Cybernaut from LP Zero Time by Tonto's Expanding Head Band

[misterviv1959]

@paulreeve, haven't heard this for over 30 years, and I'm still convinced I can hear some of the soundtrack from 'Six million Dollar man' in there somewhere.

Still, the band have one of the best names for a group,ever.

Never went on tour,sadly, since moving their synth would have been as easy as moving Milton Keynes.

This was one of the first songs I ever heard through headphones. Apparently my facial expression was not unlike that of a smiley face drawn by a kid on a balloon. No bad thing then.

[Bill99Cass]

It would be nice to have someone to listen these classics with like in the good old days (pot and rock) it doesn't get any better then that

[paulreeve]

@Bill99Cass

Thanks for commenting. Maybe that someone will come along when you least expect it. Good luck !

[boysiepay]

One of my very favorite groups, haven't heard them since I was a child, thank you soooo much!

[MrVulcan09]

This has been a big favourite of mine since the 70s. I ordered a CD ages ago but there is apparently a legal problem that stops copies being released on sale, so i keep enjoying it on here. thanks very much for downloading.

[paulreeve]

@MrVulcan09

Hi ! Thanks for commenting. Sorry you've not been able to get hold of the CD. I hope the issue will be resolved soon.

[rainbowhaze1]

@MrVulcan09 I just bought a cheap cd off oxfam new and wrapped, second hand on line store, and it has this track on it

[rainbowhaze1]

@MrVulcan09 I just bought a cheap cd off oxfam new and wrapped, second hand on line store, and it has this track on it. its called the big chill

[mycuff2]

@MrVulcan09 I have the original vinyl LP, love electronic music, this was one of my faves as well

[Efrasnel]

Sounds like the soundtrack to a wacky '70 documentary on esoteric subjects. Love it!!!

[TheFidras]

Chino,Chalon,Ney,China,Kseca,W­il,Vverga, ytoda la brosa de los 70 que nos poniamos a livar fumar mota y de repente un acido. recuerdan esta musica?

[sallyanne657]

Used to listen to them all the time at uni early 70`s but leant my copy to a friend in Guildford and never got it back. Recently managed to buy Tonto Rides Again on CD includes all ZeroTime - and my very favourite track - Tama - listen to this - it`s wrongly called Trama on this youtube video.....

[paulreeve]

Hi Sallyanne657

It is amazing how few of those 'borrowed' albums were ever returned to their rightful owners. Glad you managed to pick up the cd. Worth every penny !

[NutmegPunkle]

many times in my youth i played this fantastic lp to death, especially this track, what was the follow up lp called , ive got that tucked away somewhere to x x

[LeonTHDD]

Please upload a copy of zero time by this group!

[acidhouse100]

Good stuff, thanks for posting.

[alanstarkie2001]

I heard this on The Old Grey Whistle Test - must have been 71 or 72 - went out the next day & bought the album at Rare Records Manchester UK. Lent it to a schoolfriend & never got it back - you git Mark Conner if you ever see this!

[Cymru4sc]

And I actually have an unblemished LP copy of all this - amazing music when played to the kids REALLY LOUD! lol

[paulreeve]

Hi Cymru4sc,

Why not keep that copy unblemished and look out for the cd ? That unblemished vinyl would be a great thing to pass on to the kids!

Thanks for taking the time to comment.

[projektor4]

Annie Nightingale played THB on her BBC radio show, thats when i 1st. knew of them

Steve Hillage worked with them on 1 of his albums, " Motivation Radio" i think, (cann´t locate it at the moment to confirm)

[micheljch]

yes, you are correct - Malcolm Cecil and his TONTO Moog III were part of that LP. Cecil & Margoulief (sp) also produced a number of Stevie Wonder's early 70's LPs (Innervisions, Talking Book, and Fulfillingness First Finale come to mind)

[kinstube]

"THESE ARE HELLA ULTRA WAVES OF SOUND!"- KiN CAMELL

[paulreeve]

Hi Kin,

Thanks to you too for commenting. Glad you like the music.

[420dragons420]

I first heard this in the movie "Acapulco Gold" which was a documentary about marijuana smuggling in the 70's. This song was playing during the footage of the film maker walking through a marijuana field in Mexico. I was wondering "they had common synthesizer music like this in the early 70's?" then looked up the song during the credits. Tonto is pretty amazing for it's time.

[paulreeve]

Hi 420dragons420 !

Thanks for your interesting and informative comment.

[sunnymane26]

First heard THE while walking along Portobello Road in London in the seventies, went in the shop, asked who was playing and went away and bought the LP. Great stuff.

