May 1st, 2007
Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Co.
Here is a minimalist synthesizer ensemble called Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Co. I never knew these guys but my teacher always talked about Mother Mallard and Dave Borden. Here is a terrific old demo from them with a little bit of talking and some halfway decent visuals. Judging by the hair I’m thinking 1970-something. These guys lived down the road from Robert Moog’s synthesizer factory and he let them use it in off hours. Their work is more improvisational than Reich or Glass, more from a rib of Terry Riley, but for an ensemble rather than loops. Good stuff.
May 1st, 2007 at 1:40 pm
What a great lesson in musical clock (minimalism) and image. Once you are on the (water) wheel, it pushes you right through even slow images, such as the concert load in section. There are also lessons in kinetic strength, such as the different “body” feel one experiences, near the end, when the overall register goes up an octave. To me it felt like a move from the waist to the neck. Thanks for the turn on, this will have to go in my files.