I borrowed Zero Time from a friend of mine 50 years ago, I recorded it on a cassette tape and played it to death in my car, I eventually bought the album, this is the history of my younger life. I never knew the history behind this album until now. Thank you so much for this interesting interview
I totally agree with you. This is an amazing channel and every day it just keeps getting better. Every time I think how will they ever top this, but they do.
Zero Time blew away a generation of English Hippies. At the time Stockhausen was popular, Emerson Lake and Palmer were in their early days and Dark Side of the Moon 2 years away. These sounds, this music, were from another dimension entirely and created a mystique all of their own.
Thanks again Anthony for unearthing these incredible pieces of history! Your relationships & contacts throughout the music industry are doing a great service of cataloging historic back stories that may otherwise get lost in time! I absolutely love this channel & your continuing labor of love for music and synthesizer history. Also thanks for enlightening us with musicians we may have never had knowledge of otherwise! Bravo.
Now I understand what your experiments with the Continuum are all about. MPE and MIDI 2.0 must be the key to continuing the work those three guys started all the way back in 1968.
Literally the most exciting new TH-cam discovery for me in YEARS, is this channel. Been watching for about a month. So incredible. Please keep the videos coming, I have learned so much and continue to be inspired. Thank you, Anthony.
How the hell did I miss this. I was a huge electronic music fan, still am, I was listening to Larry Fast, Tomita, Carlos, Syrnx, met Moog. Just listened to Head Band. Exquisite. Thanks.
Through Experience Hendrix, I found out from Eddie Kramer that Hendrix was never in the same room with the Moog that they bought. It sat in the booth at EL Studios and became TONTO before it was moved out.
I've had a lifelong love of synthesizers and this was one of the most beautiful interviews I've seen in a really long time. I can't wait to check out the full version. Thank you so much for sharing! 🖤
This is great stuff! I never met Bob but had the fortune to meet Malcom C when he was teaching a bit at Columbia Greene Community College and got to chat with him did the lights for an event he was putting on with his students!
This was so interesting! I know NOTHING about synthesizers but i loved hearing about this little memory he wanted to share with all of us about working with Stevie Wonder, and creating T.O.N.T.O ❤ thank you Anthony! I will be following😊
WOW! This is such a great story. I enjoyed listening to every minute of it! I had no idea there was "no Minimoog" featured in any of Stevie Wonder's hits from back then, although I do know he used the T O.N T.O on several songs during that time. Thanks for making and sharing this video!
I've often wondered who I saw at Stonehenge 1976, setting up a wardrobe sized bank of knobs, wires and electronica, in the dark. About half an hour before the solstice sunrise quiet ascending and descending sequences were beginning to come out of this marvellous box of tricks. The music was so cool and apt.
At the moment I can't think of anything other than to say thank you! Now I've to listen to any recording on which TONTO was performed. I wasn't even born when TONTO was born. Of course we know Devo, Stevie W. anyway, but I admittedly haven't listened to a whole album by either of them yet. 🥴
Malcolm Cecil moved T.O.N.T.O. to his Laurel Canyon home. It was located in a room unto itself when I was there early ‘90’s. He was a very nice guy, a proper gentleman, and worked on producing LA artists. He opened his studio to accomplishing good music. Think of a musical Gandalf, and you’d be fairly close.
I was sold on this channel not by title of this video but by the wonderful and concise 1min introduction without cut/edits. Makes it human and non AI. Subbed and looking forward to exploring more of your stuff :-)
Incredible story... I will see the long vid asap. Thanks Anthony to let us know the details. I need to check all the records you mentioned, it will be an exciting exploration
Liked & subbed.Thank You for a Great interveiw on the history of Tonto .Friend from highschool bought Tonto's expanding Headband in 72.Those were Cosmic Days.
wowsers, an interview with robert margouleff! zero time blew me away when i was younger and digging crates for older synth albums. i could've listened to robert tell stories for hours. anthony, there is a rhythm to interviewing as there is in music. listen more and you'll find the right pace and the correct spots for questions. i do appreciate your enthusiasm and energy as it is the motor that drives this exploratory vessel into the sonic universe of synths! now i have to go and watch the full episode. thanks again for this channel 😊
Great stuff! While watching and listening, as a Dutchman I was vividly recalling compatriot Johan Timman, also standing in front of such a wall of synths. “Trip into the body” …early 80’s 👍🏻
I've been following your channel since pretty early on, and I just want to express my gratitude. I'm learning so much and enjoy your videos immensely. Your content is getting better and better! Being a long time Stevie Wonder fan, I've heard so much about TONTO... thanks so much for providing this unique insight into it!
