Although technological innovations enable digital synthesizers and keyboards to create more realistic sounds as well as enable more musicians to easily operate them, there has been new group of musicians emerging who prefer creating their own sounds by way of older analog synthesizers. This trend has led to an overall spike in the synth market (Wissmuller). Rule, Swenson, and Reesman profile a wide array of newer bands that choose to use Moog synthesizers and the older sounds they produce. After what they describe as a “hi-tech meltdown,” moog synthesizers experienced a decline in popularity in the late 1980s and 90s (Rule et al. 27). Below are a few examples that chose to use the Moog in spite of this.
Mystic Moog Orchestra
The authors interviewed Warren Defever, who is a musician and the producer of the Mystic Moog Orchestra This all-Moog band spawned from the fact that Moog synthesizers were not difficult to acquire, at least in Michigan, where the band was based. Defever and his band mates acquired Moog synths from pawn-shops for low prices, due to the shop-owner’s indifference, or perhaps inability to see the value in the instrument.The band consisted of, at most, 17 different Moog synthesizers on stage. Defever explains his obsession with the Moog, and why he felt inclined to start a group based on the instrument itself: “”People I know claim that my main Moog is broken. We did a show where all the guys with Moog Prodigys stood next to each other and played. I set all my knobs exactly the same as the guy to the left of me, and a completely different sound came out. Then I set all my knobs exactly the same as the guy to the right of me, and no sound came out.” ( Rule et al. 28). The Moog is exciting in its unpredictability; you may never get the same sound twice. This kind of uniqueness appeals to many musicians.
Tortoise
John McEntire of the band Tortoise explains the band’s use of the Moog synthesizer, especially in their 1996 album, Millions Now Living Will Never Die. In the intro to this album, Tortoise combines the sounds of acoustic instruments such as a guitar, with obscure sound effects from the Moog. There is a crackling sound, as well as high-pitched, futuristic sounding short, staccato notes with reverberation. This juxtaposition of timbres and instrumentation makes the album interesting and unique. In addition to their album recording, Tortoise played a Moog Source Synthesizer on stage but also used a digital analog to sample other synths, due to portability issues. John McEntire explains that his band finds the Moog useful because new synths aim to replicate the older analog sound, and he personally claims it is better to go directly to the source when producing such sounds (Rule et al. 30). McEntire is also quoted when he spoke on the significance of creative thinking and re-purposing musical technologies: “I think that there’s a lot of bad connotations with what people did with the instruments when they first came out. The resurgence of analog is just the process that happens when people go back and rediscover things and find new, interesting things to do with them” (Rule et al. 30).
Millions Now Living Will Never Die, second studio album by Tortoise
Mentallo & The Fixer
Another band, Mentallo & The FIxer, otherwise known as Gary and Dwayne Dassing, explains the benefits of using the Moog Synthesizer in their work. The intro to their album, Revelations 23, serves as an example of the unique sounds of the Moog put to use.
(Revelations 23)
The song opens with an eerie drowning effect, coupled with a kind of bubbling sound (Rule et al. 36). These types of sounds would be very difficult to create on a digital keyboard. Dassing explains how analog keyboards allow for a unique kind of creativity and adaptability for the artist: “Analog keyboards are really nice to work with,” says Dwayne. “Most of them have all the knobs on them and your mind flows instantly, because as soon as you think of twitching a parameter, all you have to do is turn it or push it or whatever. With digital, you’d have to go through pages of parameters, find the parameter, and then adjust it, which is more time-consuming” (Rule et al. 36). The Moog is revered for its highly customizable sound and the way that it allows artists to take creative liberties with their music.