If synthesizer’s were superheroes, Captain Moog would be fluffy, shapeshifting and beanie-clad, with secret powers no doubt including close-range lightning and other forms of wobbly terror. With an impressive Moog breeding program in place since 1963, an eventual documentary film was inevitable. ‘Moog’ by Hans Fjellestad is that film, now being distributed on DVD in Australia by Stomp Films.
Theremin-itis
The theremin was invented in 1919 by Russia’s Leon Theremin, as the first musical instrument designed to be played without being touched. The instrument consists of a box with two projecting radio antennas around which the user moves his or her hands to play, and tra-la : instant spookiness of sound. Watching performers such as Jon Spencer perform with a theremin, it can be observed that moving the left and right hand between each antenna controls either the pitch or volume of the sound, and even small movements of the hand can create a tremelo or vibrato effect. Smitten with the elegant engineering ingenuity of the theremin, one x Robert Moog constructed his own theremin in 1949, then later published a DIY theremin kit, and from such inspirations grew aspirations for creating a musical device capable of being played in the widest variety of ways. And so in 1963 Moog created the first modern, realtime playable and reconfigurable music synthesizer in 1963. Today, Moog Music not only makes the infamous Moog synthesizers, but is also the leading manufacturer of performance-quality theremins.
Dr.Robert A.Moog
“It rhymes with vogue. That is the usual German pronunciation. My father’s grandfather came from Marburg, Germany. I like the way that pronunciation sounds better than the way the cow’s “moo-g” sounds,”
— from the horses musical mouth, Dr. Robert Moog.
One of the joys of the Moog film, is seeing the fluffy white-haired creator of the machines, every bit the mad but noble scientist, interacting with a wide variety of contemporary musicians, very obviously overjoyed with seeing how each of them utilises the various nuances of his machines to craft unusual sounds. The film tries to show a glimpse of Robert Moog’s world more than anything, presenting him in deep discussion with these various musicians, and alternately musing over various philosophies and approaches to music, musical interfaces, electronic engineering and life itself. And so rather than merely an endless barrage of moog-machine-porn or historical nitpicking, Moog’s voice that propels the narrative along and provides a rich series of provocations and insights.
Of course, the diverse and crazy sounds of the moog are nonetheless well showcased, and scattered throughout the doco ( as well as in extended form in the DVD extras ) we get to see artists such as Jean-Jacques Perrey & Luke Vibert, Herb Deutsch, Bernie Worrell, Tino Corp. with Charlie Clouser, Money Mark, Mix Master Mike, Stereolab, The Album Leaf and many more – all rocking out live with various moog machines and configurations on stage. All-up a delight of a film about a true music technology pioneer, and with much to offer those interested in the weird zone where machines and music intersect.
Moog Health Update
Robert Moog since filming, suffered/discovered a brain tumor, and in May 2005 lost functioning of his left leg.
He is currently working with a nutritionist who specializes in brain tumors, and undergoing a weekly regime of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. People wishing to contact him or send well-wishes may do so at:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bobmoog.
Update 2 :
Robert Moog unfortunately passed away Aug 21, 2005. He died of a glioblastoma multiforme brain tumor at the age of 71 in Asheville, North Carolina. The Bob Moog Foundation has been created as a memorial, with the aim of continuing his life’s work of developing electronic music.
Shortly after Bob Moog’s death, it was proposed in his honor that the word Moog become the ANSI standard unit for expressing volts per octave. This term is used in reference to the exponentially-scaled voltage controlled oscillators found in analog synthesizers. The symbol is “Mg”. One Moog (1 Mg) means one volt per octave (1V/oct), which is the most common standard. Other scaling factors have been used, such as the 1.2 Moog scale of Buchla synthesizers and the Minimoog Voyager’s 0.98 Mg scaling.
jean poole