Nice interview with Isao Tomita

From Resident Advisor:

Isao Tomita: Moog reverie
You started out as a composer and an arranger of classical music, right?

Isao Tomita: In the 1950s, when I was in college, I arranged orchestrated versions of popular music and children's songs for use in schools, TV commercials and radio shows. During that time, I arrived to the conclusion that everything that could be achieved in orchestration has already been done in Wagner's time and, eventually, I realized that I wanted to make my own music using my own sounds.

I started experimenting with effects units like Vox's Fuzz-Tone. In the '70s, I discovered the Moog synthesizer, and came across Walter Carlos' album Switched-On Bach. Rock bands like Emerson Lake & Palmer, Pink Floyd and Yes would also use Minimoog in their music later on, but while they merely incorporated the Moog sound into their rock music, Walter Carlos built an entire album around the synthesizer. That idea totally blew my mind. But the thing is, Bach's music can be replayed on any instrument as long as it's in tune, and I felt that Switched-On Bach's sound could have been better. If you're gonna use something like a Moog synthesizer, you have to tweak the tone and put out something incredible.

How did you come to buy one?

Isao Tomita: At first, I had no idea where to buy it. Back in 1970, when we didn't even have a fax machine, I used a telex machine to contact people in Hong Kong. I found out that the Moog company was located in Buffalo, New York. I flew over there, and was shocked to see that the main office of a cutting-edge company like Moog was located in a simple, storage-shed-type building, in the middle of nowhere. I said to myself, "They make intricate machinery in a place like this!?"

So you went there and asked to buy the Moog III P directly. How much did it cost?

Isao Tomita: Back then, one dollar was 360 yen, and the Moog synthesizer was considered a luxury item, such as a foreign car, so the tariff rate was over 200%. It cost somewhere around 10 million yen (roughly $125,000) in today's value. Also, in those days we didn't have customs brokers like we do now, and if goods had problems clearing customs, the person importing the goods had to actually be there. So at customs, they asked me what this machine was. I told them that it was an instrument, and they didn't believe me. They said, "Then, play it." [laughs]

I wish it was that easy, but it takes a while to even generate something that's not just noise, so I couldn't play it in front of them. I pulled out an LP of Switched-On Bach which has a Moog on the cover, and they still didn't buy it. Eventually, I had to ask Moog to send over a photo that shows somebody using a Moog synthesizer on stage, and it took about a month to get my synth finally cleared. And then, even though I'd told them from the beginning that it was just an instrument, they told me I had to pay extra for storage fees. I was tired of dealing with them so I just paid.

Did you master it quickly?

Isao Tomita: It was hell. Prior to purchasing it, I had thought it was like an electric organ, but when it came, I realised it was not that simple. I had to change my perception of what instruments are supposed to be like, because it was something totally different. All it made was noise at first. And the instructions didn't help much since it was only about 15 pages, talking about the functions of the machine, but not shedding light on how to create certain sounds.

A lot more at the site including some nice gear pron. The issue with playing an analog synthesizer is that it is monophonic -- you have to lay down each track individually. Also, there are no "standard" patches -- it is not an organ or piano. You have to build up each sound from scratch. Tomita is now 80 -- he was a major force of nature. Nice interview.