Will Gregory: My Favourite Synthesizers

video upload by Sound On Sound magazine

This one is in via John L Rice.

"Composer, producer and one half of Goldfrapp, electronic musician Will Gregory has an amazing collection of modern and vintage synthesizers, including the ultra-rare Korg PS-3300 polysynth. In our latest video feature, Will opens up about the instruments that mean the most to him — and shows us how great they can sound in the right hands. Did you know you could play a Minimoog using a Yamaha WX7 Wind Controller?

00:00 - Start
00:16 - Intro with Will Gregory
02:20 - Roland Jupiter-4
06:40 - Composition and Production Process
08:05 - Minimoog with Yamaha WX7 Wind Controller
13:52 - Improvising with Hard Disk Recording
15:48 - Electronic Dream Plant Wasp
18:48 - Korg PS-3300 Polysynth
24:54 - Unexpected Results
27:05 - Moog Polymoog
32:05 - Outro

Goldfrapp - https://www.goldfrapp.com
Moog Ensemble - https://willgregorymoogensemble.co.uk"

Moog Minimoog Model D Back In Production

video upload by Moog Music Inc

Update: Factory build video added further below.

"In collaboration with Moog Music, the Will Gregory Moog Ensemble presents “Archimedes Screw,” a live performance from 11 musicians—with each of the 10 keyboardists using their own Model D to add layers of sound to the composition as it builds.

From the onset of the video, the stage is set: a mix of vintage and modern Minimoogs line the chancel of The Mount Without, a historic chapel in Bristol, UK. The acoustics of the space provide a warm depth to the sound of Minimoogs produced from every era they have been manufactured.

Utilizing MIDI integration for the 2016 and 2022 reissues, and MIDI-to-CV converters for the vintage units involved in this performance, the Moog Ensemble highlights the modern features alongside the classic sound. According to the group’s musical director and composer, Will Gregory, the instrument’s enhancements expand Model D’s realm of sonic possibility.

'The MIDI aspect of these instruments enables us to open polyrhythmic possibilities between the 10 parts that would be beyond humans to reproduce otherwise. Our hands become free for sound sculpting as we perform by manipulating the filter, resonance, modulation, and envelope controls in pairs. Both these aspects are very important to how I see the Moog Ensemble breaking new ground in live performance and simultaneously giving a more expressive and warm creation.'

'Archimedes Screw' demonstrates Model D’s timeless sound, playability, and relevance as a powerful musical tool for live performance. The Moog Ensemble manifesto, Gregory shares, is very much about live performance as a living breathing unit of musicians listening and responding together.

Will Gregory discusses his connection with the instrument and shares more details on how the ensemble composed this piece from a technical perspective on Moog’s website (moogmusic.com).

Goldfrapp’s Will Gregory is one of the UK’s leading advocates of using synthesizers and electronic instruments to create new sounds and reinvent old ones. Leading and performing with the Moog Ensemble since 2005, Gregory and its rotating contributors—which includes Adrian Utley of Portishead—perform a mixture of specially composed music, transcriptions of classical works, and their own versions of music from popular culture and film scores. “Archimedes Screw” will be featured on the debut Will Gregory Moog Ensemble album coming out via Mute Records in 2023.

More about the Will Gregory Moog Ensemble: https://willgregorymoogensemble.co.uk"

Moog Minimoog Model D : 2022 Edition : Vintage Analog Synthesizer

video upload by Perfect Circuit

Grab a Minimoog Model D today : https://bit.ly/3EhyVBw Read more about the legacy on our blog : https://bit.ly/3V0W5ml More Moog : https://bit.ly/3EfHm0c

"The Minimoog Model D Returns
We're excited to announce that the legendary Minimoog Model D analog synthesizer is back in production here at the Moog factory!

Originally released in 1970, the Minimoog Model D changed the face of modern music and has served as the archetype for all synthesizers that followed.

