Malcom Cecil Has Passed Away

Another synth legend has passed away. Anyone that regularly visits this site should know who he is.

via The Bob Moog Foundation

"It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the passing of the legendary creative genius, musician, engineer, producer, and synthesizer pioneer, Malcolm Cecil, shown here with his creation TONTO (The Original New Timbral Orchestra, created in 1968). Malcom's son Milton informed us that he passed away at 1:17am this morning after a long illness.

Bob Moog and Malcolm had a deep mutual respect and affection for each other, remaining lifelong friends after working together to assure that the Moog components of TONTO were properly integrated into the system. Our hearts are heavy with the loss of such a monumental contributor to the Moog legacy and a truly stellar, generous, kind human being. Our love goes out to his family and friends.

You can see Malcolm talking about TONTO in this video from the National Music Centre | Centre National de Musique, where TONTO now resides:"

Malcolm Cecil on Creating TONTO

video by National Music Centre

"TONTO is an acronym for The Original New Timbral Orchestra. It was created by Malcom Cecil and Robert Margouleff in 1968 , and marked the first attempt at creating a universal language for different synthesizers to communicate with each other, which was revolutionary at the time.

Now housed at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, TONTO is being used for a new generation of artists to create music.

Support music in Canada by donating to the National Music Centre, a registered charity. Your donation directly shapes the future of Canadian music by providing music education programs, world-class artist development programs, and one-of-a-kind opportunities for collaboration. Learn more: http://bit.ly/SupportNMC"

And via Wikipedia:

"Malcolm Cecil (born 9 January 1937) is a British jazz bassist and Grammy Award-winning record producer.

Born in London, Cecil was a founding member of the UK's leading jazz quintet of the late 1950s, The Jazz Couriers,[1] before going on to join a number of British jazz combos led by Dick Morrissey, Tony Crombie and Ronnie Scott in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He later joined Cyril Davies and Alexis Korner to form the original line-up of Blues Incorporated.

He later joined Robert Margouleff to form the duo TONTO's Expanding Head Band, a project based on a unique combination of synthesizers which led to them collaborating on and co-producing several of Stevie Wonder's Grammy-winning albums of the early 1970s."
You can find numerious posts featuring Malcom Cecil here, and TONTO here.

TONTO Week: Malcolm Cecil, A Tribe Called Red, and The National Music Centre in Calgary

The Story of TONTO Published on Jan 22, 2014 National Music Centre

"The Original New Timbral Orchestra (TONTO), the world's largest analog synthesizer, has found a new home at the National Music Centre in Calgary, Alberta. This is the story of how TONTO went from a dream to a reality, and then found a new life and home at NMC."

Note the above video is from January 22, 2014. You should all be familiar with TONTO.

Update: It has come to my attention that John Leimseider has passed away. He was scheduled to give a TONTO Demonstration with Malcom Cecil on Nov. 17 per below. The demonstration will remain scheduled with Malcom Cecil, however the Synthesis 101 course on Nov. 14 has been canceled.

Details on the event:

TONTO Week puts "holy grail of synthesizers" in the spotlight from November 14-18

Week of activities to feature TONTO co-creator Malcolm Cecil, A Tribe Called Red, Phantom of the Paradise screening, and more

(Calgary, AB — September 13, 2018) After years of careful restoration, the National Music Centre (NMC) will commission one of the crown jewels of its music and technology collection, The Original New Timbral Orchestra (aka TONTO), during TONTO Week from November 14-18.

To commemorate this milestone, NMC will host a week of music programming timed to coincide with Alberta Electronic Music Conference (AEMCON), running concurrently at Studio Bell during TONTO Week. NMC Members receive discounted or free admission to all TONTO Week events (not including AEMCON conference passes), so purchase your membership online today at studiobell.ca/members. Individual tickets are available at nmc.ca/whats-on. AEMCON conference passes are available at albertaelectronicmusic.com.

Members of A Tribe Called Red will be the first musicians to create new music with the legendary synthesizer, and they’ll demo TONTO during a public workshop and incorporate the instrument into an evening Studio Bell After Hours set. “After seeing TONTO for the first time back in 2014, I knew that I had unfinished business at the National Music Centre,” said 2oolman of A Tribe Called Red. “I have been waiting patiently ever since to get my hands on that instrument.”