I got to go Listen to this music ...I have heard Stevie Wonder but after this I want to Listen again ,,,now knowing this .I want to hear the whole 27 mins of Aurora ...
It always felt as if it was 27 minutes....loved that album, that piece in particular...and my Hashish.... ....ha, i was thinking of "Riversong", what a gorgeous piece of music.
Agency work... especially back in the day... can pay really nicely. You just have to be willing to float them for net 90s or even 120s. But once the checks start coming in, that TONTO budget seems doable.
Anthony Marinelli, you are very knowledgeable and the content you do is great. However, you need to become a better interviewer. Some times you are speaking on top of the other person and you miss some good opportunities to ask questions related to the topic the other person is wanting to speak about, preferring to ask your own curiosity. Other 10/10 in content and video quality.
Such a visual nod to (albeit nod forward to the future) Chromeo's new mega system encased in the reflective shard like cases. Design wise also brings to mind one of Larry Fast's Synergy album covers. When Larry released that famous early '80s album, were there do-it-yourself cases that looked that huge and so like blades? Also. Look at the new uber-massive case design by Erica Synths. Same blade-like, shard-like bevel. Or as a nod back in time - Buchla's own original cases for the system 1. Go Rugrats!
I didn't get to hear the Zero Time until the early 1980's, I was a Punk Rocker who liked Devo/Cab/Metal Urbain/Suicide. Zero Time knocked me out, our drummer who was a Punk from 1976 went to a Hippy drug party and came back the Tonto album, traded it for some magic mushrooms, pure genius of an album. We used the composition 'Jet Sex' as an into to our New Wave band; called the 'Wreckers' (comic characters from 200AD Judge Dred stories) when we came stage to play. River Song is a most Beautiful piece, ever.
I've seen TONTO in our National Music Centre. It really is a sight to behold, and while I didn't get to hear it in person, it is indeed one heck of an instrument!
great background information, i have a copy of Zero Time and often wondered weather the machine used was 'bespoke' so interesting to find it was a bunch of production synths all strung together. I used Moogs back in the 80's when they cheaper to buy second hand than at any other time, they all had some sort of faults and the power supplies were a nightmare when adapted to UK power supply. (do a sound check then the audience would arrive, temp and humidity would alter and the moog would decide to make completely different sounds!) I eventually moved to a Yamaha CS30 which i still have and is so reliable in terms of drift (once you have waited 30 minutes for it to stabilise) Of course the Yamaha came out in the late 70's so had the benefit of many years of development. Wondering about control voltages and the problem of some synths having a differing cv range for an octave, was this an issue with TONTO?
As a late teenager in the early 70's I remember walking by EL for the first time and seeing that brown brick barrel vault facade (12:22). I wasn't looking for it , just walking across 8th street ( a major village cross street ) and recognized it from an album cover I had seen with a picture of the front of the studio . Suddenly I went into some kind of time warp and then as I slowly recovered I remember saying to myself " could this really be IT ? " as the place was so nondescript with no sign out front . I stopped and walked back a few paces and there on the door was a little metal plaque with the words " Electric Ladyland" on it. Looked at it for about twenty seconds feeling somehow I could become ghost-like and pass through that door. Never have forgotten that day and the realization of what the music had subconsciously done to me to put me in that state. Ironically about a decade later I was living on Sixth Ave next to the Waverly Theater just a few blocks south. The studio is thankfully still there but as in a lot of NYC glass has replaced the masonry so it is no longer as recognizable. Just as Tin Pan Alley was this building is a massive landmark in music history and needs to be preserved as such along with Dylan's first apartment a couple blocks away. . I'm going to look to see where I put my Expanding Headband album as I did not know of the connection between the two.Thanks for bringing me back.
Stevie is the definition of Go Big or Go Home. But on the real, I appreciate the pitch bender. I won't even buy a board if it doesn't have the wheels or toggle shifter.
