At first glance, Roland’s Mood Pan, introduced on June 24, looks like a tambourine hooked up with some kind of baby monitoring device from a hospital maternity ward, with maybe an Instant Pot as a distant uncle. But it’s none of those things. It’s actually a high-tech, futuristic handpan—you know, the smaller, far more portable sister of the steel drum?—with a few extra bells and whistles.It’s weird, it’s wonderful, it’s white, and I want one. You can preorder it now from Sweetwater, my favorite music retailer, and it’ll ship in July.(opens in a new window)RolandMood Pan(opens in a new window)Available at SweetwaterBuy Now(opens in a new window)like a magic carpet rideThere are nine pads spread out across the top of the Mood Pan. Each can be set to a different musical scale. You play it by tapping it with your fingers or the sides of your hands, “tapping spontaneous melodies, muting sounds with a touch, and using the special control pad to add expressive colors to certain tones,” as Roland puts it.Just choose from 12 styles and 8 tones to mix up the sound you want. You can download more tones via the Mood Pan Plus app, which load into the four User settings underneath the knob.hear what it sounds like – credit: RolandIts style settings are delightfully inscrutable. “Meditation” and “Dreamy” styles are fairly obvious, if vague. But how about a “Japanese” style? Or “Aegean?”Likewise for the tones. Strings, synth, and sitar are self-explanatory. Tongue drum, though? Sure, it’s an instrument, but do you know what a tongue drum sounds like? Didn’t think so. My god, if only I’d had this as a child, I could’ve driven my mother crazy.check out the sound settings. so many selections – credit: rolandThe Mood Pan is powered by six AA batteries, which seems odd, given its size. I’d have thought it’d gobble a few Cs. You can also plug it in via the USB-C connection if you don’t mind being tethered to a charger.The Mood Pan is a very intelligent handpan, in the way that an electronic keyboard is a very smart, very digital piano. I just can’t wait for the day when I first happen across somebody playing a $660 digital handpan in the park. Then I’ll know we’re really living in the future.(opens in a new window)RolandMood Pan(opens in a new window)Available at SweetwaterBuy Now(opens in a new window)The post Introducing Mood Pan, an All-in-One Handpan and Meditation Gadget appeared first on VICE.