A groundbreaking innovation, the Minimoog was quickly embraced by a diverse roster of artists, such as Herbie Hancock, Kraftwerk, Jan Hammer, Sun Ra, Giorgio Moroder, Parliament Funkadelic, Pink Floyd, and Gary Numan—all shaping unique sounds and forging new genres with the instrument.

With Model D now back in production and available to order worldwide, this beloved, iconic instrument returns to inspire the next generation of electronic musicians."

Minimoog Model D | Live Build | From the Moog Factory

video upload by Moog Music Inc

The Moog Concordance - Charlemagne Palestine

via @moogmusicinc

""I'm the oldest Moogist in here..." The great Charlemagne Palestine at his super sonorous show @BarbicanCentre #Moog"

via TimeOut:

"Three days of innovative synth music at the Barbican
A three-day series at the Barbican marking ten years since the death of Dr Robert Moog, inventor of the classic modular synthesizer that kickstarted electronic music in the ’60s. It all starts on Wednesday night with sets by Goldfrapp’s Will Gregory and his Moog Ensemble, performing everything from Bach to Burt Bacharach, and contemporary composer Charlemagne Palestine premiering a new piece.

Thursday’s headliners are cult New York synth-punk duo Suicide with a show called ‘A Punk Mass’, featuring new material and fan favourites. Finally, on Friday, there’s a performance by one of the Moog’s most famous exponents: prog keyboard wizard Keith Emerson, teaming up with the BBC Concert Orchestra to perform his typically bombastic ‘Three Fates Project’. Book early, and make sure you know how to pronounce that name: it rhymes with ‘vogue’, not ‘fugue’."

Will Gregory - Listen and you'll see - Moog Ensemble Interview

Published on May 19, 2015 Bowers & Wilkins

"Will Gregory talks to us about his inspirations for forming the Moog Ensemble."

See here and scroll down for previous posts featuring Will Gregory's Moog Ensemble including performances.

The Will Gregory Moog Ensemble

Published on Mar 12, 2015 Bowers & Wilkins

"The Will Gregory Moog Ensemble performing Brandenburg concerto No. 3 BWV 1048. Taken from the album ‘Undercurrents’ available from 19 March on Society of Sound.

http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/themoog...
Recorded in the Wood Room at Real World Studios"

Previous posts.

Will Gregory - Moog Ensemble

Published on Aug 11, 2014 sonicstate

"We were lucky enough to attend a rehearsal of the Moog Ensemble - not strictly all Moogs, but a collection of analogue mono synths playing classical pieces and contemporary compositions"

Will Gregory's Moog Ensemble

Will Gregory's Moog Ensemble from Andy McCreeth on Vimeo.

"The Will Gregory Moog Ensemble first performed together in 2005 as part of the Bath Festival, recreating some of the ‘Switched on Bach’ arrangements of Wendy Carlos in the Seventies. As one half of the electronic music sensation Goldfrapp, the keyboard-player and composer Will Gregory is one of the UK’s leading advocates of using synthesizers and electronic instruments to create new sounds and reinvent old ones. The band perform a mixture of specially composed music, transcriptions of classical works, and their own versions of music from popular culture and film scores.

This was filmed in May 2014 at a rehearsal for their forthcoming shows."

Will Gregory Moog Ensemble Coming to Brighton

via Tim Mantle on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge

via brightonfestival.org

"As one half of the electronic music sensation Goldfrapp, the keyboard-player and composer Will Gregory is one of the UK's leading advocates of using synthesizers and electronic instruments to create new sounds and reinvent old ones. Now he has formed a unique ensemble around eight Moog synthesizers, the technology that elevates music into an exhilarating wave of complex sound. Operatic one moment and computer-game technical the next, Gregory spins the Moog vocabulary of squelches and plops into a hypnotic and relentless sonic sensation to create fresh, intoxicating soundscapes. This concert features Gregory's live score to Rick Holbrook's poignant film The Service of Tim Henman."