Malcolm Cecil on Creating TONTO

TONTO is an acronym for The Original New Timbral Orchestra. It was created by Malcom Cecil and Robert Margouleff in 1968 , and marked the first attempt at creating a universal language for different synthesizers to communicate with each other, which was revolutionary at the time.
Now housed at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, TONTO is being used for a new generation of artists to create music.
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[@RadioCamp]

Back in 1977 I was the morning DJ at a tiny AM/FM station in Mendocino, California. Of course "Songs in the Key" of Life was spinning a lot. One morning I commented on the ultra-tight horn section on "I Wish." A woman called and said "those aren't real horns, it's a synth." What??? Next thing I knew she'd arranged for Malcolm Cecil (who I guess was living locally at the time) to come by the studio for an interview. Wow!

[@janatanelmodickie4801]

The album specifically credits musicians for the horns on its sleeve. Was Motown telling the porky pies?😮

[@benkleschinsky]

It would have been amazing to be a fly on the wall when guys like Stevie Wonder and Weather Report were using this to make their albums in the 70's. This is an absolute incredible piece of music history. I'm glad it's been preserved.

[@andrewwilliams9599]

The electronic Stonehenge. Long may it produce glorious new sounds.

[@psmith3001]

Wrong, there is nothing new under the sun - so get over it!

[@MikeJohnson-wc2rn]

My parents had an awesome album from the 70s that was called Tonto's Expanding Head Band. My Dad always told me it was the 1st purely synth based record. It had a way trippy sleeve. Was really good. Im pretty sure that this was the gear responsible for creating it.

[@BenticSebastian]

RIP Malcolm Cecil.

[@donaldpriola1807]

Malcom was one of the coolest. RIP.

[@thesoundsmith]

"From the front, it's got to be playable and from the back it's got to be _serviceable._ H"ow true. I gave up trying to create an amalgam of Arp 2600, Roland System 100, a row of PAIA modules and "keyboard." when it started to look like an Escher print... Great job, sir. , Respect, Rest In Passion, you'd be bored with 'peace'...

[@mikeschneider901]

I knew Malcomb quite well and he was always a joy to work with. I miss him.

[@CraigMansfield]

Airways knew the synths, but never knew the man who put it all together. I'm sorry to learn of him by his "passing". Sympathy to everybody who feels this loss

[@benaustin6361]

RIP Malcolm. Thank you for helping to create the sonic landscape of my childhood and for managing to not only craft amazing music technology, but for building the relationship with perhaps the greatest creator of music using those tools. Much appreciated.

[@TheScreamingFrog916]

It may sound weird, but I have been a huge fan of TONTO, the synth, since I first saw it, in the Phantom of the Paradise movie. Already being a synth freak as a teenager, seeing TONTO in the movie, absolutely blew my mind. Had wet dreams about it for years, after that. Sadly I did not find out about these KZbin videos about it, until after Malcom's passing.

[@michaelwilde2209]

About Time was one of the best and most amazing albums of all time ,sad to hear of Malcolms passing a true pioneer of music

[@davidhall3747]

I was curious about Stevie Wonder's Synthesizer Arrangement and this Video popped up. An amazing arrangement indeed. I'm a multi- Instrumentalist.

[@troy8420]

I love his outfit

[@axs203]

We have lots of things today in our computers but this is much more magical

[@smd1uk]

I noticed the sequencer keyboard from a Synthi AKS stashed away in there.

[@hintoninstruments2369]

Malcolm had several EMS products. This is what he told me in 2007: "I still have a 256 sequencer and a smaller sequencer with a "painted" keyboard and perspex cover as well as a Cricklewood keyboard and a couple of the thin blue AKS sequencers. The 256 hasn't worked in a while - we rehoused it to fit TONTO but it got replaced with a computer based unit back in the early 90's. I also still have an EMS octave filter bank and a pitch to voltage converter - neither of which have been used for ages but were working fine last time they were played with."

[@smd1uk]

@@hintoninstruments2369 I swapped my AKS sequencer keyboard for a DK2 way back in the 70s and I’ve regretted it ever since.

[@jimmy_jamesjams_a_lot4171]

THIS tendency towards favoring a system that is as completely flexible as is possible, within the realm of the time when it was used. It’s a contagious endeavor. We’ve all been to the club or seen films with the DJ, holding up his headphones to hear the queued up channel that isn’t playing through the PA, so he can hear the channel that he’s going to bring in without disappointing the audience by forcing them the agony of listening to the parts they don’t want to hear. This system takes that to a whole other level. Super easy to isolate channels, and to let the performers hear the stuff that they don’t want the audience to hear. Pretty neat to think of that wire coming from the Apollo missions and NASA. That should be some extra robust wire. I wish I could get my hands on some of that wire. THANKS FOR SHARING THIS! This is a great glimpse of the reasons behind the madness!!

[@jowlorenz9555]

Controls to thee mothership !

[@benkleschinsky]

This should have a million views. Incredible.

