Synthesizers
Louis and Bebe Barron didn't play instruments — they tortured them. Inspired by cybernetics, the duo built circuits with "nervous systems" only to overload them to death. The recorded "dying screams" of burning circuits became the score for "Forbidden Planet" — a sound so alien that the Musicians' Union officially forbade calling it music.
From the Telharmonium, which streamed sound over telephone wires at the end of the 19th century, to music written by AI.
Scroll down - that is how you move through time in a straight line. The [INFLUENCE] mode in the top menu reveals connections: who begat whom and how concepts shaped each other. To explore the influences deeper, switch to [HORIZON VIEW].
The site makes sound - and you can even play on those sounds. If the sound gets in the way, just turn it off in the top menu.
Interactive timeline of electronic music history, from the 200-ton Telharmonium (1897) to neural audio.