Geophone (musical instrument) Geophone (musical instrument) The geophone is a percussion instrument, invented by the French composer Olivier Messiaen for use in his large composition for piano and orchestra entitled "Des canyons aux étoiles…" ("From the canyons to the stars…"). It consists of a drum filled with thousands of small lead pellets, and is played by swirling it around slowly so that the noise of the pellets resembles the sound of dry shifting earth. Messiaen commissioned a Parisian instrument maker to construct one to his design, and he carried this instrument worldwide to early performances of the piece (which was given its first
Flim-Flam (album) be said for restraint, and the pair practice that here as well. This is a blowing date to be sure, with lots of interesting and remarkable improvisation, but both men are interested primarily in using their instruments to carry "song," which they did to the delight of the Swiss audience who heard them, and anyone who encounters this recording". All compositions by Steve Lacy Flim-Flam (album) Flim-Flam is a live album by saxophonists Steve Lacy and Steve Potts, which was recorded in Berne, Switzerland in 1986 and first released on the hat ART label in 1991. The Allmusic review by