Artifacts from the Archives

We are offering a FREE 349-page pdf compendium of Raymond Scott artifacts and ephemera, including previously uncirculated historic material. The contents of Artifacts from the Archives are intended as informational supplements to the Scott albums Three Willow Park, Manhattan Research Inc., and Soothing Sounds for Baby.

The chronological, annotated documents and images spotlight Scott’s career in the field of electronic music, from his 1920s Brooklyn high school days to his 1980s post-Motown years in Los Angeles. Much of the content focuses on Scott’s most productive period, from 1958 (when he began working on electronic music full-time) to 1972 (his first year at Motown). The collection features Scott’s handwritten and typed technical notes, photographs, sketches, correspondence, art, schematics, patents, circuit diagrams, vintage news articles, and family ephemera. The pdf is offered for download in two formats: high resolution (for viewing and printing), and reduced resolution, suitable for paging through on-screen.

Three Willow Park: Electronic Music from Inner Space, 1961–71

THREE WILLOW PARK: ELECTRONIC MUSIC FROM INNER SPACE, 1961–71, a new collection of previously unreleased Raymond Scott electronica, will be issued June 30th by Basta Music. The album features 61 tracks, many showcasing the Motown-era Electronium — Scott's invention that composed using programmed intelligence — which will be heard for the first time on disc. This long-awaited followup to Manhattan Research Inc. (recorded 1953-69) will be available in 3-LP, 2-CD, and digital formats, and includes a 20-page book, plus a free 350-page downloadable PDF of archival artifacts. Produced By: Gert-Jan Blom and Irwin Chusid • Associate Producer: Jeff Winner • Art Direction: Piet Schreuders • Order from Amazon here: http://amzn.to/2q2NZ11

Multimedia Presentation in Philadelphia

From BowerBird.org:

To commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Raymond Scott's music, Jeff E. Winner of the Scott archives presents the life of the late composer and inventor with rare audio and video. This evening will include a 60 minute presentation by Winner and a complete screening (100 minutes) of the documentary, “DECONSTRUCTING DAD: The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott.” The award-winning film, which Winner co-produced and appears in, features interviews with movie music composer John Williams ("Star Wars"), Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo, and DJ Spooky aka Paul D. Miller, as well as Raymond Scott's family, colleagues, and archival footage of Scott himself.

Jeff E. Winner is a music producer, historian, and researcher specializing in early electronica. He has written for the Oxford University Press "Grove Dictionary Of American Music," the MIT Press anthology "Sound Unbound" with Chuck D of Public Enemy, Moby, Scanner, and Steve Reich, features in "Electronic Musician" magazine, and liner notes for the DVD/CD series "OHM: The Early Gurus Of Electronic Music" with Sonic Youth, Bob Moog, John Cage, and Brian Eno. Mr. Winner was also editor and interviewer for "WE ARE DEVO," the band's only biographical book (Firefly Press).

• THIS EVENT IS FREE. Friday, March 16th, at 8pm. DETAILS: here

UPDATE: Irwin Chusid is now planning to join me for this event and participate.

Passport to The Future

Dana Countryman's new biography detailing the life and career of French electronic pop music legend, Jean-Jacques Perrey, includes Perrey's memories of meeting Raymond Scott. Here's an excerpt:

"My sponsor, Carroll Bratman, drove me to the studio of Raymond Scott, the famous bandleader and composer," Jean-Jacques recalls. "I knew he was the man who had composed 'The Toy Trumpet,' and many other famous melodies, so I was very impressed to meet him. He had a huge studio in his home that was filled with his electronic music inventions. It looked more like a scientific laboratory, than a recording studio!"

"I played the Ondioline for Raymond Scott, and immediately he wanted to play it. He was very interested in how it worked. He didn’t offer to buy it right away, so Carroll suggested that we leave it in his studio. 'If you decide you like it, then you can buy it,'" Carroll said.

"Not long after, Mr. Scott called up Carroll, and said, 'Okay, I’ll buy the instrument from you.' But instead, Carroll decided to give the Ondioline to him — for free! The only other time that I remember him giving an Ondioline away, was the time he gave one to Arthur Godfrey."

