Tonto's Expanding Head Band

Tonto's Expanding Head Band - Tonto Rides Again - 1996 - Viceroy

Tonto's Expanding Head Band's first album, Zero Time, was released in 1971 on the U.S. Embryo label (distributed by Atlantic Records) and attracted a lot of attention. Stevie Wonder in particular was impressed enough to subsequently feature TONTO in his albums starting with Music of My Mind and continuing through Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale and Jungle Fever; all projects which listed Margouleff and Cecil as associate producers, engineers and programmers (and winning them an engineering Grammy for Talking Book). Writing in Keyboard Magazine in 1984, John Diliberto asserted that: "... this collaboration changed the perspectives of black pop music as much as The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper altered the concept of white rock". "Tonto Rides Again" combines all of Zero Time plus all of the tracks from It's About Time except "Beautiful You". The tracks are re-mastered, and the tracks taken from TEHB's second "It's About Time" album are re-titled, and re-edited. In the liner notes to the re-release, Mark Mothersbaugh wrote: "Once upon a time, TONTO represented the cutting edge of artificial intelligence in the world of music - Robert and Malcolm are the mad chefs of aural cuisine with beefy tones and cheesy timbres, making brain chili for those brave enough and hungry enough. Consequently, back in the cultural wasteland of the Midwest, the release of Tonto's Expanding Head Band was an inspirational indicator for starving Spudboys who had grown tired of the soup du jour. It was official - noise was now Muzak, and Muzak was now noise. So with TONTO "riding again" and the orb-of-sound resurrected, expect a healing. The masses are asses who need TONTO's glasses. Lookout, here comes TONTO!" Also, Stevie Wonder said: "How great it is at a time when technology and the science of music is at its highest point of evolution, to have the reintroduction of two of the most prominent forefathers in this music be heard again. It can be said of this work that it parallels with good wine. As it ages it only gets better with time. A toast to greatness... a toast to Zero Time... forever."

Early to mid '70's electronica music was always going to be limited as regards exploring new musical ideas. Analogue and multi-tracking techniques were limited. Nevertheless,Tonto's Expanding Head Band have always had a cult following and the band's first two albums are regarded by many as landmark albums in the electronica genre. "Tonto Rides Again" is not groundbreaking synth music but is still streets ahead of many today's excuses for electronica, so this album is HR by A.O.O.F.C [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 149 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Cybernaut (4:31)
2 Jetsex (4:12)
3 Timewhys (4:56)
4 Aurora (6:47)
5 Riversong (7:58)
6 Tama (5:16)
7 Ferryboat (4:59)
8 Pyramodal (2:09)
9 Cameltrain (3:54)
10 Judgementor (4:40)
11 Freeflight (2:23)
12 Tontomotion (5:48)
13 Tranquillium (5:56)

All music composed by Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff except "Riversong" by Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff with lyrics by Tama Starr

MUSICIANS

Robert Margouleff And Malcolm Cecil - Expanded Series III Moog Synthesiser aka TONTO (The Original New Timbral Orchestra)
Armand Habdurain - Percussion on "Ferryboat"
Michael Cembalo - Guitar Interface on "Cameltrain"
Tama Starr - Voices on "Riversong"

SHORT BIO

TONTO'S EXPANDING HEAD BAND is an innovative project by electronic composers and sound-engineers Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff, having an influence on different other references or an diverse artists. The innovation is the instrument itself, "The Original New Timbral Orchestra", which is the first multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizers and still the largest, design print of Malcolm Cecil (who had serious engineering background) and, since Robert Margouleff sold him the ownership, private owner of it and its performance. The project of the entire instrument system started back in '69 or '68 by Margouleff's MoogIIIc and Moog modules, then with New Timbers and modularly transformed, Serge, Oberheims and Arps, polyphonic instruments, finishing mostly in 1970. Recent additions include SEMs and EMS gear, finally to go on digital sequencers Vocoders. The sounds and sensations of its effective instrumentality are considered, up to date, imposible to replicate from newer midis, digitals and samplers. Malcolm Cecil was awarded one or two times with Grammy for engineering performance, as was also Robert Margouleff. The duo set on the early 70s with the applauded effor tof "Zero Time" (1971), drewing the style of warmness and musicality, advancing already in the generation. Steve WONDER can be considered the main artist which was influenced, then involved with TONTO on later works ("Music of My Mind"," Talking Book","Innervisions","Jungle Fear"), Cecil and Margouleff being associate producers and programmers. TONTO stopped existing for themselves after a second album, in 1975, "It's About Time", still co-featured or collaborators or a large scale of projects, going onto pop (Quincy JONES, Bobby WOMACK) or white rock (Steve HILLAGE), into the concept's changing (Dave MASON) layers or the notes of improvisation (WEATHER REPORT). The synthesizer system got used in "Phantom Of The Paradise", a film by Brian De Palma. For the most recent attitude, the duo came bag with an album re-discovering and re-interpreting the "Zero Time" album and passages from "It's About Time" (a great move mainly considering the out of print originals). The modern interest somehow arouses at times, festivals including the repertoire of their music, dedications towards their style, art pieces even full invitations of TONTO performances ("Virtual TONTO live" in August 2006) In music, TONTO has the indisguisable effect of experimentalism and open "samplitudes". The result of the 1971 album is actually different that the main music the electronic range (or disambiguation, for that matter) went over back them (just to think of heavy ecclecticism of void, heavyness and experimental trips going on by major reprezentatives of the decade's early years maturity). Rough metallic or easy droning, New York technology, soft censured or creativy act of art, the anvengure of "Zero Time" jumps, indeed, ahead of anything too particular or too disoriented. Late or hidden psychs in colors of force and debundancy. The 1975 creation is even more plastic. The albums are mainly a gesture of interpretative forms taken experimentality...and, as alluded, expanded. Though sparrowly active on the progressive electronic movement and motivation and with keen other acts on other styles, more technically, influencialy mentioned for instrumental pioneering and awarded loosely for unprecedented capabilities, that actually in-music focused, TONTO'S EXPANDING HEAD BAND deserves a place in the style and the reflection of electronic history. © Ricochet (Victor "Philip" Pãrãu) © Prog Archives, All rights reserved