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While frolicking in the electric forest over the weekend, I noticed a dreaded hippie strung up (in more ways than just 1) between two trees, floating above a crowd of flower-haired listeners who were bobbing their heads to an enormous backwood bass. After shimmying my way up to the stage front and fighting off hugs n drugs, I had to give my eyes a cleansing rub away to be sure I wasn’t just hallucinating the sight I stumbled upon. On stage sat a man, his face covered a quarter in fuzzy chops, tapping on what looked like an instrument crafted from metal piping one would find under their bathroom sink. Turns out That 1 Guy (aka Mike Silverman) conceptualized and crafted his 7 foot-tall, bizarre instrument from scratch using metal gears, electric buttons, bass strings and, of course, whirling piping.

Silverman’s harp-shaped, magic pipe is unlike anything recognized in the music world and he’s been developing a unique output for quite some time; recording a handful of LPs and a remix EP since the early 2000′s. Though it’s difficult to imagine That 1 Guy’s hand-built, gutbucket tool, his live performance was a real trip and his funky style had the trees bouncing to the pipe’s pulsating rhythm (or so it seemed). Whether you dig his music or not, the magic pipe is a sight to be seen and heard. Check out “The Moon is Disgusting” below and jump over to Silverman’s show schedule to catch a glimpse of the magic pipe (not to mention That 1 Guy’s wacky chops) at a city near you.