Stylophones? Boring. Moogs, you say? Old news. The future of music lies not in these archaic playthings, but in the Beamz Music Performance System, an instrument so futuristic that it makes the Theremin look like a prehistoric twig.

Revealed this week to a flurry of excitement from gadget-geek communities, the harp-like device not only looks like a huge W-shaped alien (one that you can plug into your PC or Mac), but it also plays pre-recorded samples and loops when you run your hands through its laser beams.

Amazing! "Musical instruments haven't been this space age since Rolf Harris locked himself in his shed and invented the stylophone!" frothed ElectricPig.tv. However, coolest-Gadgets.com was more measured. "This laser harp is not your traditional musical instrument," it monotoned, before adjusting its spectacles and smoothing down its slacks.

Odd electronic instruments like the Laser Harp have a rich history, and they are also back in fashion. Blame Alison Goldfrapp, who gave new life to the instrument first made by Leon Theremin in 1919, by making the metal antennae squeal with the motions of her crotch. Then shout at Jonny Greenwood for his love of the spooky ondes Martenot, a French instrument made of a keyboard and sliding control. Invented in 1928 and used by Greenwood on Radiohead's last four albums, it has also been fiddled with whooshily by Jarvis Cocker and Gorillaz.

Robert Moog's crazy synthesisers have been brought back to the mainstream by Muse, and even the stylophone itself got a revival last October. Toy companies Re:creation and Dubreq relaunched it with an MP3 input for the Christmas market. I blame that spooky-sound-loving Dr Who demographic, the weird musical treasure trove that is eBay, and bands such as Hot Chip who love all things retrofuturistic. Because for them, heaven isn't full of angels plucking golden strings. They're all dancing in the laser lights, aren't they?