The steel handpan is a recent invention (original make was the 'Hang' made in Switzerland in 2000) and the first time I ever set ears on one, was in Paris in 2005, on a beautiful converted house boat on the Sienne river. For the last 9 years, I've played this wonderful instrument and recorded a few tracks with it. Most recently, I've had the fortune to own and play an American-made Halo (as seen in the video) and, as each of these fine sound sculptures has its own characteristics, it opened up even more of this fascinating steel sound world to me.