5 Classic albums of that era, not 4 4 are celebrated but it was 5 Music of my mind Talking Book Innervisions First fullfillingness finale Songs in the key of life
I’m always reminded when I revisit early all-synth works how much intonation shapes that music. As much as synth builders tried to stabilize oscillators to fit into equal tempered scales, electronic music of that era had so much drift, portamento and non-pure 3rds and 6ths that it was like hearing non-western microtonal scales for the first time. It takes time for the ear to adjust. But once it does the music becomes unique and emotional. Very different from today’s locked-tuning quantized-everything electronic music.
Tontos Expanding Head Band......Riversong....Tama.....yes, i do remember....what a great time we had in our 20s in the 1990s, exploring so much music back then, buying albums, meeting friends and smoke and just listen to music...or make music......
That’s my time and I got so crazy with sounds I loved what S. Wonder is doing.At the music store there was S.Wonder photo with ARP 2600 I spent hours just dreaming if I will put my fingers on that ARP.Lately we have Roland SH-5 and it do a lot .
I borrowed Zero Time from a friend of mine 50 years ago, I recorded it on a cassette tape and played it to death in my car, I eventually bought the album, this is the history of my younger life. I never knew the history behind this album until now. Thank you so much for this interesting interview
You are creating an archive of electronic music history with these videos! You really leave a legacy behind! Thank you!
What an experience to have someone like Stevie drop by and catapult their dream.
This channel is so important and I am so happy this has been documented.
So much valuable information right here, thanks to everyone involved ❤
I totally agree with you. This is an amazing channel and every day it just keeps getting better.
Every time I think how will they ever top this, but they do.
"He went completely bonkers." These stories are great. Best channel on TH-cam right now
Agreed 🤘😃👍
Zero Time blew away a generation of English Hippies.
At the time Stockhausen was popular,
Emerson Lake and Palmer were in their early days and Dark Side of the Moon 2 years away.
These sounds, this music, were from another dimension entirely and created a mystique all of their own.
It’s amazing how the custom cases are just as iconic as the synths themselves
Very true. Without that it would be looking and not being interesting just like Klaus Schulze synth studio.
Thanks again Anthony for unearthing these incredible pieces of history! Your relationships & contacts throughout the music industry are doing a great service of cataloging historic back stories that may otherwise get lost in time! I absolutely love this channel & your continuing labor of love for music and synthesizer history. Also thanks for enlightening us with musicians we may have never had knowledge of otherwise! Bravo.
Who needs a Mini Moog when you have a Maxi Moog?? Long live the Maxi Moog! 😁
😂
I need a Maxi Moog
You can't have too many Moogs, dude.
@@ArmaGeddon-iu1vvhahahahahahahaha!
😂😂😂
Cecil's work with Gil Scott-Heron is some of my favorite also. Delta Man.
I love the creative spirit behind TONTO, what an exciting time it must have been for those guys. Great interview!
Now I understand what your experiments with the Continuum are all about. MPE and MIDI 2.0 must be the key to continuing the work those three guys started all the way back in 1968.
"There's no Minimoog" 😂 Thanks Anthony!
Literally the most exciting new TH-cam discovery for me in YEARS, is this channel. Been watching for about a month. So incredible. Please keep the videos coming, I have learned so much and continue to be inspired. Thank you, Anthony.
How the hell did I miss this. I was a huge electronic music fan, still am, I was listening to Larry Fast, Tomita, Carlos, Syrnx, met Moog. Just listened to Head Band. Exquisite. Thanks.
Through Experience Hendrix, I found out from Eddie Kramer that Hendrix was never in the same room with the Moog that they bought. It sat in the booth at EL Studios and became TONTO before it was moved out.
I've had a lifelong love of synthesizers and this was one of the most beautiful interviews I've seen in a really long time. I can't wait to check out the full version. Thank you so much for sharing! 🖤
my dad had tontos expanding headband on LP .. really loved it as a 90s kit i was into my techno so loved this link to my fathers genre of classic rock
This is great stuff! I never met Bob but had the fortune to meet Malcom C when he was teaching a bit at Columbia Greene Community College and got to chat with him did the lights for an event he was putting on with his students!
There's room for so many different kinds of talent, in electronic music. Great interview!