[@derekrevell]

Wow! didn't expect to see an EMS KS keyboard as part of TONTO

[@loskioskbears]

So sad to hear that he left us today. BTW, this video is very interesting, but the sound of the synth itself is way too low in the mix. I can hardly hear it!

[@colinmorgan6733]

Fantastic to see and hear that that Malcom's and Robert's legacy has been preserved. Was quiet a thing in it's day and still is.

[@iandean9392]

Remembering Malcolm Cecil

[@markwhite2207]

That's some mad genius type sh*t!

[@soloharmonicsrobj8246]

This is an amazing setup, and so many great electronic instruments in one arena. I've heard Tonto's Expanding Headband on a late night radio show titled Hearts Of Space.

[@KozmykJ]

Rave On Malcom Cecil

[@robinwatson4282]

All now available at a laptop near you at approximately 1/10,000 of the cost.

[@jimmywhyte7181]

The Michael Rosen of synthesisers.

[@djtrakakadrunkpoet8598]

I really wanna see a full documentary on this coolest instruments I think I ever seen

[@cyborgmetropolis7652]

I heard modular synthesis can be addictive.

[@pedroeustache5511]

SUCH GENIUS !! BEYOND REMARKABLE!!

[@seankellymurray]

Truly amazing level of design, Malcolm Cecil a genius and visionary in his time.

[@markross2426]

Fantastic film thanks for sharing

[@synkrotron]

Excellent! Thank you :-)

[@diogosimoes7445]

Here before The Weeknd's new album!!

[@joehiggs100]

Great thanks! Revolutionary.

[@patrickbodine6010]

The legacy of a genius.

[@gdynk]

This is so cool

[@lex3729]

Iconic Personification of a Mad Scientist!

[@minimoog4236]

So Tonto is basically a super-duper expanded VCS3?

[@eyesintheskies]

If you ever worry your eurocrack habit has got outta hand come back hear and ease your fear👍

[@DelmaRaySmithJr]

wow

[@jennifyrgilmore2441]

Imagine if Charles Ives had had TONTO to work out his compositions....

[@HarrySteed]

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

[@MrDennismcmahon]

wow moon pups dad wish i could have met him

[@astrojazzman]

I wonder what Bruse Haack or Sun Ra would do with this synthesizer? 🎹🎹🎹

[@jowlorenz9555]

This is what the control panel of sun ra's spaceship look like .

[@LifetimeTravelmates]

bring the tonto pronto

[@chromepanther9612]

Malcolm was the fucking man! Absolute genius and legend.

[@hansmittendorf]

is there a continuation of this video?

[@eyesintheskies]

Power cables from the Apollo mission 🤯😂

[@Ray_Wood_1984]

🙇‍♂️💓🍀🎶

[@LeeBarry]

Perhaps in the future you could use a BCI and control iit with brain waves. (I was not aware he had passed...RIP)

[@tiefighter3445]

RIP

[@user-vr3ko2ji5o]

Is there a plug in for this? I wanna put it on my DAW.

[@vinsflokor]

Who's the arranger and conductor of Stevie that Malcolm was referring to? I can't understand his/her name, could anybody help me out?

[@DeepThinkingGPU]

I won a tonto, we converted our basement home gym to a Tonto room, i go down there for hours and realize how lucky I am and you are not. Thank you to nobody but myself.

[@RodrickColbert]

Wow,! Did he ever work with Kraftwerk? Duran Duran?

[@Imetalman2000]

Guy spends several minutes breaking down the sequencer. “See it’s easy to use” me: 😅 okay buddy.

[@cvp1969]

Is Arturia going to do a VST?

[@RaquelFoster]

He's just going to give zero credit to Robert Margouleff? Robert was his partner on the TONTO albums and the four Stevie albums. Robert is the one who showed him how to use a Moog. The first synth put in TONTO was Robert Margouleff's personal Moog. Most pictures of TONTO show both of them. They both won a grammy together. And Stevie listed both of them (and listed Robert first) in the producer credits on all four albums. But I'm sure Malcolm did most of the wiring for TONTO, since he was the engineer who built electronics. Malcolm is the mad scientist. Pete Townsend also said that Malcolm loved to show off, and he saw Malcolm destroy a bass and that's what gave Pete the idea to start destroying guitars on stage. Robert was the chill stoner.

[@MrMassivefavour]

No Cecil, Townshend, Jarre or Kraftwork. No modern popular music.

[@djtrakakadrunkpoet8598]

Ableton and Logic ain’t got shit on this

[@englishjona6458]

This guy don’t know what half that stuff is loool

[@charbokh]

Tonto means dumb in Spanish.

[@patrickbodine6010]

TONTO is an acronym: The Original New Timbral Orchestra The music is the meaning, not simply a translated name.

[@jowlorenz9555]

Kemosabi means nerd in cherokee.

[@jvf6257]

Wonder who’s the TONTO to waste all that $ with not lucrative end.

[@jowlorenz9555]

No wonder the lone ranger wears that mask .