Robert Margouleff
Encyclopedia
Robert Margouleff is a Grammy Award
winning American
record producer
, recording engineer
, electronic music
pioneer, audio expert, and film producer.
Most noted for his work with electronic music
synthesizer
programming for Stevie Wonder
(beginning in the 1970s) for award-winning albums including Music of My Mind
, Talking Book
, Innervisions
, Fulfillingness' First Finale
and Jungle Fever, all projects which featured Margouleff (with collaborator Malcolm Cecil
) as associate producers, engineers and synthesizer programmers.
By helping Stevie Wonder develop many new textures and sounds never heard before, Margouleff and Cecil played a major role in bringing synthesizer
s to the forefront of popular music. As an influential electronic music duo - Tonto's Expanding Head Band
- they recorded the album Zero Time (1971) attracting attention from many other leading artists of that era to the newly emerging music technology.
Robert Margouleff was an early customer, friend and collaborator of fellow New Yorker and music instrument pioneer Robert Moog
contributing early insight toward Moog's musical instrument development for artists to routinely program and use synthesizers as part of their evolving sound ecology.
Robert also worked with / produced Billy Preston
, Devo
, Jeff Beck
, Robin Trower
, David Sanborn
, Depeche Mode
, Oingo Boingo
, The Doobie Brothers
, Quincy Jones
, Bobby Womack
, The Isley Brothers
, Gil Scott-Heron
and Weather Report
, Steven Stills, Dave Mason
, Little Feat
, Joan Baez
, Steve Hillage
, GWAR
, and many others.
Robert also was an early creative resource at Andy Warhol's "factory"
eventually co-producing Ciao! Manhattan
a semi-biographical Cult Film
tale of 1960s counterculture icon Edie Sedgwick
as one of Andy Warhol
's Superstars.
a leading boutique, surround sound
(multi-channel audio), mixing studio specializing in home theatre DTS
, DVD
/ HD DVD
releases for major motion picture studios. Mi Casa Multimedia studios is located in a former home of actor Béla Lugosi
.
Robert Margouleff was the Keynote Speaker for the 129th AES
Convention on November 4 at the Moscone Center
in San Fancisco, CA. His lecture was titled: “What The Hell Happened?” which examined the influence of fast-paced technological developments on creativity in the music industry and the recording arts.
Robert is also an avid sailer and documentary filmmaker producing "TALL SHIPS OF THE WORLD" a 13-episode series about America’s greatest sailing ships which will be available on Blu-ray in 3D.
Engineering, production and programming credits—other acts (solo)
(see also Malcolm Cecil Discography, Margouleff and Cecil (together) Discography)
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winning American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, recording engineer
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
pioneer, audio expert, and film producer.
Most noted for his work with electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
programming for Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
(beginning in the 1970s) for award-winning albums including Music of My Mind
Music of My Mind
- Side One :# "Love Having You Around" – 7:21#* Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, talk box, drums, Moog bass#* Art Baron – trombone#* Background Singers – uncredited...
, Talking Book
Talking Book
Talking Book is the fifteenth album by Stevie Wonder, released on October 28, 1972. A signal recording of his "classic period", in this one he "hit his stride"...
, Innervisions
Innervisions
Innervisions is the sixteenth album by American musician Stevie Wonder, released August 3, 1973 on Motown Records; a landmark recording of his "classic period"...
, Fulfillingness' First Finale
Fulfillingness' First Finale
-Side One:#"Smile Please" – 3:28#*Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, drums#*Michael Sembello – electric guitar#*Reggie McBride – electric bass#*Bobbye Hall – congas, bongos#*Jim Gilstrap – background vocals...
and Jungle Fever, all projects which featured Margouleff (with collaborator Malcolm Cecil
Malcolm Cecil
Malcolm Cecil is a British jazz bassist and Grammy Award-winning record producer.A founding member of the UK's leading jazz quintet of the late 1950s, The Jazz Couriers, he went on to join a number of British jazz combos led by Dick Morrissey, Tony Crombie and Ronnie Scott in the late 50s and...
) as associate producers, engineers and synthesizer programmers.
By helping Stevie Wonder develop many new textures and sounds never heard before, Margouleff and Cecil played a major role in bringing synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s to the forefront of popular music. As an influential electronic music duo - Tonto's Expanding Head Band
Tonto's Expanding Head Band
Tonto's Expanding Head Band was a British electronic music duo consisting of Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff. Despite releasing only two albums in the early 1970s, the duo were influential because of their session work for other musicians , extensive commercial advertising work and the unique...
- they recorded the album Zero Time (1971) attracting attention from many other leading artists of that era to the newly emerging music technology.
