Lincoln Eddy 
The first instrument from UK music-tech company ROLI, the Seaboard is a reinvention of the keyboard with an organic way of controlling volume, pitch, intensity, and timbre. With soft, flexible keys, it’s designed to apply the control of an acoustic instrument to world of the electronic, while offering different sounds depending on where each is played. Plus the whole thing looks like it was designed by a less twisted HR Giger.
The Seaboard is due in a limited, handmade run of 88 this April.
Resolution15: Svaha (1/15/13)
Resolution15 plays metal — thrashing, chugging metal. The band’s riffs aren’t performed on guitar, however, but rather on Earl Maneein’s seven-string violin.
Now, in partnership with Guitar World, Maneein is giving a lesson on how to bring out the power of a relatively untapped instrument. Through the band’s track “Mr. Dark,” he discusses speed, string crossings, muscle memory, and more. Watch it below.
Babymetal: Headbangya EP (Toy’s Factory, 7/4/12)
It’s Friday. It’s been a long week. ALARM is here for you.
Formed as an offshoot of Japanese idol group Sakura Gakuin, Babymetal makes J-pop “dance metal” with teenage girls chanting bubblegum-style vocals over speed riffs and classical melodies. The video for “Headbangya” is no less insane, and though it came out last summer, we felt the need to share.
Grab your neck brace. You’re welcome.
Ghost BC: Infestissumam (Loma Vista, 4/9/13)
The Pope has quit, and the position needs to be filled. It seems only right to elect the most devout man in rock, Papa Emeritus II, front-man for Swedish occult-metal band Ghost BC.
The band, made up of Emeritus and five Nameless Ghouls, posted the awesome poster below as well as a new track, “Year Zero,” available for streaming for the cost of a vote in Papa’s favor. Go listen to it; it evokes “Ave Satani” of The Omen and sets the whole thing to Ghost’s graveyard-heavy sound.
MHz Legacy: s/t (Man Bites Dog, 10/30/12)
Since the release of its long-awaited reunion album in October, rap collective MHz Legacy has been busy. The group has held a fan remix contest and has steadily released videos for tracks from the record. That continues with “Satisfaction” by Copywrite and RJD2, featuring Slug of Atmosphere.
Julianna Barwick’s musical style lies somewhere between the collective voice of a choir and what the ghost of a pod of whales might sound like. Consisting of loops and wordless vocalizations that recall a higher-pitched cousin of throat singing, it’s a decidedly unique listening experience.
Cult of Luna: Vertikal (Density, 1/29/13)
Swedish post-metal band Cult of Luna only debuted the official video for album closer “Passing Through” last month, but it has already filmed a follow-up. And it might outdo the official video for sheer impressiveness and beauty.
During the 1970s commune boom, a charismatic man known as Father Yod founded a vegetarian restaurant in Los Angeles. Named The Source, this and his background in several religious movements led to Yod attracting a group of followers who viewed him as both father figure and spiritual guru. This “family” went on to form a psychedelic rock group known as Ya Ho Wa 13 but was forced to flee to Hawaii when local authorities began questioning its unconventional activities. Barely a year later, Yod died in a hang-gliding accident.
This is an abbreviated history of The Source Family.
