"When you're constantly looking backwards, there's something missing." -- the Icelandic classical violin maker Hans Johannsson

Music Noticing that there hasn't lately been much progress in the field of non-electronic instruments a team are crafting new wooden sound machines for the 21st century:

"The violinist held a bow and the top of an electric violin with strings, but no body. Facing him were five resonators, small wooden objects in strangely curved shapes. One looked like a sack; the others like seed pods. Each resonator was punctured by oddly shaped holes, and emitted a rather beautiful, but unusual sound, like a classical violin, but somehow different."

The photograph which accompanies the article is perfect -- unfinished alien shapes waiting for someone to create news sounds through them.