{"id":18180,"date":"2020-03-09T05:30:23","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T09:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=18180"},"modified":"2025-05-20T07:35:28","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T11:35:28","slug":"moraz-and-moogs-field-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/03\/09\/moraz-and-moogs-field-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Moraz and Moog’s Field Trip"},"content":{"rendered":"

[This feature originally appeared in Electronic Sound<\/em> Magazine.]<\/p>\n

On a Spring afternoon in 1975, Swiss keyboard virtuoso Patrick Moraz<\/b> found himself bounding through a field in upstate New York, carrying with him a synthesizer. Accompanying him on this unlikely outdoor jaunt was the electronics pioneer Dr. Robert A. Moog<\/b>.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo \u00a9Bob Moog Foundation<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe used to have field trips around his laboratory in Buffalo,\u201d explains Moraz. \u201cAnd then one day, we decided to go and take some pictures with the Micromoog for his publicity and promotion.\u201d The model 2090 Micromoog was just one of the latest innovations from Bob Moog and his team. The single oscillator monophonic, monotimbral synthesizer had just debuted, with a suggested list price of $695. Adjusted for inflation, that works out to about \u00a32600 today, but in the ’70s the Micromoog still represented a low-cost alternative to the mighty Minimoog, which retailed for twice the price.<\/p>\n

Moraz’s visit to New York marked the first time the two had met. \u201cI was with Yes at the time; that trip was before the second Relayer<\/i> tour, just at the end of May. I stayed in Buffalo with my very good friend, Jean Ristori, who took the picture. He also took the [band] photo that is on the inside of Relayer.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

During his visit, Moraz was immediately struck by Moog’s demeanor. \u201cThere are only a few geniuses over the history of mankind,\u201d he says. \u201cBut Bob was always very humble, extremely interested in the dialogue and the demands of the artist. And he was so open to suggestions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair went on a few other excursions with the Micromoog. \u201cWe went to Niagara Falls,\u201d Moraz recalls. \u201cBut we wanted to go to the Canadian side, because it would make a better picture.\u201d They were stopped by Canadian Customs officials, wary of the strange device Moraz was carrying. \u201cWe had to explain that,\u201d Moraz says with a laugh, noting that the unit he and Moog brought along was in truth a non-working model, lacking all of the internal components. That way it was lighter to carry on the location photo shoot.<\/p>\n

Moraz encourages a closer look at the \u201cfield trip\u201d photo. \u201cI don’t know if you’ve noticed,\u201d he says, \u201cbut Bob had a kind of cable that he’s holding, like I would be on a leash<\/i> with the Micromoog! He wanted to make sure that people understood that I was so attached to his instrument, whether it was the Micromoog, the Minomoog or \u2013 in the very, very near future \u2013 the Polymoog.\u201d<\/p>\n

While in Buffalo, Moraz spent a good amount of time at Moog’s lab and workshop. \u201cI was amazed at how a little place like that could create such wonderful and amazing instruments,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was almost like a finely-tuned garage, but with all kinds of parts that I had never really seen before.\u201d Moraz had a good bit of technical background himself, having done consulting work. \u201cI used to check some planes for some companies in Turkey,\u201d he says, without getting into details.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I was amazed at how diverse all of the pieces were, and how Bob’s assistants assembled them,\u201d Moraz says. \u201cIt was an amazing, amazing journey. He introduced me to all of his fellow workers. He showed me so many things, and I was absolutely convinced, especially with the Polymoog!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Polymoog represented another great leap forward from the mind of Moog. Up to that point, analog synthesizers were limited, at least in one sense. Musicians could only play one note at a time; in practical terms, that helped explain in part why other synth players \u2013 like Rick Wakeman, Moraz’s predecessor in Yes \u2013 had so many keyboards onstage. But the Polymoog was a fully polyphonic instrument that also featured a bank of preset sounds.<\/p>\n

Moraz would explore the capabilities of the Polymoog on his solo debut album, 1976’s The Story of I<\/i>. And Bob Moog would be a key figure in the creation of that album.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had decided that all members of Yes would each create one solo album,\u201d Moraz explains. Work on The Story of I<\/i> began in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Moraz assembled a group of percussionists. \u201cSixteen of them,\u201d Moraz says, still beaming with pride at the resulting recordings. \u201cIn three days in Rio, I recorded the [percussion tracks for] The Story of I<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Returning home, he aimed to continue work on the album. But he enlisted some help. \u201cI was able to invite Bob Moog and his [first] wife, Shirleigh, to Geneva, Switzerland for three weeks. And he helped me with the Polymoog during recording.\u201d<\/p>\n

The musician and the inventor got on exceedingly well. \u201cI composed most of the music on the spot there,\u201d Moraz says. \u201cI remember that for the opening sequence called ‘Impact,’ I was explaining to Bob what I was hearing [in my head] as sounds. I had tested the Polymoog in Buffalo earlier on, but I didn\u2019t know really exactly how to use it in its best capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moog helped make those sounds in Moraz’s head into reality. \u201cThe curtain in the jungle opening, and the rawwwr<\/i>, he helped me create the possibility of doing those sounds,\u201d the keyboardist says. \u201cI was explaining how I would like these electronic movements and their frequencies, and Bob was able to help me create those [sounds] that I was explaining.\u201d Moraz characterizes their working relationship as having \u201can extraordinary feeling of sonic empathy. Bob Moog was so unbelievably calm as well; we could really, really communicate together at the highest order of information transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though The Story of I<\/i> is nominally a \u201csolo\u201d album, Moraz gives massive credit to Moog. \u201cOf course, Bob did not play any of the instruments,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd even if he didn\u2019t stay for the four months it was recorded, the spirit of Bob Moog’s creativity absolutely reigns over the whole work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patrick Moraz has many fond memories of his time spent with Bob Moog. \u201cHe was always very creative, and he was always also open to the merging of the spirits,\u201d Moraz says. \u201cBob’s legacy is universal.\u201d But it’s down to earth as well, a fact underscored by that photo of his field trip with his new friend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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