Jean-Jacques Perrey - Country Rock Polka

YouTube via razbittermometer

http://www.discogs.com/Jean-Jacques-Perrey-Moog-Indigo/master/65182

Jean-Jacques Perrey Life, Laughter, & Loops

http://www.jjpdvd.com/

via Mal in the comments of this post.

Ondioline.com

http://ondioline.com

A new website resource for the Ondioline is coming. "Web page will include: History ~FAQ ~ Misconceptions ~ Photos ~ Sound Files ~ List of Ondioline Users ~ Ondi's Spotted on Sale ~ Who Repairs Ondi's ~ Schematics ~ Tuning Instructions"

Note this is via Dana Countryman who plays with Jean-Jacques Perrey, who's instrument of choice is the Ondioline. I was actually fortunate enough to see the two play live. Jean-Jacques Perrey had his Ondioline and Dana Countryman had a large Synthesizers.com modular. You can see a video from the performance below. A search for Jean-Jacques Perrey will bring up more posts. Definitely worth the time to check out.


YouTube via shallowbox. previously posted additional performances here

Update via Mal in the comments: "There is an excellent DVD that one can purchase called "Life, Laughter & Loops" which features an 80 minute interview with Jean-Jacques Perrey and 60 minutes of never-to-be-seen-again concert footage... all Ondioline, all Moog - Fantastic!!! http://www.jjpdvd.com"

"March of the Robots" on Ed Sullivan show - music by Jean-Jacques Perrey

YouTube via happymoogman

"Here is a rare clip of Sesame Street' Big Bird, together with the June Taylor Dancers on the Ed Sullivan Show, from 1969. The music is "March of the Robots", by Jean-Jacques Perrey. The clip uses Perrey's original Vanguard Records' recording, but interestingly, later in the song, the CBS Studio Orchestra joins in!
Hope you enjoy this!"

1950s Jenny Ondioline Demo Record - Synthesizer Precursor

YouTube via jafafah0ts
"A vintage record demonstrating Georges Jenny's Ondioline tube-driven electronic instrument, an important but almost forgotten ancestor of the modern synthesizer. I've included English translation of the French-language narration in this video." flexi disc

Synths in Den Haag Art Museum, Holland

via adrian

"I'm just back from den haag in holland (I was playing in the jazz festival), and, while visiting the art museum, I found some interesting stuff. there are some rooms about music, and instruments. There was a clavia G2, but also a sort of small synth made of 5 modules oscillator, filter, enveloppe, lfo, and effects. each module had a button, to trig the sound, and make people understand the use of each module (of course, vco switch trigged the pure vco sound, on filter module, it played only vco + filter .....). There also was some touch screen, where you could sequence some sounds, and you had choice among many sampled instruments.

I was really amazed to see Ondioline among these instruments (I doubt samples I heard where really coming from an ondioline, I could not recognize its special character). There also was among many other instruments, minimoog and philicorda samples"

Maestrovox tube synth

via this auction
"Up for sale is a rare Maestrovox tube synthesizer keyboard instrument, one of 17 known to exist, and a unique model. These first went on sale in 1952. Much information on these, including schematics, can be obtained by visiting the following website, which belongs to the granddaughter of the inventor of the Maestrovox:
http://www.debbiecurtis.co.uk/id99.html

This Maestrovox is a special instrument because the keyboard's facade (rocker switches, entirely black paneling, etc), is imitative of the Clavioline, while it still maintained the same speaker/ amp cabinet as the regular Maestrovox Consort model. It has mounting stand. I think the way this Maestrovox was supposed to work is that you place the speaker/ amp cabinet on the ground, which brings the keyboard to playing height if you are in the sitting position. Quite a unique, cool set-up.

This Maestrovox is cosmetically in very good condition. The keyboard itself is in excellent condition. The speaker/ amp cabinet is missing its original grillcloth (a green replacement grillcloth has been mounted to the front with thumbtacks), and the tolex if pealing in a few places.

