Bob Moog Foundation Features the Musical Works of Pioneering Synthesist Joel Chadabe

 

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We are proud feature two new compilations of music by internationally recognized pioneering synthesist Joel Chadabe. The albums, Electric Sound and Chadabe & Moog, which include compositions from 1966-1987, will be available through the Foundation’s online store. All proceeds from the sale of the CDs will benefit its educational and historic preservation projects.

Chadabe was an early adaptor of the Moog modular synthesizer, using it in compositions as early as 1966. In 1967, while director of the Electronic Music Studio at State University of New York at Albany, he proposed the concept for a new electronic music system. He then designed the legendary CEMS (Coordinated Electronic Music Studio) System and, with support from a SUNY research grant, commissioned Robert Moog to build it.

Much of Chadabe’s music uses ideas of automatic interactive control of sound. For one of his earlier pieces, Drift, which relies heavily on his Moog-built CEMS system, Chadabe reflects, “When I met Bob in the 1960s, I thought a new world of music had opened up. With his synthesizers, I could make sounds that no one ever heard before and music based on structures that were completely new. It pointed to a new way to think about music with immense possibilities.”

Chadabe’s music can best be described as experimental deep listening.

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“The Bob Moog Foundation is honored to offer Joel Chadabe’s pioneering musical work”, notes Michelle Moog-Koussa, Executive Director of the Bob Moog Foundation. “My father had a deep respect for Joel’s intelligent and creative sonic explorations, which defied conventional structure and forged new sonic boundaries. Joel’s story is an important part of the Moog legacy itself.”

The CDs can be purchased on the Foundation’s online store: http://bit.ly/shopbmf .

Joel is also an historian and author. His book Electric Sound: The Past and Promise of Electronic Music, published by Prentice Hall in November 1996, is the first comprehensive overview of the history of electronic music.

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Photo Credit: William Blakeney