MelloFest
Encyclopedia
MelloFest is a new festival that celebrates the Mellotron
and Chamberlin
keyboards and the music that they inspired as well as singer-songwriters in general. Although it is currently based in the UK, its creators hope that it will evolve into a "travelling festival" that will tour Europe, North America and Japan, featuring not only the classic/progressive rock era that is most commonly associated with the instrument but also new contemporary directions.
in Kentish Town, London. The event featured two Mellotrons (white M400s) onstage along with discussions and live Mellotron-inspired music as well as the official launch of Nick Awde
's 600-page book Mellotron (book)
http://www.deserthearts.com/mellotron.html, subtitled The Machine and the Musicians that Revolutionised Rock]. Talking about their music and careers and in some cases also playing it were: violinist David Cross
(King Crimson
), keyboardist Nick Magnus
(Steve Hackett Band), keyboardist Martin Orford
(IQ (band)
), guitarist Jakko Jakszyk
(21st Century Schizoid Band
/The Tangent
/Level 42
), guitarist and singer Dave Cousins
(Strawbs) & arranger Robert Kirby
(Strawbs/Nick Drake
/Paul Weller
), keyboardist Robert Webb
(England (band)) and Tony Clarke
, producer of the Moody Blues.
in Kilburn, London. The stage featured the rare sight of three Mellotrons (two white, one black with a perspex back) amongst the pile of other instruments. More music-based than its predecessor, MelloFest 2 was very much a multi-media affair. Prog keyboardist Mark Rae gave a virtuoso run through of classic Genesis MelloMoments joined by Andy Thompson of Planet Mellotron on 12-string guitar. The iPod
/iPhone
app Ellatron was given a video presentation from the Omenie Software http://web.mac.com/omenie/Site/Home.html team, featuring a 'Virtual Personal Appearance' by Jordan Rudess
of Dream Theater
and singer-songwriter Gary Go
in a 'Mellofest 2009' special video - Go also made a brief appearance in the audience. 'In the Guts of the Beast' was presented by Mellotron gurus Thompson and Gary Knight, who upended a Tron onstage to reveal its Heath Robinson-like inner workings. IQ's Martin Orford
gave a solo set of songs from IQ and his latest solo album The Old Road as well as a version of Beatles classic 'Strawberry Fields Forever
' complete with Mellotron flutes as in the original. Legendary Moody Blues producer Tony Clarke
talked about how he helped create the Moodies sound and described the recording sessions for their huge hit 'Nights in White Satin
'. Robert Webb played and sang old and new England (band) tracks, with a version of King Crimson
's 'Epitaph
' in the middle, joined by Thompson and Maggie Alexander on double Mellotron accompaniment. The finale saw the massed musicians play full-blown Tron versions of 'Nights in White Satin' and 'Space Oddity' - the latter perhaps being the only time that the David Bowie
classic has been played with not only a Mellotron but also a solo Stylophone since its original release in 1969.
, released in early 2010. MelloFest Four will be the band's follow-up album MelloRetro. MelloFest Six, a formal concert of Mellotron and singer-songwriter acts, is planned for the end of 2010. MelloFest Five is closely under wraps at the moment, but hopefully will take place in a location in Europe and involve four, possibly five Mellotrons onstage.
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
and Chamberlin
Chamberlin
The Chamberlin is an electro-mechanical keyboard instrument that was a precursor to the Mellotron. It was developed and patented by Iowa, Wisconsin inventor Harry Chamberlin from 1949 to 1956, when the first model was introduced. Various models and versions of these Chamberlin music instruments...
keyboards and the music that they inspired as well as singer-songwriters in general. Although it is currently based in the UK, its creators hope that it will evolve into a "travelling festival" that will tour Europe, North America and Japan, featuring not only the classic/progressive rock era that is most commonly associated with the instrument but also new contemporary directions.
