There's another strange use for the Wii remote every day and today it's music

Jan 27, 2007 16:15 GMT  ·  By

Japan's DS DJ Daito Manabe appears in a video shown by YouTube waving around the wiimote thus creating strange sounds. Some may wonder how he did it and will say that he's a clever bloke, which he is, no doubt about it, but if we hop in the time machine and go to 1974's electronic music concerts, we may just find that the idea is neither new, nor crazy.

In the 1970s, music was taking off with Jean Michel Jarre's new electronic music. The guy was the bomb in his time as he took full advantage of the recent discoveries in electronics, which he cleverly manipulated to make beautiful, strange, never-before-heard sounds. I know, you're probably asking "so what's your point." I'll tell you.

Two of his strange musical instruments were the "laser harp" and the "theremin." Jarre used the theremin (which was based on interpreting radio waves) very much like our DJ friend Daito Manabe. The only thing Jarre had to worry about was how close to get his hands near the antenna, in order to create a different tone or musical note. Of course it was a custom-built instrument, much like the other ones he used.

Some may not know what I'm babbling about here and make no connection between what Jarre did back in the '70s and what DJ Daito does in this video, but there is a big resemblance. The only difference between the two is the music style really. The process is pretty much the same, as the wiimote's main function is to sense position, velocity, and acceleration, which basically spells "motion." Having seen the video myself, I have to say that instead of evolving, we've regressed in terms of music creations. I'd take Jarre's old performance anytime, even if after you read this you'll say "what a dork!" (if you read the whole piece, that is).

Besides taking music to another level, Jarre's second goal was to put on the best light show the world had ever seen, in the most grandiose places on the planet. I suggest you check out one of his shows keeping in mind the times his music was popular.

The guy in the picture is not Jarre, but the respective instrument's inventor himself, Leon Theremin. Oh come on, it doesn't hurt to cultivate your brain a little.