[fenlandfolly]

I still have this album - bought in 1972 - my son's do not believe the amount of equipment used to make these sounds!?

[paulreeve]

Thanks for commenting Perpetuity. Much appreciated. Alison Steele "The Night Bird" must have been quite a presenter (or DJ) !

[Perpetuity1000]

Loved hearinf Tonto's Expanding Head Band again. I, too, listened to "The Night Bird" in NYC. Ah, Columbia at 3:00 a.m. - the best memories ever. The video's a great comment on time.

[dragoonee]

Also from the same album is the "cars on highway" sound of Jetsex, which predates Kraftwerk's trip on the Autobahn by about 2 years.

[Anyone4music]

This was all done with transistors and tape loop mellotrons and valve hammond organs. The peeps who built the first modern computers were still in high school.

They have a track where you can hear speech real words without a CPU just ability and time.

[Rotwatcher]

@Anyone4music - Actually, it was all done using an expanded series 3 Moog synthesiser. Or possibly several of them. No mellotrons, and definitely no Hammonds.

[ShoppingBargains]

Couldn't agree more...

synthesizers only here!

...very nice too.

:-)

[paulreeve]

Hi S8Tan 2000,

Thanks for the comment. It certainly made me chuckle. If you get the chance try River Song from the same album. I bet you will recognise that too. I have been meaning to upload it for a long time but never seem to find the time. Sorry. If you can afford it buy the cd. You won't regret it. Details of availability can be found in the notes to this vid. With best regards to your mum and yourself,

Paul.

[ssballs]

It still sounds so fantastic 40 years later!No wonder it inspired Stevie Wonder.I am having a retro time thanks to his performance today.Nice side-bar and thank you for posting.

[paulreeve]

Thanks Corey !

[paulreeve]

Thanks Les.

A lot of great music never really got the airplay it deserved. I'm amazed that you remember the station that did play it !

As far as I can recall, the only chance of getting to listen to such gems on the radio in the U.K. was if you were lucky enough to find a pirate station prepared to play it. Otherwise the discovery was much down to visits to small but progressive record oulets such as Virgin in London's Tottenham Court Road armed with a list of 'labels' to look out for !

[colsnake331]

This brought back more than a few memories. The only station bold enough to play it was W.A.Y.E. in Baltimore back then. Great Post.

[ritzywiz]

A fine effort bringing back some good memories of carefully laying this piece of vinyl down on my Garrard SP25 with my Sansui 101 cranked up to eleven through a pair of Wharfedale Linton's. Things were so much simpler then. Keep up the good work.

Regards from Chris

[paulreeve]

Many thanks Chris. Indeed, things were so much simpler :-)

[stretcherbearerband]

Thanks so much for TeHb I'm A devotee of the lesser know bands, Mad River, Mallard, Renaldo and the Loaf, Bruce Haack... I'm an experimental/ Psychedelic Musicians / Artist, and flipped when I was able to Find Ant Trip ceremony and Curved Air, Van der Graaf Generator...

But this is one of the Holy Grails in my search. Now I just need to find albums, and some John's Children, and H,P, Lovecraft. and I'll be somewhat satisfied.

[paulreeve]

Hi Steve. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Pleased to have posted something that you value !

[cholocharile]

sweet taste, renaldo and the loaf, bruce haack

[Neutraleyes66]

There is a connection between one of the Tonto and Oingo Boingo. One of them produced the Boingo's albums.

[PAULLONDEN]

-strecher- have you found your 'John's Children' already ? One of my favourite 6T's band. The Sex Pistols of '67

[patches53]

I have their first UK album on vinyl. Loved it when it came out. I should dig the album out and listen again.

[im4out]

ahhh remember buying this all dem tears ago......cool

[paulreeve]

Cool indeed. Thanks for the cool comment !

[1234567890qwertymnbv]

my dad is now on a mission to find all the original LP's from the loft

its quite stange he just stood against my bed with his eyes closed!!!!!!!

i wish i was born in the 50's so i could have lived through the 60s 70s and 80s

[paulreeve]

Hi 123

I hope your dad found what he was looking for . The search is not always an easy one but sometimes you find more than you bargained for. Many thanks for a most interesting comment . Please pass on my regards to your dad .

I'll try to post another track as soon as I can find the time. The next one may well be without a video interpretation. Well, with eyes closed everything looks the same (or does it ? ). I do believe someone once commented that living is easy with eyes closed.........:-)

[PAULLONDEN]

Great to see & hear Cybernaut again,

I still own the original vinyl LP from 1970,

still "good "condittion ♫☺♫

[paulreeve]

Hi Paul,

Hold on to that vinyl !

