These futuristic musical instruments look weird and exotic, and are easy for anyone to play

“Taking extra or discarded materials and turning them into musical instruments; I’m seeing more and more of that entering the mainstream,” Albert says. “They are beautiful pieces of art, and they look really cool.”

The most literal example of upcycling is the People’s Choice Award winner, Lithium. Creator Latif Martin, a Montreal-based builder, musician, and author of the Cyclepunk comic book series, says he got the idea after ripping off a bicycle cord in a bike shop. Combining this with guitar strings instead of spokes resulted in a circular playing surface that could be played by plucking or bowing.

“I would say it’s a love affair between the dulcimer, the harp and the steel pan,” Martin says. “They had a three-way relationship, and this is lithium.”

Unpredictability is inevitable when you’re presenting with unconventional props. There was a sense of chaos from performances that seemed fundamentally human. For participants, this was the goal.

“This world specifically needs more experimental instruments,” says Berlin-based musician Michael Doron, who created the third-place entry Vertu, an analog electric instrument that uses electromagnetic gloves and rotating tone wheels. “It’s important, in a world that’s moving so much towards mediocre consoles and computer-based electronic gadgets, to have something real to play with.”

Fifth-time contestant Krzysztof Cybulski, a music teacher in Poland and creator of the Post Digital Sax machine, says artificial intelligence will have the toughest time replacing humans in shows. “This is the area where we can still survive.”

Winning the competition isn’t always everything for the musical instrument creators involved. Previous Guthman contenders include the expressive Roli Seaboard, Artiphon Orba, and Teenage Engineering’s very popular OP-1. None of these won, but they went on to become successful, full-fledged products.

“Everyone wants to win because it’s about the money,” Albert says. “The beauty of it really is when you get all these creative people in town for a weekend, having a good time. You see people start making connections, start checking out each other’s tools. It’s a lot of fun exchanging information and excitement.”