This Maestrovox MIGHT be completely functional, but my power converter does not provide enough wattage to adequately test it. It runs off of 220V/240V, because it was invented in Australia, and the only converter I could find locally that would support that voltage was at Radioshack, and it only could provide 44W of power, which is only enough for a small appliance (I have included a picture of the converter I used to test it). So, because of that, the Maestrovox could not be properly tested. From my albeit insufficient testing, the upper two octaves definitely worked, and the lower octave did not work. That is likely a simple fix because the Maestrovox, like the Clavioline, used three-octave dividers to derive all the pitches from a single top-octave tone generator. The sound is somewhat weak, which is also likely due to the insufficient wattage. It could even just be a bad tube, or perhaps the lack of power resulted in only two of the octaves working during testing. Why did Maestrovoxes, Claviolines, Ondiolines, and Solovoxes have only 36 notes? Because adding a 37th note would have required a fourth divider. This Maestrovox has an octave switcher with three positions immediately to the left of the rocker switches, and two tuning knobs on the left and right side of the keyboard front. The same thing happens one each octave setting: the lower octave of the keyboard does not play anything. With the schematics, it should be very easy to bring this to perfect functional condition, if it is not functioning perfect already when properly powered (I'm not able to test it sufficiently, as described below).

Further information on the history and function of portable and mountable tube synthesizers (namely the Clavioline, but also the Maestrovox, Ondioline, and Solovox) can be found here
And another Maestrovox-related webpage"

The Ondioline and Ondes Martenot

A few images via this thread on electro-music.com. See the thread for more. Hey, isn't that Jean Jacques Perrey in the image below?! :)

There's also a nice image of an early theremin

CLICK FOR MORE »

Jean-Jacques Perrey - Funky Little Spacegirl - Music Video

YouTube via mee3d.

Synth visuals come in at 3:02.

See these posts for more.
"View a High quality version here - www.funkylittlespacegirl.com

Celebrating 80 years of Jean-Jacques Perrey's Legendary Happy Electropop Music here is the Music Video for "Funky Little Spacegirl", released from the new album with Dana Countryman "Destination Space". Available on Oglio Records. Music Video Created by Mal Meehan from mee3d"

"Tags: jean jacques perrey dana countryman destination space electropop lounge moog synth mee3d mal meehan life laughter loops jjpdvd"

Update:

The Making of "Funky Little Spacegirl" - Compositing

"This little video explains in simple terms some of the procedures used in creating the new Jean-Jacques Perrey pop promo."

The Making of "Funky Little Spacegirl" - 3d Animation

Jean-Jacques Perrey and Dana Countryman

Box of Textures has a review of the recent Jean-Jacques Perrey and Dana Countryman show in NY. Definitely worth checking out. You'll find more images including one of the opening act, Circuit Parade.

The following is an excerpt:
"Perrey was absolutely charming and totally hilarious! He introduced every song with a story, sometimes also pointing out some of his musical partners who were in the audience (Gershon Kingsley, for example). Perrey and Countryman played mostly analog equipment. Countryman had a Prophet ’08 as his main instrument, and Perrey had a Poly Evolver Keyboard, Minimoog Model D and an Ondioline. Countryman also had an Arp 2600, but it sounded like it was constantly playing a sample and hold pattern in the background while Perrey was talking, so Countryman leaned over and switched the 2600 off."

ondioline

via adrien

"it's interesting to notice that it's an old revision of ondioline, with not the usual shape of the speaker's hole .."

1972 Ideal "Bing Bang Boing" Commercial

YouTube via daftmahatma

"I believe the Moog synthesized music to this Bing Bang Boing commercial to be "Chicken On The Rocks" from Jean-Jacques Perrey."

Chicken On The Rocks

YouTube via doctorpopular.

Jean Jacques Perrey is actually playing the Ondioline.
"Footage from Jean Jacques Perrey's August 27th show at Recombinant Labs in San Francisco. JJP is on the left, Dana Countryman is on the right. More info on my blog www.DrownRadio.com"
http://www.jeanjacquesperrey.com/

Jean-Jacques Perrey and Dana Countryman at the Radiophonic 08 Festival

via Dana Countryman:

"Just a quick note to mention the upcoming lecture and concert by Jean-Jacques Perrey and Dana Countryman at the Radiophonic 08 Festival in Gateshead, England. It all happens on March 1st, 2008. More info here and here"

Be sure to check out these previous posts on Dana Countryman and Jean Jacques Perrey.

During their previous shows (where I actually took this shot myself) Dana played his MOTM/Dotcom modular and Jean Jacques Perrey played his favorite istrument, the Ondioline which is similar in concept to the Ondes Martenot and Tannerin.