Absolutely love everything about this channel! Thanks for all of this Anthony.
I appreciate your love of music and commitment to sharing that love. Great video.
I live a couple hours drive from TONTOs home. One day, I plan to visit and get some play time.
Is that a thing? You just go and play it?
@@funkingitup1805 Gotta schedule play time, but yes essentially. It’s at the National Music Centre in Calgary.
@@funkingitup1805 It's in a museum. You can look at it. You won't get to play it
Love that final reinforcement about 'no Minimoog' !
No Minimoog…
There’s
No
Minimoog…!
😂
That’s an amazing orchestra of synths thank you for sharing. Interesting information . Fabulous.❤
This was so interesting! I know NOTHING about synthesizers but i loved hearing about this little memory he wanted to share with all of us about working with Stevie Wonder, and creating T.O.N.T.O ❤ thank you Anthony! I will be following😊
Thanks for the great video Anthony.
Thank Anthony to bring and share that beautiful music history of synthesizer pioneers, I love watch your videos always learn❤
I saw Malcolm perform with Tonto in Venice, CA. 1982 maybe. Took up a truck. I still have the LP he autographed for me.
If they made the T.O.N.T.O. into a vst plugin, I would definitely pay for that.
WOW! This is such a great story. I enjoyed listening to every minute of it! I had no idea there was "no Minimoog" featured in any of Stevie Wonder's hits from back then, although I do know he used the T O.N T.O on several songs during that time.
Thanks for making and sharing this video!
Brilliant entertaining and thought provoking stories, keep em coming
Another one of your videos that's left me with my jaw on the floor. Thank you! This was phenomenal to watch. What an amazing instrument!
Such an enlightening interview and another deep dive into this fascinating world of synths and people.
Thanks a lot Anthony
Great Video! Listen to Steve Hillage " Motivation Radio" .
You can hear Malcolm Cecil playing TONTO!
I've often wondered who I saw at Stonehenge 1976, setting up a wardrobe sized bank of knobs, wires and electronica, in the dark. About half an hour before the solstice sunrise quiet ascending and descending sequences were beginning to come out of this marvellous box of tricks. The music was so cool and apt.
Super!!! Thank You!! The long version is very interesting too! You rock, guys!
At the moment I can't think of anything other than to say thank you! Now I've to listen to any recording on which TONTO was performed. I wasn't even born when TONTO was born. Of course we know Devo, Stevie W. anyway, but I admittedly haven't listened to a whole album by either of them yet. 🥴
God I love this stuff. It’s so amazing to get this… like historical texture.
Malcolm Cecil moved T.O.N.T.O. to his Laurel Canyon home. It was located in a room unto itself when I was there early ‘90’s. He was a very nice guy, a proper gentleman, and worked on producing LA artists. He opened his studio to accomplishing good music. Think of a musical Gandalf, and you’d be fairly close.
Let the guy talk.
Yup at 2:28 I was like wtf was that
no mini moog! lol
you mean the guy who makes 27 minute songs? naw he will always need some editing.. 😛
it's fine, it's conversational
I appreciate the feedback, learning so much from guests and viewers!
I was sold on this channel not by title of this video but by the wonderful and concise 1min introduction without cut/edits. Makes it human and non AI. Subbed and looking forward to exploring more of your stuff :-)
Thank you, Malcolm & Robert you were such an inspiration to this Wookiee.
One video after another! truly captivating. Thank you Anthony.
Incredible story... I will see the long vid asap. Thanks Anthony to let us know the details. I need to check all the records you mentioned, it will be an exciting exploration
I loved this. I'm going to have to watch the full video.
Liked & subbed.Thank You for a Great interveiw on the history of Tonto .Friend from highschool bought Tonto's expanding Headband in 72.Those were Cosmic Days.
wowsers, an interview with robert margouleff! zero time blew me away when i was younger and digging crates for older synth albums. i could've listened to robert tell stories for hours. anthony, there is a rhythm to interviewing as there is in music. listen more and you'll find the right pace and the correct spots for questions. i do appreciate your enthusiasm and energy as it is the motor that drives this exploratory vessel into the sonic universe of synths! now i have to go and watch the full episode. thanks again for this channel 😊
I've spent many hours with Tonto, in the basement of Mark's studio on Sunset Blvd. I've absolutely got to find my pics!!!