[shawtune]

Ahhh ..... I was lucky enough to have been associated with Malcolm Ciecel and Robert Margoloff. 1970 was a great year. T.O.N.T.O. is now owned by the man behind DEVO.

[paulreeve]

Hi Shawtune,

Nice to know T.O.N.T.O. is in good hands. I believe DEVO are still going strong after all these years !

[shawtune]

Actually I hear it stays all alone in a room not being used , a state of retirement abuse.

[patches53]

That would be Mark Mothersbough.

I believe he was also involved in doing the music for The Rugrats!!!!!

Me & my daughter used to love watching that together when she was little. She's now 20.

[pupa1]

i was looking for hawkwind and i found this psychedelic mind exit, very nice song

[bergweg]

Don't forget Malcolm Cecil's album "Radiance", in my opinion one of the nicest classic electronic album.

[paulreeve]

Hi bergweg,

Thanks for reminding us. "Radiance" is indeed a masterpiece.

[paulreeve]

Hi zeppelinjugend,

Thanks for commenting.

You have, I think unwittingly, almost hit the nail on the head. It is my belief that beauty is best perceived in contrast to the beast. Unfortunately you seem to have somewhat misinterpreted the intended message. Nevertheless, as stated in the accompanying notes, you are invited to make of the video what you will. Again, thanks for taking the time to watch the video and post a comment. Best wishes for 2009 !

[zeppelinjugend]

Why mingle nuke blasts among beautiful images of 'shrooms & colorful patterns? How can one consider these abominations of humanity beautiful?? A nuclear blast is the most horrific & nasty event our imperfect, twisted, "missing-link my ass!" human minds ever come off with. 'Hope you don't fear the specific alien being also featured....the "Roswell type"....I suspect they are what becomes of us, in the post-apocalyptic distant future.

[PAULLONDEN]

Hi Zep....Allthough I can Understand your sentiments,even the mind expanding Jefferson Airplane used a mushroom cloud on their "Crown Of Creation"album.

In all its horrifficness it has a awesome

beauty,it is after all the power wich drives

our Sun,and therefore a testament to man's powers,to have been able to harnass these powers,every invention,can be used the wrong way,even a knife.Synchronisation appart ☺ I think,for a first attempt,Paul 's done well ♫

[au574]

This is so FAT!

[xxXTani1221Xxx]

Hell yeah, i love this song!

[paulreeve]

Hi Tani !

I'm delighted !

[SINCLAIRRESEARCH]

brilliant i once had there album but gave it to a girlfriend whom i dumped later who then married a sailor , worst thing was i never got the record back. that was 40 years ago

[paulreeve]

Hi Sinclairresearch,

All I can say is "Never trust a sailor" ;-). Thanks for commenting and try eBay for a substitute. I refer to the LP and not the girlfriend of course. Delighted you liked the video. Don't forget to read the info column of the vid. as you might still be able to buy the limited edition CD.

[changeheadss]

fantastic have not heard this in years.

will dig out my original copy now.

[paulreeve]

Did you find it ? If so I bet you have had much enjoyment listening to the complete album after what I presume is many years. Marvelous isn't it ?

Thanks for commenting !

[silverstartrucker]

I had the original album and after speaking to Malcolm Cecil's son at the Gothic Image shop in Glastonbury, I now have the work on Compact Disc. I love the full rich sound and I am nearly 70 years old.

[noel2711]

Well done. The comments from people who clearly appreciate this music speaks volumes.

[Analogger]

Awesome! I can only imagine what this sounds like in full bandwidth.  The low end is monstrous!

[paulreeve]

Yes, it really is quite something. By the way, I found your YouTube profile fascinating . Thanks for commenting !

[cho817]

IDM

[astra004]

The Kids don't listen, they never do. Look for the keyword Tenormi-on. Thats what they' ll do. In Germany were relativly close to electronic music. Stockhausen in Cologne (Köln) took advance in the first world-wide electronic studio. Now I' d prefer Beethovens last piano sonata OP 111. Nothing like that.

