Will Gregory - one half of the Synth/Pop/Art duo Goldfrapp also has a sideline with an ensemble of monosynths, performing various classical and contemporary works. Gregory was recently interviewed by The Quietus as part of a piece on the influence of the Mini Moog (worth a read), the Moog Ensemble are are a nine strong collection of great players.
They first performed at Bath Music Festival in 2005, playing a selection of Wendy Carlos' Switched On Bach arrangements - it was awesome, I was there.
Long-time collaborator and Portishead member Adrian Utley is a member as well as resepected composer Simon Clark - keyboards for Bill Nelson , David Bowie and many others. The full line up is a star studded cast of extremely accomplished musicians and composers:
In this performance filmed at a recent rehearsal for BBC Maida Vale recording session and Brighton performances, the group are playing "English Country Dance" an excerpt from "The Service Of Tim Henman" a composition by Will Gregory which in full, is set to an extreme slow mo film of ex British no1 tennis player Tim Henman's serve.
At the same rehearsal, we also heard Bach's Brandenburg Concerto 3rd Movement , part of the Switched On repertoire - which was awesome!
The ensemble also perform their own compositions - with the line up they have, there's plenty of new material for them to choose from.
Not featured here, but in the other pieces, Will Gregory and Simon Haram use wind controllers from Akai and Yamaha (both being very talented saxophonists) to add more expression and dynamics to their playing for the classical pieces.
Instruments featured:
We also have an interview with Will Gregory coming up soon.
The Avila Brothers talk about their journey to the recent Super Bowl Halftime Show