Malcolm Cecil, one of the co-creators of TONTO, will be in attendance to deliver demonstrations and lectures on the history of the instrument. NMC will also host a screening of the cult classic film, Phantom of the Paradise, in which TONTO appeared, and other activities associated with the instrument.

TONTO is one of the world’s largest analog synthesizers. Created by Malcom Cecil and Robert Margouleff in 1968, its creation marked the first attempt at making a universal language for different synthesizers to communicate with each other, which was a revolutionary achievement. Under the band name Tonto’s Expanding Head Band, Cecil and Margouleff released the highly influential album Zero Time. The album demonstrated the rich, layered sounds of the massive synthesizer and attracted significant attention.

Used on multiple Stevie Wonder and The Isley Brothers albums in the 1970s, TONTO helped shape albums by a long list of notable artists such as Minnie Riperton, Joan Baez, the Doobie Brothers, Quincy Jones, Randy Newman, Bobby Womack and more, and was prominently featured in Phantom of the Paradise.


“I needed to find a home for TONTO that would survive me and where it could be used,” said Malcolm Cecil after NMC acquired the instrument in 2013.

“We made a promise to Malcom to ensure that TONTO would be used again in the creation of new music and that its legacy would live on,” said Adam Fox, NMC’s Director of Programs. “It took several years to properly restore the instrument, and now it’s finally ready to enter its next chapter. We couldn’t be more excited to hear where NMC’s Artists in Residence take TONTO next.”


TONTO WEEK SCHEDULE

CLICK FOR MORE »

TONTO Arrives at the NMC Calgary Alberta, Canada

"National Music Centre acquires TONTO, world’s largest synthesizer. Credit: Chad Schroter-Gillespie."

This one in via Greg on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge.

The National Music Center in Calgary Alberta is the new home of TONTO

"TONTO was the first and the largest, multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer. This means that it was one of the first synthesizers capable of producing many tone colours with different voices simultaneously.

TONTO was created by Malcom Cecil and Robert Margouleff in 1968 and marked the first attempt at creating a universal language for different synthesizers to communicate with each other, which was revolutionary. TONTO remains the largest analog synthesizer in the world."

Check out the full post at the NMC site here.

Is it the world's largest synthesizer considering modular systems can be endless in size?  It depends on how you look at it.  It is interesting to think of it as a single massive synthesizer. As for possible contenders, my first thought was Benge's studio, the old Aliens Project SynxsS studio (interview here) as well has Hans Zimmer's bookshelves of modulars, but their modular systems are effectively separate.  Are there others?  If you focus on sheer number of modules in one exclusive system there's Billy Corgan's Ichabod which consists of all Mattson modules and the recent Siggi's Super Formant Synthesizer.

"Malcom Cecil, co-creator of TONTO. Credit: Chad Schroter-Gillespie."

The following is a track featuring Tonto by Malcom Cecil & Margouleff from 1971.

RIP John Leimseider

Update: "A memorial and celebration of life will be held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, this Sunday, September 30 at 5:00 pm in Studio Bell’s Performance Hall (850 4 Street SE).

More info can be found here.

Pictured: John Leimseider on the right with Malcom Cecil from this recent post on the upcoming event, TONTO Week.

It has come to my attention that John Leimseider has passed away. John was the head synth technician at the National Music Centre in Calgary, Canada, and previously the Cantos Music Foundation. He was recently scheduled to give a presentation on TONTO with Malcom Cecil on Nov 17 as part of TONTO Week. Please note, that talk is still scheduled to go on with Malcom Cecil. According to NMC, "TONTO was one of the last major projects of JL’s, so this event has much more significance now that he’s gone. But there will be an enormous void without him."

John Leimseider's influence spread far beyond the museum. Many of you visiting MATRIXSYNTH likely know him. I unfortunately never had the opportunity to meet him in person, however I remember seeing him engage on both the Rhodes Chroma and Yamaha CS80 lists. I still have some of those threads. I was hoping to one day make it out to the National Music Centre and meet him in person.

