contacted Thomas, and to our delight, he agreed to work with us. We travelled to Paris, and down a quiet street in the freezing January weather, we found Thomas Bloch. Working in his garden studio, we spent the next few days exploring the amazing range of sounds stored within. Soniccouture would like to thank Thomas once again for his hospitality in Paris.”


Martin

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YewTreeMagic