Great stuff! While watching and listening, as a Dutchman I was vividly recalling compatriot Johan Timman, also standing in front of such a wall of synths. “Trip into the body” …early 80’s 👍🏻
I've been following your channel since pretty early on, and I just want to express my gratitude. I'm learning so much and enjoy your videos immensely. Your content is getting better and better! Being a long time Stevie Wonder fan, I've heard so much about TONTO... thanks so much for providing this unique insight into it!
I got to go Listen to this music ...I have heard Stevie Wonder but after this I want to Listen again ,,,now knowing this .I want to hear the whole 27 mins of Aurora ...
It always felt as if it was 27 minutes....loved that album, that piece in particular...and my Hashish....
....ha, i was thinking of "Riversong", what a gorgeous piece of music.
I got Zero Time as soon as it came out as a 12 year old and repurchased in digital format a few years ago. I still love it too.
What a great video preserving history. Anthony great job on an awesome video.
Anthony, you need to get in touch with synth historian Tom Rhea and interview him.
That was really enjoyable to watch!
R.A.Moog was making XY joystick controllers back in 1968-69 but they weren't too popular. A few still exist and some people used them into Minimoogs.
Fantastic overview, Thanks
Agency work... especially back in the day... can pay really nicely. You just have to be willing to float them for net 90s or even 120s. But once the checks start coming in, that TONTO budget seems doable.
Thanks for your work sharing these important and amazing stories from the history of Synthesizers. 💜
Anthony Marinelli, you are very knowledgeable and the content you do is great. However, you need to become a better interviewer. Some times you are speaking on top of the other person and you miss some good opportunities to ask questions related to the topic the other person is wanting to speak about, preferring to ask your own curiosity. Other 10/10 in content and video quality.
YOU make the mistake of thinking he’s interviewing. No, sir. This man’s brain is free range feral cats. You HAVE to pen him in this way.
Malcomn in the middle was part of this dudes process 🙏
Pro! 👍
Such a visual nod to (albeit nod forward to the future) Chromeo's new mega system encased in the reflective shard like cases. Design wise also brings to mind one of Larry Fast's Synergy album covers. When Larry released that famous early '80s album, were there do-it-yourself cases that looked that huge and so like blades? Also. Look at the new uber-massive case design by Erica Synths. Same blade-like, shard-like bevel. Or as a nod back in time - Buchla's own original cases for the system 1. Go Rugrats!
What an AMAZING story 😮
Great answer to why would you play live ! Why ? Why not?
I think you missed the opportunity to ask Malcolm if they used a Minimoog back on Stevies albums... next time ;)
Ha Ha, and me looking at my Minimoog, wishing he would finally say yes.
Amazing Synth story! Thanks you for that video!
hippies created the most amazing synthesizers in history
Priceless. Love that time machine. Greetings from Poland!
I didn't get to hear the Zero Time until the early 1980's, I was a Punk Rocker who liked Devo/Cab/Metal Urbain/Suicide. Zero Time knocked me out, our drummer who was a Punk from 1976 went to a Hippy drug party and came back the Tonto album, traded it for some magic mushrooms, pure genius of an album. We used the composition 'Jet Sex' as an into to our New Wave band; called the 'Wreckers' (comic characters from 200AD Judge Dred stories) when we came stage to play. River Song is a most Beautiful piece, ever.
‘It’s About Time’ remains one of the great electronic albums- it still gets regular play in the car.
Excellent content, Mr. Marinelli!
I have a copy of the Zero Time album myself. Great fun!
'Zero Time' was one of the first albums I bought in the very early 1970s. I still love it, that and 'It's About Time'.
This is one of the craziest, epicest stories I've ever heard. "Stars lined up" for those guys. 😮
That was so so wonderful!!! Thank you.
Your stuff is soooooooooooo good. Keep it coming we love it
Great document! Thanks! Got to meet Malcolm at Mark Mothersbaugh's house and stupidly only talked to him about his work with Steve Hillage!
I've seen TONTO in our National Music Centre. It really is a sight to behold, and while I didn't get to hear it in person, it is indeed one heck of an instrument!
Calgary right? I heard they have Tonto there..if true I gotta see it. I have loved that set up since I watched Phantom of the Paradise
@@SwanDigEnt yes indeed. Studio Bell.