Below is a short playlist featuring John including his work at the NMC, an introductory video on the Roland System-8 from Roland, a video for The Moog Legacy featuring John, and a fun video featuring Neil Diamond's band paying a visit to the NMC, invited by none other than John Leimseider. He will be sorely missed by the synth community.



Playlist:
National Music Center Mini Doc [be sure to listen in stereo - you can only hear John on the left channel to start]
First Impressions of the Roland SYSTEM-8 with John Leimseider
Virtuality: The Moog Legacy, by Amin Bhatia [John Leimseider comes in at 1:58]
Quarter Note Video Tweet: Neil Diamond's band visits the NMC collection [keep an eye out for John]

You can find a handful of posts mentioning John Leimseider in the archives here. He worked on quite a few synths sold by individuals over the years. It's neat to think each one of those synths were touched by him at some point, and the work he did on them will live on.

Malcom Cecil Releases iTonto for iOS

iTunes: iTonto - malcolm cecil

"iTONTO the App, documents the Engineering and Design of “TONTO”, The Original New Timbral Orchestra.

DISCLAIMER: iTONTO is not a functional iOS recreation of TONTO.

TONTO is one of the most important innovations in musical history. TONTO is the first synthesizer of popular music and is displayed and described in great detail within the App. This historic instrument, the invention of Grammy winning Malcolm Cecil, helped influence American cultural and musical history and is one of the most recorded instruments of all time.
The App includes detailed photos of the front and back of each panel with drill down and zoom capabilities, circuitry and schematics, personal comments, hand drawn notes in design, and stories about TONTOS history. Collaborations include Steve Wonder, Billy Preston, Gil Scott Heron, Little Feet, Doobie Brothers, George Harrison and The Isley Brothers. TONTO is on over 160 albums including 2 of Rolling Stone’s top 100 best selling albums of all time.

TONTO – The Original New Timbral Orchestra uses the principle of analog subtractive synthesis to create multi-timbral polyphonic sounds.The heart of a subtractive synthesizer is its filter. TONTO has a compliment of fourteen filters: two full MOOG 904 band-pass filters,
two Arp Low Pass filters,
four Oberhiem SEM filters;
two Cecil/Serge dual filters;
one ARP 1040 multi function filter
and one Cecil Custom low pass filter.
It also has 39 oscillators; 22 envelope generators;
18 VCA’s and many more modules,
including processors, sequencers and controllers which can be patched to create at least fourteen discrete “voices” – each with it’s own unique timbral quality and all of which are able to be controlled simultaneously. As its name implies, it is truly an integrated orchestra of new timbres.
Optimized for iPhone 6, IOS 8.0 or better."

CLICK FOR MORE »

YOUTH by KiNo & Video with Jeff Blenkinsopp & Malcom Cecil's TONTO

YOUTH from KiNo on Vimeo.

KiNo and his producer Sonic Wizard Jeff Blenkinsopp [Pink Floyd insider]

KiNo Live Rig from KiNo on Vimeo.

The above is a video on KiNo's live rig featuring Jeff Blenkinsopp & Malcom Cecil's TONTO. You might recall the suitcase sized rig Jeff refers to from this previous post on KiNo's Kickstarter campaign. KiNo is working on an new concept single called YOUTH.

About KiNo
http://poetofsoundandimage.com/9

Details on YOUTH via Facebook (be sure to click through for a gallery of pics):

"Written, demoed and performed in New York.
In production: Los Angeles, New York, With contribution from Nyc, Roma, Istanbul, Paris, Korea.

