Stylophone™ Present

Stylophone™ /’stΛilofoΩn/ n. Also S-. M20. [f. STYLE n. + -o- + -PHONE. Cf. XYLOPHONE.] A miniature electronic musical instrument producing a distinctive buzzing sound when a stylus is drawn across its metal keyboard.

The Oxford English Dictionary, 1993

There are not many electronic toys that can lay claim to having a definition in the Oxford English Dictionary…

The Stylophone™ is now a cult item, widely recognised and hailed by many as having been a vital part of the process that spawned modern electronic music. Despite it’s now slightly outdated design and it’s less than hi-fi sound output, this little plastic gadget has become much more than the sum of it’s diodes and transistors.
  Simply putting the word 'Stylophone™' into any Internet search engine will, at a glance, give you an idea of the scale of the influence of this revolutionary little instrument. While collectors fight bidding wars over the things on Internet auction sites, the ‘Los Angeles Stylophonic Orchestra’ plays to packed venues across the western US. The Stylophone™ is not just a product… it is a phenomenon.

For some twenty years+ after production of the Stylophone™ ceased in the mid 1970's the product drifted into obscurity; left, metaphorically and physically, in the public's bedroom cupboard.

As with so many novelty/toy products of yesteryear however, the cycle of fashion and nostalgia eventually caught up with the Stylophone™ and in the late 1990's it started making a come-back in the media and in the public consciousness. Of course the musicians and die-hard fans stayed true to the Stylophone™, with it making appearances in many mainstream tracks including work by Pulp, Orbital and Kraftwerk to name but a few.

By the early 21st century the signs of a come-back were hard to miss. From the BBC TV show 'I love the seventies' which explored the history of the instrument through to it appearing on the inside cover of the Ministry of Sound's annual. Ben Jarvis decided now was the time to 'do something' with the Stylophone™ brand and, after discussing the idea with both Brian Jarvis and Burt Coleman, he re-formed dübreq and set about launching a new product bearing the Stylophone™ name.

So what does the future hold for the Stylophone™?

Given the success of the new Stylophone™ S1 product launch the future looks rosy. If you want to know more about the new Stylophone™ products take a look at:

Stylophone™ S1
Stylophone™ S2