Weird instrument of the day: electronically modified didgeridoo

No, it's not Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It's Kyle Evans and his electronic didgeridoo.

Kyle Evans is a UK-based musician and electronic gizmo kind of guy. He's come up with all sorts of strange instruments and gadgets, and his latest takes the cake: it's the Electronically Modified Didgeridoo.

The didgeridoo, for those who aren't hip to ancient history, is what we in the business call 'pretty darn old.' In fact, the wind instrument was first developed by Indigenous Australians at least 1,500 years ago.

In other words, way before Kenny G.

Evans's souped-up version of the didgeridoo (which looks like some sort of assault weapon, truth be told) is loaded with pickups and other electronics, and the signal is sent wirelessly via Bluetooth to a computer, where all the wacky sound manipulation fun begins. Check out the video:

"I created this instrument to experiment in the combination of the organic sound qualities of a didgeridoo with the advanced signal processing capabilities of modern computer programming and sound synthesis," says Evans. "This custom-built didgeridoo features externally mounted modules that allow the performer to process and manipulate the sound of the instrument in real time."

Right on, Kyle. Looks like Sting can ditch that silly pan flute and hook himself up with one of Kyle Evans's super-hype didgeridoos. That'll shake up the rain forests, for sure. Or he could just reform The Police again. (We can't lie - we'd prefer the latter.)

(Thanks Synthgear)