The Moog In June

I'm giving up on wirting introductions to these.  Let me know if you don;t like that idea.

WILL GREGORY MOOG ENSEMBLE, Pindrop & OCM, St John the Evangelist, 10/6/15

By coincidence, the BBC’s science and technology show Tomorrow’s World went off air only a few months after the digital channel that would become Yesterday was launched.  And today, the idea of prime time telly devoted to explaining gizmos seems itself astonishingly old-fashioned , so embedded has hard- and software become in our lives.  Tonight’s gig is a smiling nod back to a faded future, (dis)played on a selection of historic, clunky and primarily monophonic synths - not all Moogs, but all far from their circuitboard salad days - more fitted to a loving museum than the rough sticky gig circuit.  Goldfrapp’s Will Gregory is the charming host and ringleader, with a whispered avuncular air like a trendy supply teacher filling in as Jazz Club presenter, but despite a few light chuckles and cheeky nods to baroque classics, the show mostly avoids middle-brow novelty, and gives us excellent musicianship couple with intelligent composition and arrangement.

Perhaps in honour of Wendy Carlos, the first half centres on classical pieces.  There’s never a bad time to hear the snaky glory of JS Bach’s third Brandenburg Concerto, and the Moogs’ farty portamento brings out the rolling melody beautifully, whilst a burst of Handel has a burnished elegance, like robot knights tilting in some cyber-tourney for the pixellated hand of Princess Peach.  However, it’s the new pieces that truly excite the ears.  “Snow Steps”, based on material from Debussy, is a breath of hyperborean sobriety, whereas “Swell”, by ace composer and ensemble member Graham Fitkin, lives up to its name by taking a tumescent tip from Godspeed! You Black Emperor.  The pinnacle, though, is “Noisebox”, a hissing web of sound that uses the instruments’ ability to generate white noise.  Over a Kraftwerk train rhythm hissing blocks are pushed about and tweaked in a manner that recalls minimal dancefloor overlords Ricardo Villalobos and Porter Ricks – like the trombone we associate vintage synth sounds with vaudeville and pratfalls, and can forget what subtlety they can achieve.  A few people near us leave in the interval.  We’re not sure whether they hoped to hear “Ooh La La” or a Klaus Schulze prog epic, but for us the charmingly warm programme features the best of both man and machine.