MelloFest One
The First International MelloFest 2008 took place at the Fiddler's ElbowFiddler's Elbow
Fiddler's Elbow is the largest of a set of islands in the River Thames in England alongside and upstream of Sandford Lock, near Kennington, Oxfordshire....
in Kentish Town, London. The event featured two Mellotrons (white M400s) onstage along with discussions and live Mellotron-inspired music as well as the official launch of Nick Awde
Nick Awde
Nick Awde Hill , is a British writer, artist, singer-songwriter and critic. The author, editor or illustrator of more than 50 books, he is based in London and Brussels...
's 600-page book Mellotron (book)
Mellotron (book)
Written by writer and musician Nick Awde, - subtitled 'The Machine and the Musicians That Revolutionised Rock' is a series of discussions with influential British musicians who innovated popular music through the use of the Mellotron.-Symbol of social heritage:...
http://www.deserthearts.com/mellotron.html, subtitled The Machine and the Musicians that Revolutionised Rock]. Talking about their music and careers and in some cases also playing it were: violinist David Cross
David Cross
David Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...
(King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
), keyboardist Nick Magnus
Nick Magnus
Nick Magnus is a British keyboard player, songwriter, composer, arranger, engineer and producer.He is from the progressive school of keyboard players, mostly associated with instrumental and rock music...
(Steve Hackett Band), keyboardist Martin Orford
Martin Orford
Martin Orford is an English keyboard player best known as the keyboardist and founder member of progressive rock bands IQ and Jadis. He also worked with former King Crimson, UK and Asia bassist John Wetton, and released a solo album, Classical Music and Popular Songs in 2000...
(IQ (band)
IQ (band)
IQ are a British neo-progressive rock band founded by Mike Holmes and Martin Orford in 1981 following the dissolution of their original band The Lens...
), guitarist Jakko Jakszyk
Jakko Jakszyk
Jakko M. Jakszyk is an English guitarist, singer-songwriter , multi-instrumentalist and producer...
(21st Century Schizoid Band
21st Century Schizoid Band
21st Century Schizoid Band are a King Crimson alumnus group formed in 2002.The name derives from the famous song "21st Century Schizoid Man" from the first King Crimson album, In the Court of the Crimson King...
/The Tangent
The Tangent
-Formation:Originally formed by keyboardists Andy Tillison and Sam Baine of Parallel or 90 Degrees and The Flower Kings guitarist Roine Stolt, bassist Jonas Reingold, and drummer Zoltan Csörsz. The septet was completed by renowned saxophonist David Jackson of Van der Graaf Generator and...
/Level 42
Level 42
Level 42 are an English pop rock and jazz-funk band who had a number of worldwide and UK hits during the 1980s and 1990s.The band gained fame for their high-calibre musicianship—in particular that of Mark King, whose percussive slap-bass guitar technique provided the driving groove of many of the...
), guitarist and singer Dave Cousins
Dave Cousins
Dave Cousins has been the leader, singer and most active songwriter of Strawbs since 1967.-Career:...
(Strawbs) & arranger Robert Kirby
Robert Kirby
Robert Kirby was a British born arranger of string sections for rock and folk music. He is best known for his work on the Nick Drake albums, Five Leaves Left and Bryter Layter, but has also worked with Elton John, Ralph McTell, Strawbs, Paul Weller and Elvis Costello.-At Cambridge:Patrick...
(Strawbs/Nick Drake
Nick Drake
Nicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake was an English singer-songwriter and musician. Though he is best known for his sombre guitar based songs, Drake was also proficient at piano, clarinet and saxophone...
/Paul Weller
Paul Weller
Paul Weller is an English singer-songwriter. Starting with the band The Jam , Weller then went on to branch out musically to a more soulful style with The Style Council...
), keyboardist Robert Webb
Robert Webb
Robert Webb may refer to:*Robert Webb , English actor, comedian and writer*Robert Webb , University of Virginia professor*Robert Webb, the creator of polyhedra software Stella*Robert D. Webb, film maker*Robert Wallace Webb, geoscientist...