[PAULLONDEN]

~~~~~~«d~_~b»~~~~~

[¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬]

[ybravura]

I still have the original LP and the reissue which I've never opened.

This is a fine video which is appropriate to the music, especially the fractal images.

Superb.

[paulreeve]

Thanks very much indeed ybravura ! I'm delighted you see it so. Don't unpack that reissue !;-)

[ShowBizComic]

In 1974, I staged a puppet production at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Virginia using Tonto music. The show ran 6 weeks & got an excellent review in the paper. Spent time with Andy Warhol at that museum, were I produced puppet productions year-round for over 2 years. Haven't heard this music in decades!

[paulreeve]

Hi ShowBiz,

Thanks for your most interesting comment ! You certainly chose some excellent music for your productions.

[brucewalker]

I still treasure my original vinyl LP of TEHB. I won't part with it, even for $300. :-)

Thanks for putting this up!

[paulreeve]

Hi Bruce !

A wise decision. Sold is sold and the memories of (a misspent ?) youth cannot be measured in hard currency. ;-).

[wireandwood]

what synths are they using, especially on the bass part, it's still used these days in tracks with a similar purpose in mind. I feel like saying I've heard it on Aphex Twin or Boards of Canada but that's just guessing. Anyway, what's the synth sound?!

[paulreeve]

TONTO (The Original New Timbral Orchestra). One of the most famous and influential modular synthesizers in the world.

TONTO was a huge multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer, designed and constructed by Malcolm Cecil. It featured Moog modules, but also modules from other manufacturers and some of Cecil's own design.

Further info & pics on the Synthtopia website !

[quatermass07]

It's been a long Earth time, since lying on a futon in a dingy flat somewhere in South London, with TEH going around my head. We thought it would never end, the time, the youth, the music, time is though a harsh master, now thirty odd years later a taxpaying conformist, I thank you for the memories, roll on the time machine.

[paulreeve]

Great comment. I know exactly how you feel. We are not alone ;-)

[phuckthefcc]

The good days: Ashra, TD, Micheal Hoenig, Klaus Schulze, and more this brings back memories from early HOS shows on public radio

[crackhead2006]

I'm just sitting here thinking of how crazy it is that this is from 1969. I wonder what kind of technology they were working with at the time...

[TEMELMAN]

YEAH , THIS IS TONTO

[crackhead2006]

Pretty trippy tune going on there, I could definately see myself grooving to it. I'll have to rip it to MP3 and put it on a mix on my next cubensis journey.

[alanstarkie2001]

OMG! Not heard this since 1973. I bought this album after hearing the band on the Old Grey Whistle Test (TV show) - lent it to a mate in 1973 and still waiting for it back. This was my favourite song!! Blows my mind this was made using very early 70's technology. Nice vid too!

[paulreeve]

Ahhh....The Old Grey Whistle Test. Those were the days !

[PAULLONDEN]

The bastard,I still got mine(good condition)

probably worth $ 300 (I heard)

Timewhys was my fave (All trax were brilliantino)

[alanstarkie2001]

OMG! Really? Funnily enough I bought it from a shop called Rare Records in Manchester UK. I listened to this track in one of those booths before I bought it.

[VAGENKNECHT]

shrooms, you gotta love em

[thomasj157]

Hi Paul:

Back here on Youtube I since being stonewalled - as thomasj157 - pleased to see that this fine first effort continues to draw viewers and comments. Thought it might! Cheers, Teejay - Tom Salter

[paulreeve]

Hi Tom!

You can't keep a good man down as they say. Great to see you back ! I did wonder if we might see your return but I wasn't sure how tight YouTube held the reins on such matters. Looking forward to seeing some thomasj157 videos.

[CLzg]

this baseline is so hipnotising, blows my brain out!

[paulreeve]

Thanks for the comments jyvirtan. It is amazing what one can find on YouTube isn't it ? As you can see from the notes to the video, there is now a cd (limited edition) available which includes a good deal of music from the 'band' including all the tracks from the Zero Time album.

Cheers, Paul.

[silverstartrucker]

Jetsex from this album is awesome! But has anyone the sound equipment to reproduce the deep bass?

[fat88andy]

hiya Paul,can you give me your address again please, I did reply with mine, but have heard nothing, maybe I wrote it down wrong. Cheers, fat88andy

[fat88andy]

Thanks for that! I thought for years that my brother and I were the only people to heve heard of this album. Can you post Riversong? Lost my copy years ago. Nice video.

[liojohn]

The album has finally been reissued on CD

[StonewallStudios]

Hi Paul...you have a natural instinct for this..I am not sure that [art of making still image videos can be taught..well done...some great transitions...what program does this for you? The paper-reverse page turn transitions are awesome!!!! Cheers, Teejay,a.k.a Tom

[paulreeve]

Thanks Teejay.

The programme used was Power Director 3.

[noel2711]

Well done!

[paulreeve]

Thanks Noel.

Glad you enjoyed it.