I got on to making YOUTH, ever since the Gezi Park events in Istanbul broke out the mass movement of young people, among them my friends, mostly apolitical creatures lunging protests against their mobster government led by a cunt. YOUTH is a concept/single that I wasn't planning on embarking on until I secured some sort of backing. But, I found myself in the thick of it, thanks to my friends who have been demonstrating incredible tactics of subversion, to expose, expose and disarm their oppressors in the government and the media. It has been an intense period of pounding successful resistance coordinated on facebook and twitter. I couldn't escape the net of solidarity. They are young people getting some results. So, I couldn't resist turning to YOUTH. It's my reaction, a unifying (re)action in fact to connect the dots on what has been happening across the globe for quite sometime, created by the organic, non-idealogical energy, the sole capacitor of change, bearer of subversion and crafty people of liberty, the youth! As a poet, instead of sticking labels on people, I must help remove them to remind the essence of a human being unadulterated by nationality, religion, language and ideology. The concept-single is all about this. It's form is in the ubiquitous cross-cultural language of image, sound and word. And it is being made as we speak, with many collaborators contributing. It's an exciting time to focus and inspire each other, the bolt of awareness is conducting in a very fast pace. We all know what's in progress. We are the current face of change.9, Los Angeles"


Also see the KiNO and TONTO labels below for more.

TONTO RIDES AGAIN

via Malcolm Cecil, via the world of next tuesday.

You can find Tonto Rides Again and more at Malcom Cecil's Tonto's Expanding Head Band.

"All the tracks from "TONTO RIDES AGAIN" are available on that site remastered by me from the original analog mixes and issued as a Collector's Limited Edition CD. TONTO has never sounded better.

Peace,
Malcolm Cecil"

Be sure to see all posts mentioning TONTO here.

TONTO Pics

via Erick

"My friend Doug Milford got the chance recently to meet with Malcolm Cecil and tour the studio. Doug's brother, who passed away in the late 80s, was named Kim Milford. If you poke around on the web, you'll find that Kim Milford sang with Jeff Beck for a period. And he also did a lot of acting in theater, Broadway, films, television, as well as music composition before his untimely passing while still in his 30s.

Kim had recorded some songs at the TONTO studio (lamentably, none with synths I'm told), and Doug was visiting Malcolm to track down some of the old master reels. Luckily for us, Doug snapped some great photos of the famous TONTO synth. You can see a lot of it very close up"

You can find aditonal pics here.

"The Original New Timbral Orchestra designed and built by Malcom Cecil. The TONTO features such synths as:

2 Moog Series III Modular Synthesizers
2 Arp 2600s
Serge Modules
4 Oberheim SEMs

and many more…

www.tontosexpandingheadband.com

www.theanaloglab.com"

follow-up to: Invasion From Within — Malcolm Cecil - Tonto & KiNo [HD]

CLICK FOR MORE »

Stevie Wonder - Superstition live on Sesame Street

YouTube via RSLweblog

"It doesn't get much better than this.... I can't imagine a better feel good song than this one! Check out the REST OF THE VIDEOS in this collection! Stop by my music webpage (Ryan's Smashing Life) and say hello!"

Some interesting notes via Malcom Cecil on the AH list:
"I engineered and co-produced Superstition and still have the Master Track Sheets, Work Orders and Tape Legends from all of the recordings that I made with Stevie between 1971 and 1975.

The 8 tracks of clavinet are actually 4 stereo pairs, however, there are two very important timed stereo slap back tape tracks that Stevie was listening to while he played the first pass. They bwere created on a two track Ampex with a varispeed.

I recorded them because they are an important intrigal component of the musical line. I timed the slap to be drum track to create the funky feel. I only used the first stereo pair of clavinet tracks that were recorded with those slap back tracks in the final mix. If your tracks are numbered those clavinet tracks are 7 & 8 and the associated stereo slap tracks are on tracks 6 & 9 but if not you can hear which they - you can always listen to the mix!

Stevie recorded the drums (solo) first, then the cavinet/slap echo tracks and then the TONTO bass. Then he put down a reference vocal with "Lal-as" for words (except for "very Superstitious"). The words didn't get written until about two weeks later and the horns were added much later

I am very surprised to hear that that you have copies of the original tracks! I guarded those masters with my life but I gave them all to Stevie when we stopped working together in 1975.

I guess his security system 'aint what it was when I was with him - but then a lot changed when I left.

Peace,
Malcolm Cecil"

Live! — Part 3 Featuring Malcom Cecil & Andy Rourke

Live! - Trailer from KiNo on Vimeo.

Live! — Part 3 from KiNo on Vimeo.

