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Monday, August 22, 2005

Moog, Salute

[via the BBC]
Synthesiser pioneer Dr Robert Moog has died at his North Carolina home aged 71...

Born in the New York district of Queens, his instruments were used by The Beatles and The Doors among others.

Dr Moog built his first electronic instrument - a theremin - aged 14 and made the MiniMoog, "the first compact, easy-to-use synthesiser", in 1970.... [but i]t was Wendy Carlos' 1968 Grammy award-winning album, Switched-On Bach, which brought Dr Moog to prominence....

Before long many musicians and groups, including the Doors, the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, were using Moog synthesisers.

Dr Moog remained a respected musical figure and in recent years many musicians, including Brian Eno, Frank Zappa, The Cure, Fatboy Slim and Stereolab kept the sound alive, even as analogue synthesisers were superseded by digital instruments.

"The sound defined progressive music as we know it," said Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

In 2004, the first Moogfest was organised in New York, celebrating Dr Moog's achievements.

Organiser Charles Carlini said: "He brought electronic music to the masses and changed the way we hear music."

Salute!

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