Moog

MOOG, the new documentary about Robert Moog, inventor of the modern synthesizer, is a portrait of the legendary figure in music and technology and his ideas about creativity, design, interactivity, spirituality and his collaborations with musicians over the years. MOOG was directed by Hans Fjellestad and produced by Fjellestad and Ryan Page, who collaborated on FRONTIER LIFE (2002), a film about Tijuana, Mexico, and its burgeoning electronic dance music scene.

Permanently changing the face of music, the "Moog synthesizer" went from being the centerpiece of a late-60s craze -- appearing on records with such titles as Spotlight on the Moog, Moog Power, Music to Moog By, Country Moog, Moog Indigo, Exotic Moog and countless others -- to an indispendable instrument for progressive rock bands like Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Yes to predating the electronic dance music movement of today.

Robert Moog has not only made prodigious contributions to modern music and culture, but also has become a character within an unfolding "American maverick inventor" mythology. Moog certainly walks and talks the "mad scientist" part, complete with the fly-away white hair, intense eyes, eccentric mannerisms and a head full of stories.

Moog explains that he "can feel what's going on in a piece of electronic equipment... it's something between discovering and witnessing." And he is convinced that many musicians come to "feel" a circuit in a similar way. In fact, musicians make such strong emotional connections with the electronics inside a Moog synthesizer that the inventor himself has reached cult hero status.

Born in 1934, Robert Moog has been inventing and building electronic musical instruments for nearly half a century. Still active in his workshop in rural North Carolina, Moog continues to shape musical culture with some of the most inspiring instruments ever created.



"Offers a fascinating historical look at the technological side of the 60's revolution in pop music."
-- Stephen Holden, NEW YORK TIMES