Robert Margouleff was an early customer, friend and collaborator of fellow New Yorker and music instrument pioneer Robert Moog
Robert Moog
Robert Arthur Moog , commonly called Bob Moog was an American pioneer of electronic music, best known as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer.-Life:...
contributing early insight toward Moog's musical instrument development for artists to routinely program and use synthesizers as part of their evolving sound ecology.
Robert also worked with / produced Billy Preston
Billy Preston
William Everett "Billy" Preston was a musician who gained notoriety and fame, first as a session musician for the likes of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and The Beatles, and later finding fame as a solo artist with hits such as "Space Race", "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from...
, Devo
Devo
Devo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
, Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, Robin Trower
Robin Trower
Robin Leonard Trower , known professionally as Robin Trower, is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum during the 1960s, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio.-Biography:...
, David Sanborn
David Sanborn
David Sanborn is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school...
, Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
, Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo was an American new wave band. They are best known for their influence on other musicians, their soundtrack contributions and their high energy Halloween concerts. The band was founded in 1972 as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, a performance art group...
, The Doobie Brothers
The Doobie Brothers
The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band. The group has sold over 40 million units worldwide throughout their career. The Doobie Brothers were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.-Original incarnation:...
, Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, Bobby Womack
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40...
, The Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers are a highly influential, successful and long-running American music group consisting of different line-ups of six brothers, and a brother-in-law, Chris Jasper...
, Gil Scott-Heron
Gil Scott-Heron
Gilbert "Gil" Scott-Heron was an American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author known primarily for his work as a spoken word performer in the 1970s and '80s...
and Weather Report
Weather Report
Weather Report was an American jazz-rock band of the 1970s and early 1980s. The band was co-led by the Austrian-born keyboard player Joe Zawinul and the American saxophonist Wayne Shorter...
, Steven Stills, Dave Mason
Dave Mason
David Thomas "Dave" Mason is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic...
, Little Feat
Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
, Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
, Steve Hillage
Steve Hillage
Steve Hillage is an English musician, best known as a guitarist. He is associated with the Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s...
, GWAR
GWAR
Gwar is a satirical heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, United States, in 1984. The band is best known for its elaborate science fiction/horror film inspired costumes, obscene lyrics and graphic stage performances, which feature humorous enactments of politically and morally taboo...
, and many others.
Robert also was an early creative resource at Andy Warhol's "factory"
The Factory
The Factory was Andy Warhol's original New York City studio from 1962 to 1968, although his later studios were known as The Factory as well. The Factory was located on the fifth floor at 231 East 47th Street, in Midtown Manhattan. The rent was "only about one hundred dollars a year"...
eventually co-producing Ciao! Manhattan
Ciao! Manhattan
Ciao! Manhattan is a 1972 American avant garde film starring Edie Sedgwick, one of Andy Warhol's Superstars. Although not a documentary, the film centers around a character very closely based on Sedgwick, and deals with the pain of addiction and the lure of fame.-Film overview:Written and directed...
a semi-biographical Cult Film
Cult Classic
Cult Classic is a Blue Öyster Cult studio recording released in 1994, containing remakes of many of the band's previous hits.-Track listing:# " The Reaper" - 5:05# "E.T.I...
tale of 1960s counterculture icon Edie Sedgwick
Edie Sedgwick
Edith Minturn "Edie" Sedgwick was an American actress, socialite, model and heiress. She is best known for being one of Andy Warhol's superstars. Sedgwick became known as "The Girl of the Year" in 1965 after starring in several of Warhol's short films in the 1960s...
as one of Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
's Superstars.
Later career, 1995–present
Robert Margouleff is currently principal founder of Mi Casa Multimedia in Hollywood, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
a leading boutique, surround sound
Surround sound
Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and...
(multi-channel audio), mixing studio specializing in home theatre DTS
Digital Theater System
DTS is a series of multichannel audio technologies owned by DTS, Inc. , an American company specializing in digital surround sound formats used for both commercial/theatrical and consumer grade applications...
, DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
/ HD DVD
HD DVD
HD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
releases for major motion picture studios. Mi Casa Multimedia studios is located in a former home of actor Béla Lugosi
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
.
Robert Margouleff was the Keynote Speaker for the 129th AES
Audio Engineering Society
Established in 1948, the Audio Engineering Society draws its membership from amongst engineers, scientists, other individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. The membership largely comprises engineers developing devices or products for audio, and persons working...
Convention on November 4 at the Moscone Center
Moscone Center
Moscone Center is the largest convention and exhibition complex in San Francisco, California. It comprises three main halls: Two underground halls underneath Yerba Buena Gardens, known as Moscone North and Moscone South, and a three-level Moscone West exhibition hall across 4th Street...
in San Fancisco, CA. His lecture was titled: “What The Hell Happened?” which examined the influence of fast-paced technological developments on creativity in the music industry and the recording arts.
