You can still contribute to our film and get some of the great rewards on offer here (including the last remaining copies of the Moog compilation LP), by visiting Waveshaper Media's web shop:
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From Waveshaper Media, the Toronto-based production company behind pivotal electronic music doc I Dream Of Wires (seen widely on Netflix) comes Electronic Voyager, a new feature-length documentary on electronic music pioneer Bob Moog.
Produced in association with the Bob Moog Foundation, with the foundation's Executive Director (and Bob's daughter) Michelle Moog-Koussa as our host, the film has been in production for more than three years. After a successful May 2016 Kickstarter campaign, we set to work on an ambitious series of international film shoots, capturing as many important stories about Bob Moog as time and budget would permit. We visited close friends & family, colleagues & significant collaborators, along with many of the groundbreaking musicians who made Moog synthesizers famous.
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We understood from day one that time was of the essence here: we had tentative plans to interview Keith Emerson just before his untimely March 2016 passing, and over the course of filming, three of our interview subjects have since passed on. We also knew this film was going to be an ambitious and expensive undertaking. Expenses quickly added up, and we exhausted our Kickstarter funds swiftly. Waveshaper Media have gone on to invest more than $30G of our own money (both company & personal contributions) towards getting Electronic Voyager to this stage.
With the exception of one final trip to Asheville to capture Michelle's narration, filming is now complete and we are well in to post-production. Our director Robert Fantinatto has been hard at work editing every day, full time, for the past four months.
We're ever-so-close to completing Electronic Voyager, and now we're asking for your support via this finishing funds campaign on Indiegogo, to cover some crucial post-production expenses. But we're not just asking you to hand over your hard-earned cash; we have some amazing PERKS on offer as incentives for you to support our project (see below for details). If you see more than one PERK you want, no problem – you can choose more than one, or send us a message to create a custom bundle for you. To learn more about each PERK, click on the perk image for a description/breakdown of what you get.
PERK HIGHLIGHT – "Electronic Voyages" compilation:
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New and exclusive to this Indiegogo campaign, we've produced a compilation LP of Moog recordings from the 1960s. The 1st compilation of its kind, Electronic Voyages: Early Moog Recordings 1964-1969 contains the following groundbreaking Moog tracks:
A1. Robert Arthur Moog - The Abominatron (1964)
A2. Herbert Deutsch - Jazz Images, A Worksong And Blues (1967)
A3. Joel Chadabe - Blues Mix (1966)
B1. Lothar and the Hand People - Milkweed Love (1968)
B2. Intersystems - Changing Colours (1968)
B3. Ruth White - The Clock (1969)
B4. Max Brand - Triptych (1969)
B5. Paul Earls - Monday Music (1968)
All of these tracks, released here on vinyl in an edition of 1000 copies, have been scarcely heard and difficult to track down, with all but three of them previously unreleased on vinyl. Deluxe artwork by acclaimed design firm Mucho, including a four-page essay insert.
About Bob Moog:
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A true American innovator, Bob Moog is one of the most important figures in the history of electronic music, with his invention of the now legendary Moog synthesizer. Moog’s archetypal synthesizers – introduced in the 1960s and gaining widespread popularity beginning in the 1970s – defined electronic music in popular culture, and revolutionized the sound of music across genres. The “Moog” brand became, and remains, the “Kleenex” of synthesizers, and a key part of that branding is Bob Moog himself; iconic photos of a young Bob, looking confident, determined, and surrounded by his own inventions, loom large in contemporary Moog Music marketing materials, and at Moogfest, one of North America’s most celebrated electronic music festivals, dedicated to Bob’s legacy.
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Electronic Voyager takes us on a journey into the often unpredictable life and stunning brilliance of Bob Moog, a man who ‘fell backwards on a banana peel’ into the music instrument business, giving birth to an industry that continues to thrive, standing firmly on the shoulders of Bob Moog's pioneering work.
The Film:
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About our host: Growing up, Michelle Moog-Koussa had an inkling of her father’s fame, and of the importance of his innovative work, but had no idea of the depth and magnitude of his influence; he was, first and foremost, dad. When Bob passed away in 2005 after a brief fight with cancer, the curtains were pulled back on Michelle’s dad, and at the age of 37, Michelle was introduced to Bob Moog. She’s gone on to dedicate her life’s work to preserving and celebrating Bob Moog’s legacy, as founder and Executive Director of the Bob Moog Foundation.
About the film: Electronic Voyager takes the shape of a road-trip journey, with the viewer looking over Michelle’s shoulder as she travels to the places where Moog history happened, and meets the people whose lives were changed by Bob and his inventions. Michelle hopes to uncover clues about who her father really was, and how his work not only impacted the world, but had consequences for her and her family. For herself, and for the world, Michelle wants to reveal a full picture of who Bob Moog really was, the man behind the iconic Moog brand.
