Ever since I was in high school, I’ve loved classic progressive rock. The music of bands like Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, Pink Floyd and Rush are a frequent influence on my own music. The Mellotron is an electric keyboard instrument from the 1960s that was popularized by The Beatles, The Moody Blues and most of the bands listed above through the 1970s. The instrument was unique at the time, in that it used reels of pre-recorded tapes of voices and orchestral instruments that triggered when the player pressed a key or series of keys on the keyboard. In this way, it’s often seen as an early example of a keyboard that uses samples to create its sound (which is very common today). Although it has its limitations, it produced a gorgeous sound and atmosphere, and any prog rock band worth its sequined capes wouldn’t have been without one (or, as for King Crimson, two) on stage. Real Mellotrons are expensive, but luckily, I have a piece of software called the M-Tron Pro by G Force which was created with beautifully recorded samples of an original Mellotron, and also offers endless variations of sound, tone and timbre that aren’t even possible on the original instrument.
In 1980, Billy Joel released a song called “Sleeping with the Television On” on his Glass Houses album. Being the fan I am of the Mellotron’s sound, I couldn’t resist a spin-off for this song. Mellotron sounds pop up all over my Isotherme music in addition to this track, notably on the tracks “Nail 1” and “Nail 2”, “Angle of Isolation”, “Gloria=Enigma”, “Genuflection” and “A Song of Sixpence”.
supported by 7 fans who also own “Sleeping with the Mellotron On”
This EP was created using guitar, delay pedals and a looper pedal. It has an excellent experimental feel with great use of delay, layered sounds and feedback and Roofhare gets a huge range of sounds from the guitar. I really like the development of rhythmic sounds and interplay between the different delay effects which gives an ambience with a darker edge and great tension at times. Andrulian
Inspired by Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Carnival Parades comes this epic synth symphony from Brazilian artist Fordmastiff. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 3, 2022