• More memories of Raymond Scott from Perrey: here
• Book details and ordering info: here

Part 2: Full Circle

A couple of weeks ago, I reported that an engineer, David Brown, was developing a replica of Raymond Scott's sequencer invention, The Circle Machine. Mr. Brown reports progress:

I mounted the base plate on a panel along with the 16 lamp rheostats and three control jacks. I built a separate desktop wood enclosure with an external power supply. I removed three of the vanes and the counterbalance weights to lighten the armature. This was rather a fun project and my first using a stepper motor. I built it for fun since I thought it would be visually interesting. I didn't intend for this to be a precision sequencer nor a faithful recreation of the Raymond Scott Circle Machine. However I am pleased with the results as it works well to generate interesting sequences and is fun to watch.

New video & details: here

Full Circle

Retired Tektronix engineering executive David Brown is constructing a working replica of Raymond Scott's sequencer invention, The Circle Machine. “I thought it would be fun to build something with motors and lamps," Mr. Brown says. "The only information I have is the picture on the Raymond Scott site. I used a Hammond vibrato scanner base as the base for the Circle Machine and mounted it on a plate with 16 potentiometers around it. I only have 8 lamps installed but I have it playing an octave scale. I’m not sure how practical it is but it’s kind of fun to watch."

See & hear Brown's replica in action: here

Electronium Restoration

Although Raymond Scott designed and built several versions of his automatic composing-performing machine, The Electronium, the only surviving model was one commissioned by Berry Gordy for Motown. Following Scott's death in 1994, the non-functioning instrument was purchased by Mark Mothersbaugh, who promised to restore it. That resurrection is now being attempted by engineer Darren Davison. 

BBC Radio Interview

The BBC World Service radio arts program, The Strand, recently aired an interview with Raymond Scott's son, Stan Warnow, about his forthcoming documentary film, DECONSTRUCTING DAD. Listen to the feature, which also utilizes generous portions of Stu Brown's new CD: here<<

photo of Stan Warnow

by: Gert-Jan Blom

Les Paul & Raymond Scott

Raymond Scott's fellow/rival musician, inventor, and multi-track recording pioneer Les Paul died today at age 94. Details about this audio giant and his important accomplishments here.

Below is an excerpt from THE WORLD OF SOUND, a chapter I contributed to the SOUND/UNBOUND anthology, compiled by Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky:

In 1952, Raymond Scott designed and built two of the world’s first multi-track tape machines, capable of recording seven and fourteen parallel tracks on a single reel. Two years later, sonic maverick Les Paul made an eight-track prototype, and inventor Hugh Le Caine devised a way to mix-down six separate tape sources in 1955. But as author/music historian Thom Holmes points out, “nobody came close to matching Scott’s early achievement.” Scott filed two patents for his advancements in magnetic tape technology in 1953, and a third in ’59.

Neil Strauss included a chapter about Raymond Scott in his new book, EVERYONE LOVES YOU WHEN YOU’RE DEAD, and added this footnote:

"During an interview with Les Paul, the musician who helped develop the electric guitar and popularize multi-track recording, I mentioned Raymond Scott and accidentally set him off on a tirade. Evidently, the two were rival innovators. 'He used to come to my house,' Paul snapped. 'He sure had some equipment though. I envied him.'" 

Dancing Machine

Excerpts from THE WORLD OF SOUND, a chapter I (Jeff Winner) contributed to the SOUND/UNBOUND anthology, compiled by Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky:

In August of 1970, Motown Records founder Berry Gordy read an article in Variety magazine about Raymond Scott and his Electronium. Along with The Beatles and The Beach Boys, Motown virtually controlled the 1960s pop charts with stars like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Diana Ross & The Supremes. And with THE JACKSON 5 as his latest smash supergroup, Gordy was at the height of his influence. ... 

Hoby Cook was a technician at Motown’s MoWest facility who tested Scott’s Electronium extensively. “I wanted some reactions, so as an experiment, I’d open the door and turn the volume up — loud.” Cook’s technique worked. Motown personnel heard the curious sounds and wandered in. “Cal Harris did a lot of recording with it, and MICHAEL JACKSON was fascinated,” Cook recalled. “He was just this kid sitting there, staring at the flashing lights. He said he wanted THE JACKSON 5 to use the Electronium somehow.”

Taki76

Funk/soul/electro artist Taki76 reports:

"I love the Raymond Scott toy figure so much, it inspired me to make one of myself!"