(England (band)) and Tony Clarke
Tony Clarke (producer)
Tony Clarke was an English rock music record producer and guitarist. Born in Coventry, he is best known for producing The Moody Blues from 1966 to 1979.-Biography:...
, producer of the Moody Blues.
MelloFest Two
The Second International MelloFest 2009 was at The LuminaireThe Luminaire
The Luminaire was a live music venue on Kilburn High Road in north west London, UK. It opened on 1 March 2005 in what was a nightclub called Late, above McGovern's Pub and The Kilburn Bar...
in Kilburn, London. The stage featured the rare sight of three Mellotrons (two white, one black with a perspex back) amongst the pile of other instruments. More music-based than its predecessor, MelloFest 2 was very much a multi-media affair. Prog keyboardist Mark Rae gave a virtuoso run through of classic Genesis MelloMoments joined by Andy Thompson of Planet Mellotron on 12-string guitar. The iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
/iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
app Ellatron was given a video presentation from the Omenie Software http://web.mac.com/omenie/Site/Home.html team, featuring a 'Virtual Personal Appearance' by Jordan Rudess
Jordan Rudess
Jordan Rudess is an American keyboardist best known as a member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater and the progressive rock supergroup Liquid Tension Experiment.-Biography:...
of Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
and singer-songwriter Gary Go
Gary Go
Gary Baker, also known by his stage name Gary Go is a British pop-rock singer, songwriter and producer. His debut single "Wonderful" was a Top 30 track in the UK, the debut album Gary Go was released May 2009 and reached number 22 in the UK Albums Chart...
in a 'Mellofest 2009' special video - Go also made a brief appearance in the audience. 'In the Guts of the Beast' was presented by Mellotron gurus Thompson and Gary Knight, who upended a Tron onstage to reveal its Heath Robinson-like inner workings. IQ's Martin Orford
Martin Orford
Martin Orford is an English keyboard player best known as the keyboardist and founder member of progressive rock bands IQ and Jadis. He also worked with former King Crimson, UK and Asia bassist John Wetton, and released a solo album, Classical Music and Popular Songs in 2000...
gave a solo set of songs from IQ and his latest solo album The Old Road as well as a version of Beatles classic 'Strawberry Fields Forever
Strawberry Fields Forever
"Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and attributed to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. It was inspired by Lennon's memories of playing in the garden of a Salvation Army house named "Strawberry Field" near his childhood home."Strawberry Fields...
' complete with Mellotron flutes as in the original. Legendary Moody Blues producer Tony Clarke
Tony Clarke (producer)
Tony Clarke was an English rock music record producer and guitarist. Born in Coventry, he is best known for producing The Moody Blues from 1966 to 1979.-Biography:...
talked about how he helped create the Moodies sound and described the recording sessions for their huge hit 'Nights in White Satin
Nights in White Satin
"Nights in White Satin" is a 1967 single by The Moody Blues, written by Justin Hayward and first featured on the album Days of Future Passed.It is in the key of E minor Aeolian.-Single releases:...
'. Robert Webb played and sang old and new England (band) tracks, with a version of King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
's 'Epitaph
Epitaph
An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...
' in the middle, joined by Thompson and Maggie Alexander on double Mellotron accompaniment. The finale saw the massed musicians play full-blown Tron versions of 'Nights in White Satin' and 'Space Oddity' - the latter perhaps being the only time that the David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
classic has been played with not only a Mellotron but also a solo Stylophone since its original release in 1969.
Future MelloFests
Work is now underway to create more International MelloFests in a variety of formats. MelloFest Three is the Nick Awde & Desert Hearts EP Close to the Edge B/W Rocket Man/Meryl StreepMeryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
, released in early 2010. MelloFest Four will be the band's follow-up album MelloRetro. MelloFest Six, a formal concert of Mellotron and singer-songwriter acts, is planned for the end of 2010. MelloFest Five is closely under wraps at the moment, but hopefully will take place in a location in Europe and involve four, possibly five Mellotrons onstage.