Electronic Voyager not only recounts the fascinating story of the most pivotal figure in electronic music’s history, but also sheds light on the personal and financial struggles endured by one of America’s true great innovators; it’s a universal story highlighting the difficult relationship between creativity/innovation and business/commerce.
The Cast:
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In addition to our host Michelle, and the aforementioned list of iconic Moog musicians we filmed for Electronic Voyager, we've spent 3+ years filming more than 30 conversations about Bob Moog's life and career. A few of the many highlights (pictured above in stills from the film) include:
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Herb Deutsch – the musician and composer was Bob's first musician muse. After introducing himself to Bob at a trade show in 1963, the two became fast friends and collaborated on the concept and design of the first Moog synthesizer prototype, now housed as part of The Henry Ford Museum collections.
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Peter Zinovieff – the founder of pioneering UK synthesizer company EMS was visited in the early 1970s by Bob, who was eager to take a close look at, and listen to, their now-legendary VCS3 portable synthesizer.
- the late David Van Koevering – the pioneering electronic musical instrument marketer and salesman helped to create the market for synthesizers, particularly with his tenacious acumen for selling Minimoogs, eventually becoming the VP of Marketing for Moog Music.
- the late Shirleigh Moog – Bob's first wife of 36 years, and Michelle's mother. From her obituary: "...Shirleigh provid[ed] the stability needed to facilitate her husband's inventive spirit. According to friends who knew the couple, her strong presence and sharp intellect were indispensable to his career."
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Gershon Kingsley – the German-American composer and early Moog modular adopter was founder of the First Moog Quartet, a partner in the electronic music duo Perrey and Kingsley, and wrote the ubiquitous instrumental Moog hit, Popcorn.
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David Borden – with the support of Bob, who encouraged him experiment with the Moog modular system at RA Moog Co's Trumansburg factory, David founded Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co synthesizer ensemble in 1969.
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Jim Scott – the Moog Music engineer worked at the original RA Moog Co in Trumansburg, and later moved on to work with Moog Music in Buffalo. A key player in the engineering/design for the Minimoog, Micromoog, and Multimoog.
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Lydia Kavina – the acclaimed thereminist is the granddaughter of Léon Theremin’s cousin, and one of his last protégés. Lydia and Bob formed a friendship over their shared passion and devotion to the Theremin.
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Larry Fast – the synthesizer musician and composer is best known for his series of electronic music LPs under the name Synergy, and for his contributions to a number of popular music acts, including Peter Gabriel, Foreigner, and Kate Bush.
What we need, and what you'll get:
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As you can see, we've created and secured some very special rewards for this Indiegogo campaign, going to great lengths to offer something special to those of you who choose to support our film. As we get closer to completing Electronic Voyager, it's expenses like these that we're looking for this campaign to help us cover:
- Our director Robert Fantinatto (pictured above) will continue to work on Electronic Voyager full-time for several months, and we need to pay him a working wage so he can comfortably concentrate on the crucial task of editing.
- A substantial portion of our budget will be used to license the archival footage, images, and some of the classic music that made Moog synthesizers famous. Music licensing in particular can be extremely difficult, time-consuming, and expensive.
- We have one final trip to make – for our final film shoot, the crew will be visiting Asheville to film our host Michelle's narration.
- Third-party post-production expenses include colour-correction, sound mix, legal fees, and insurance costs.
- It's also worth pointing out that a large portion of the money we raise here will be sunk right back in to the manufacturing and shipping of those PERKs we have on offer. The vinyl LP alone is costing us nearly $8000 to manufacture; we spared no expense in the mastering, licensing, and deluxe packaging, to make this Moog compilation LP an essential historical artifact in the electronic music cannon.
We’re looking to our friends and followers to help us reach our goal – not only through your generous contributions, but also by helping to spread the word, and sharing this page on all of your social media accounts.
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Keep up to date with Electronic Voyager, Waveshaper Media,
and the Bob Moog Foundation, by following –
Electronic Voyager:
http://facebook.com/electronicvoyager
http://twitter.com/moogdocumentary
Waveshaper Media:
http://waveshapermedia.com
http://youtube.com/waveshapermedia
http://instagram.com/waveshapermedia
http://facebook.com/waveshapermedia
http://twitter.com/waveshapermedia
Bob Moog Foundation:
http://moogfoundation.org
http://instagram.com/bobmoogfoundation
http://facebook.com/BobMoogFoundation
http://twitter.com/moogfoundation
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