@@Devo_gx Guess where I am going next time I am in town. lol
I lover the videos you've been putting out. Thanks Anthony!
Thank you for sharing. These are amazing historical learnings.
Just wonderful! What a vibe.
great background information, i have a copy of Zero Time and often wondered weather the machine used was 'bespoke' so interesting to find it was a bunch of production synths all strung together. I used Moogs back in the 80's when they cheaper to buy second hand than at any other time, they all had some sort of faults and the power supplies were a nightmare when adapted to UK power supply. (do a sound check then the audience would arrive, temp and humidity would alter and the moog would decide to make completely different sounds!) I eventually moved to a Yamaha CS30 which i still have and is so reliable in terms of drift (once you have waited 30 minutes for it to stabilise) Of course the Yamaha came out in the late 70's so had the benefit of many years of development. Wondering about control voltages and the problem of some synths having a differing cv range for an octave, was this an issue with TONTO?
As a late teenager in the early 70's I remember walking by EL for the first time and seeing that brown brick barrel vault facade (12:22). I wasn't looking for it , just walking across 8th street ( a major village cross street ) and recognized it from an album cover I had seen with a picture of the front of the studio . Suddenly I went into some kind of time warp and then as I slowly recovered I remember saying to myself " could this really be IT ? " as the place was so nondescript with no sign out front . I stopped and walked back a few paces and there on the door was a little metal plaque with the words " Electric Ladyland" on it. Looked at it for about twenty seconds feeling somehow I could become ghost-like and pass through that door. Never have forgotten that day and the realization of what the music had subconsciously done to me to put me in that state. Ironically about a decade later I was living on Sixth Ave next to the Waverly Theater just a few blocks south. The studio is thankfully still there but as in a lot of NYC glass has replaced the masonry so it is no longer as recognizable. Just as Tin Pan Alley was this building is a massive landmark in music history and needs to be preserved as such along with Dylan's first apartment a couple blocks away. . I'm going to look to see where I put my Expanding Headband album as I did not know of the connection between the two.Thanks for bringing me back.
Stevie is the definition of Go Big or Go Home. But on the real, I appreciate the pitch bender. I won't even buy a board if it doesn't have the wheels or toggle shifter.
Interesting, thanks as usual Anthony :)
Loved the Mutron. A buddy of mine had one and I was always using it with my Rhodes. Awesome.
5 Classic albums of that era, not 4
4 are celebrated but it was 5
Music of my mind
Talking Book
Innervisions
First fullfillingness finale
Songs in the key of life
My all time favorite stevie albums
Thanks for posting this bit of music history!
I’m always reminded when I revisit early all-synth works how much intonation shapes that music. As much as synth builders tried to stabilize oscillators to fit into equal tempered scales, electronic music of that era had so much drift, portamento and non-pure 3rds and 6ths that it was like hearing non-western microtonal scales for the first time. It takes time for the ear to adjust. But once it does the music becomes unique and emotional. Very different from today’s locked-tuning quantized-everything electronic music.
In our garage band, I had the MiniMoog. Even though it was mono, it added a lot of depth to our nascent sound....1977.
Great video man , love it
At 7:04 that's an amazing building.
Their real age, origin and how they were designed and built is still a mystery.
Tontos Expanding Head Band......Riversong....Tama.....yes, i do remember....what a great time we had in our 20s in the 1990s, exploring so much music back then, buying albums, meeting friends and smoke and just listen to music...or make music......
This was truly awesome. Thank you.
Phantom of the Paradise?
Yeah, (sigh.) Tonto was pretty much a character in POTP, to be sure.
Thankyou for your great video content Anthony !
That’s my time and I got so crazy with sounds I loved what S. Wonder is doing.At the music store there was S.Wonder photo with ARP 2600 I spent hours just dreaming if I will put my fingers on that ARP.Lately we have Roland SH-5 and it do a lot .
Amazing interview, thank you!
Tonto! Subbed. Wait. Anyway, Mother Mallard was an early user of the Minimoog.
We gotta go for a visit, Anthony. I think Bob’s ready.
Yes we do!
I have heard Stevie used a mini moog. Oh the lies that get passed around. Thank you for clearing this up. Amazing device