Gil Trythall - Luxikon II • Echospace [Pandora, 1980] 320k

Pandora 801

A. Luxikon II 14:39
B. Echospace 12:34

mr. trythall’s two late-60’s 'country' themed moogsploitation lps are of course the gilded arches that keep the genre airborne, but it’s this 1980 collection [on the miniscule, west virginia-based pandora records imprint] that’s always been the real show of trythall’s creative vision ...

while 'luxicon ii' ‘s gorgeous deep-bass filtering, runaway arpeggiations, & spot-on 'electro' -tinged drum-machine gork is the stuff of legend ... i maintain that 'echospace' beats a good chunk of time-lag architect terry riley’s synth/ organ / tape-echo work at it’s own game ; it’s a sublimely deep aggregate of flowing sections, each involving pristine, fluttering auto-quantized flights of fancy

Gilbert Trythall, synthesist and composer, was raised in knoxville, tennessee. after studying composition at the university of tennessee with david van vactor, northwestern university with wallingford riegger, and cornell university with robert palmer, gil began composing electronic music in 1966 using a war surplus oscillator, two home tape recorders, patch cords, and a splicing bar. he now teaches at west virginia university.

in 1970, gil synthesized an album of country music classics, country moog which reached the country charts. country moog, and a sequel, nashville gold, were synthesized with moog modular equipment.

here, gil synthesizes two original compositions, luxikon ii and echospace.

luxikon ii was commissioned as a multimedia dance composition by the georgia united arts conference and premiered in atlanta on february 2, 1980. the first performance included projected lissajous laser patterns with choreography by catherine schane of georgia state university.

principal instrumentation for luxikon ii includes: moog iiic modular synthesizer, two interconnected micromoogs, eml 400 sequential sequencer, multivox analog echo, and a farfisa combo organ.

the revised version recorded here was first presented june 21, 1980 in an evening outdoor performance by the parthenon in nashville's centennial park as a part of a multimedia concert featuring multiple films by don evans in a production by the little marrow bone repair corporation.

echospace was commissioned by the atlanta contemporary dance company, joanne mcghee, choreographer, and frequently performed by that group.

echospace is repetitive and trance like. short motives return through a tape delay system developing a rich sonority of multiple echoes. the composition consists of thirteen sections, each based upon a six-note chord which is systematically related to the next. when the pattern returns to the beginning chord (the thirteenth section), the piece is concluded. instrumentation includes a moog illc modular synthesizer and a farfisa combo organ

one of the less academic [read: instantly gratifying] of the in miniature electronic lp as cdr reish's on keith fullerton whitman's creel pone imprint. a fine choice for the attention deficient among you as the compositions are relatively short & thoroughly compelling. echospace in particular is perfect in every way & reminiscent to mine ears of david berman moves. this upgrade made possible by the great Tom7865, 320 gleeps later