"Poet of Sound and Image KiNo presents a film in episodes: Live! Documentary of life and collaborations in New Vague City. This film is dedicated to my friend Ira Cohen who passed away recently; leaving behind a materialised account of the akashic records in his poems, photographs, films and inspiring conversations with the individuals whom were graced by his friendship. With highlights from the KiNo Exhibition — Invasion from Within. Featuring footage of the performances with musical legends Malcolm Cecil (Pioneer of electronic music) and Andy Rourke (The Smiths). Ira Cohen film The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda strangebeautiful.net/​2007/​08/​16/​ira-cohen/​ Made by 9" Features TONTO

Serge Tcherepnin joins Random*Source as Chief Innovation Officer

Serge Tcherepnin has joined eurorack manufacturer Random*Source as Chief Innovation Officer. The official announcement follows:

"Serge (himself!) is back

Synth legend Serge Tcherepnin joins Random*Source as Chief Innovation Officer

Frankfurt, 13 November 2018. Serge Tcherepnin, the inventor of the legendary Serge Modular synthesizer system and, like Don Buchla, one of the founders of what became famous as the 'Westcoast approach', has joined the Random*Source team as Chief Innovation Officer with a focus on developing the 5th generation of the Serge modular synthesizer system.

Serge Tcherepnin is an American composer, musician and electronic mastermind of Russian and Chinese descent who grew up in France and in Chicago. His first teachers in music include his father, Alexander Tcherepnin, Nadia Boulanger, Quincy Jones. He fast joined the musical avant-garde at Harvard, studying with Pierre Boulez and meeting Henry Flynt and other FLUXUS musicians, and some of the ONCE FESTIVAL group of composers, among which Gordon Mumma whose electronics were an early influence. Returning to Europe, he worked at the Studio di Fonologia in Milan and the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop where he became friends with Delia Derbyshire, while giving concerts with Irmin Schmidt, Jon Hassel, Katerina Krimsky, in Germany. Now back in the USA, he became known for designing unusual electronic devices for musicians like his brother, Ivan Tcherepnin, Maryanne Amacher, Mort Subotnick, Charlemagne Palestine, Kevin Braheny and Malcom Cecil. In '70 he joined the music faculty at Cal-Arts with the express goal of researching the uses of electronics for music. It's there he developed the idea and design of the first “Serge” modules and started his company, Serge Modular Music Systems, in Hollywood, in 1975.

Joining the R*S team will allow Serge to lead the development of a number of new and previously unreleased Serge ideas and designs. As Serge states: “I’m excited to work even more closely with Ralf and the Random*Source team as we share the tech savviness, obsession with quality and constant urge to push limits further. The main goal is to expand the range of modules and sub-modules that lend themselves to being 'patch-programmed" in unusual and unforeseen ways, thus to add to and expand musicians' studio synthesizers way past standard synth configurations. I’d like to see the Serge system to grow wide and large, modules all talking to each other, whether they originated in my Hollywood lair in '75, or in the '80s on Haight Street, or now, coming from Random*Source.'

About Random*Source
Random*Source is a project founded by Ralf Hoffmann near Frankfurt, Germany, with a mission to carry on and further develop and extend the work of synth pioneers Serge Tcherepnin and Jürgen Haible. Since 2015 Random*Source has been working in close cooperation with Serge on a new generation of the Serge system. Using high-end parts and components, SMD technology and modern production methods allowed to improve audio performance significantly and develop more compact, slimmer modules and systems. Together with Serge, Random*Source also faithfully translated the Serge range from its original (“4U”) format to the eurorack format – using identical circuits and sticking strictly to the unique user interface of the Serge system, the “Serge grid”. Latest offspring of that collaboration is the New Ring modulator which Serge designed for Random*Source in 2017."

The Analog Lab NYC-A Brief Tour of TONTO

YouTube Uploaded by TheAnalogLab on Dec 26, 2011

"The Original New Timbral Orchestra designed and built by Malcom Cecil. The TONTO features such synths as:

2 Moog Series III Modular Synthesizers
2 Arp 2600s
Serge Modules
4 Oberheim SEMs

and many more..."