This gadget rocks! The world's newest musical instrument

Peter Gabriel has one in his studio. Bjork takes hers on tour. But what exactly is it? Tim gets to grips with the radical new instrument that's part digital sampler, part light-show – and part toy

Blip. Blip. Blip. Blip-donk-blip. Blip. Blip. Blip-donk-blip-tshk-blip. Blip. Wraaa- AAAOOoow. Blip. This is the noise of a novice trying to make something resembling music from the world's newest musical instrument, the Tenori-On. And, by the way, it sounds a whole lot better than it reads. Designed by Japanese media artist Toshio Iwai and built by Yamaha, the Tenori-On is a remarkable piece of kit that has already made its way into the excited, sweaty palms of musical pioneers such as Peter Gabriel and Bjork. (...)

Peter Gabriel has supposedly added the Tenori-On to the array of instruments at his Real World Studios in Wiltshire. Fairbanks released his Tenori-On album, 7 Days Microsleep, as a free audio download, but also released some of the tracks as Tenori-On native data, which means that fellow Tenori-On players can deconstruct (and reconstruct) his tracks, becoming amateur remixers at the drop of a hat. Those who want to can happily store albums'-worth of material on the memory card. (...)