Robert is also an avid sailer and documentary filmmaker producing "TALL SHIPS OF THE WORLD" a 13-episode series about America’s greatest sailing ships which will be available on Blu-ray in 3D.
Discography
- 1971: Zero Time (Tonto's Expanding Head BandTonto's Expanding Head BandTonto's Expanding Head Band was a British electronic music duo consisting of Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff. Despite releasing only two albums in the early 1970s, the duo were influential because of their session work for other musicians , extensive commercial advertising work and the unique...
) - 1972: Talking BookTalking BookTalking Book is the fifteenth album by Stevie Wonder, released on October 28, 1972. A signal recording of his "classic period", in this one he "hit his stride"...
(Stevie WonderStevie WonderStevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
) - 1973: InnervisionsInnervisionsInnervisions is the sixteenth album by American musician Stevie Wonder, released August 3, 1973 on Motown Records; a landmark recording of his "classic period"...
(Stevie Wonder) - 1974: Fulfillingness' First FinaleFulfillingness' First Finale-Side One:#"Smile Please" – 3:28#*Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, Fender Rhodes, drums#*Michael Sembello – electric guitar#*Reggie McBride – electric bass#*Bobbye Hall – congas, bongos#*Jim Gilstrap – background vocals...
(Stevie Wonder) - 1975: It's My PleasureIt's My PleasureIt's My Pleasure is the tenth studio album by Billy Preston, released in 1975. This album marked the modernisation of Preston's music, placing a heavier emphasis on synthesizers. It also marked his first collaborations with singer Syreeta Wright who sings on one track...
(Billy Preston) - 1975: It's About Time (Tonto's Expanding Head Band)
- 1980: Freedom Of Choice (Devo)
Engineering, production and programming credits—other acts (solo)
(see also Malcolm Cecil Discography, Margouleff and Cecil (together) Discography)
- Alexander Courage - Original Television Soundtrack Star Trek From The Original Pilots "The Cage" & "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (1966, 1985)
- Ned Liben - Introducing The ARP Avatar
- Lothar And The Hand People - Presenting... (1968)
- America (2) - Hat Trick (1973, synth progrmamming)
- Billy Preston - Billy Preston (1976)
- Stairsteps - 2nd Resurrection (1976)
- Inner Circle - Ready For The World (1977)
- Bus Boys - Minimum Wage Rock & Roll (1980)
- David Sanborn - As We Speak (1982)
- Innocents, The (4) - The Innocents (1982)
- Manhattans, The - All I Need (1986 Producer [Additional], Remix)
- Branford Marsalis - Renaissance (1987)
- Wilson Pickett - American Soul Man (1987)
- Oingo Boingo - Good For Your Soul (1984)
- Shadowfax - The Odd Get Even (1990)
- 2 Live Crew, The - Live In Concert (1991)
- Tony MacAlpineTony MacAlpineTony Jeff MacAlpine is an American guitarist and keyboardist. Having released ten studio albums over a career spanning more than two decades, he is best known as an instrumental solo guitarist, although he has worked with many different bands and musicians in the form of guest appearances and...
- Freedom to FlyFreedom to FlyFreedom to Fly is the fourth studio album by guitarist Tony MacAlpine, released in 1992 through Shrapnel Records.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Tony MacAlpine – guitar, keyboard, grand piano*Mike Terrana – drums*Larry Dennison – bass...
(1992) - Various - Alternative NRG (1994)
- Avalon (17) - Rumour Has It / Catch Us If You Can / Messin' With My Baby / Blackmail
Awards and recognition
- Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-ClassicalGrammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-ClassicalThe Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes:*In 1959 the award was known as Best Engineered Record - Non-Classical...
– 1974Grammy Awards of 1974The 16th Grammy Awards were held March 2, 1974, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1973.- Award winners :* Record of the Year...
- Malcolm CecilMalcolm CecilMalcolm Cecil is a British jazz bassist and Grammy Award-winning record producer.A founding member of the UK's leading jazz quintet of the late 1950s, The Jazz Couriers, he went on to join a number of British jazz combos led by Dick Morrissey, Tony Crombie and Ronnie Scott in the late 50s and...
& Robert Margouleff (engineers) for InnervisionsInnervisionsInnervisions is the sixteenth album by American musician Stevie Wonder, released August 3, 1973 on Motown Records; a landmark recording of his "classic period"...
performed by Stevie WonderStevie WonderStevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
- Malcolm Cecil
Speaking Engagements
External links
- Mi Casa Multimedia
- Tonto's Expanding Head Band
- Virtual Synthesizer Museum's TONTO page
- Robert Margouleff Keynote Speaker for 129th AES Convention