''Moog Indigo'' is the ninth studio album by the French

electronic music Electronic music is a Music genre, genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or electronics, circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromech ...

pioneer

Jean-Jacques Perrey Jean Marcel Leroy (; 20 January 1929 – 4 November 2016), popularly known as Jean-Jacques Perrey, was a French electronic music performer, composer, producer, and promoter. He is considered a pioneer of pop electronica.Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a nu ...

label. The name album is a reference to

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

song "

Mood Indigo "Mood Indigo" is a jazz song with music by Duke Ellington and Barney Bigard and lyrics by Irving Mills. Composition Although Irving Mills—Jack Mills's brother and publishing partner—took credit for the lyrics, Mitchell Parish claimed in a ...

" by

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was ba ...

Composition and recording

In 1963 Perrey with the American guitarist Vinnie Bell did a session for Kai Winding, in which Perrey played the

Ondioline The Ondioline is an electronic keyboard musical instrument, developed and built by Frenchman Georges Jenny. Sometimes referred to as the "Jenny Ondioline," the instrument is considered a forerunner of the synthesizer. First conceived by Jenny in ...

and Bell played the guitar. After that Vinnie along with Perrey recorded several successful commercials and when Jean-Jacques got a contract with the

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a nu ...

label. Perrey asked him to be the lead guitarist for his recording sessions as "Soul City" and "E.V.A.". The latter is a tribute to the first man to walk on the moon,

Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. ...

. Perrey's version of " Flight of the Bumblebee" composed by Russian composer

Rimsky Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

, uses real bee sounds. Perrey stated how he made this version to the ''

Computer Music Journal ''Computer Music Journal'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers a wide range of topics related to digital audio signal processing and electroacoustic music. It is published on-line and in hard copy by MIT Press. The journal is accompani ...

'' magazine:

For this composition, I took a Nagra tape recorder to an
apiary An apiary (also known as a bee yard) is a location where beehives of honey bees are kept. Apiaries come in many sizes and can be rural or urban depending on the honey production operation. Furthermore, an apiary may refer to a hobbyist's hives o ...
in Switzerland to record the live sounds of bees buzzing about their hive. I took these bee tapes back to New York, where my studio had a variable-speed tape recorder. Using this machine, I transposed the bee buzzes to the subdivisions of the 12-tone equal-tempered scale and rerecorded them on another tape machine. Then, using manual splicing techniques, I edited the melody for one verse. Just this part took 52 hours of splicing work. People told me that I was crazy, but I told them to listen to the result! We added an accompaniment to the melody, recreating the "Flight of the Bumblebee" played by living bees.

"Gossipo Perpetuo" versioned '' Moto Perpetuo'' written by the Italian violinist and composer Niccolo Paganini and also used "stuttering vocal samples" and "various Moog settings soaring up and down the scale while congas and shuffling drums hit a

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havi ...

beat." "The Elephant Never Forgets" is a Perrey's adaptation of " Turkish March" composed by German composer

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

. His middle part was arranged by American composer Harry Breuer. "18Th Century Puppet" shows clear nods to the baroque composition, and " Hello, Dolly!" by

Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyrici ...

was versioned.

Release

''Moog Indigo'' was released on

label in 1970, being Perrey's fourth and final studio album to be released on that label. The album was followed by the single "Passport to the Future", which reached No. 20 on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

(known at the time as ''Easy Listening'') and No. 106 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. The song also reached #94 in the Cashbox Singles chart. In 1997 when

Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...

remixed the track "E.V.A.", it was released as single on 15 February, peaked at #79 in British charts and also had a music video. In 2017, ''Moog Indigo'' was reissued in a 180 gram 12-inch- Vinyl format by

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives f ...

label.

Critical reception

Retrospective reviews of the album have been generally favorable. Alan Ranta from ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' magazine declared that "are countless creative opportunities to be found in this half-hour trip that have yet to be fully explored, and for the rest of us, it's an opportunity to experience a landmark album of electronic pop that stands the test of time." Robert Ham of ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, A liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves a ...

'' magazine stated that "what keeps these records in circulation is the humor that artists like Perrey brought into the mix and how the sounds and spirit found within the grooves call to mind an era when the skies suddenly felt limitless." The Musoscribe website commented that Perrey's work should not be taken in the same context as other pioneers of electronic music such as

Jean-Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompani ...

Hans-Joachim Roedelius Hans-Joachim Roedelius (born 26 October 1934) is a German electronic musician and composer, best known as a co-founder of the influential 'kosmische' groups Cluster and Harmonia. He also performed in the ambient jazz trio Aquarello, and rele ...

since: "His work wasn't as edgy and experimental as that of those other guys." He also felt that it "is a collection of incredibly catchy tunes, delivered in the funnest way imaginable." A retrospective review by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

reviewer Donald A. Guarisco describing the album as "a solid choice for fans of the room with a sense of humor". ''Moog Indigo'' was ranked as the 66th best album of 1970 by uDiscover Music. The Album of the Year website gave it an average score of 75 based on

and

reviews.

Legacy

"E.V.A." was sampled numerous times by hip-hop and rap artists. Notable examples include "Just To Get A Rep" by

Gang Starr Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Texas record producer DJ Premier and Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: ...

(1990), "Lower da Boom" by Artifacts (1994), "Gameplan" by

Lord Finesse Lord Finesse (born Robert Hall Jr., February 19, 1970) is an American rapper and hip-hop record producer from The Bronx, New York best known as the leader of the D.I.T.C. crew. About.com ranked him number 29 on its list of the Top-50 Hip-Hop P ...

(1995), "3000" by Dr.Octagon (1996), "Same Ol'Thing" by

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

(1997), "Lunch Money" by

Pusha T Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper, songwriter and record executive. He rose to prominence as one-half of the hip hop duo Clipse, which was mainly active from 1994 to 20 ...

(2014), and "Every Little Thing I Do" by Jamila Woods and Taylor Bennett (2017). In 2004, "E.V.A." featured in a Zelnorm commercial and in an 2016

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ances ...

advertising campaign "Shot on iPhone". For years, his music was used in different entertainment media; "E.V.A." appeared in the 2018 film,

Ocean's 8 ''Ocean's Eight'' (stylized onscreen as ''Ocean's 8'') is a 2018 American heist action thriller comedy film directed by Gary Ross and written by Ross and Olivia Milch. The film is both a continuation of and a spin-off from Steven Soderbergh's ' ...

. Mexican comedian Roberto Gomez Bolaños (most known professionally as Chespirito) used some ''Moog Indigo'' pieces for his television series: "Country Rock Polka" was used in his '' namesake series'', and "The Elephant Never Forgets" was used as the theme song for the series El Chavo del 8. The latter also was the main theme of the Canadian TV program '' The Buck Shot Show''.

Track listing

Side A Side B

References

External links

*
Moog Indigo
' at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{Authority control 1970 albums Jean-Jacques Perrey albums Vanguard Records albums