AUDION
MAGAZINE
Audion #5
July 1987 A4
32 pages
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STEVE ROACH |
£4.00
photocopy reprint
(last 7 copies)
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UK £5.80 |
Europe £9.25 |
World £10.50 |
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Example
article extract KEN MOORE Ken Moore is something at an enigma for an American musician, not being bothered with trends or fashion, he has forged his own musical channel over the past 15 years, with a collection of over 20 inventive and varied cassettes. Maybe you haven’t heard of Ken before, it’s quite likely. Unless you were tempted to investigate his music by the mentions given in Eurock a few years back, the only other promotion he’s gained is via C.L.E.M., the cassette TO COME INTO BEING that Chris Furse (of Face Out -Ed.) passed around to a few friends circa 1981, or the track included on our own A CAGE WENT IN SEARCH OF A BIRD compilation. Anyone that’s heard these two examples of his work may be surprised by Ken’s other releases, as they are hardly typical of his music. What I aim to do in this article, via my own descriptions and a letter interview with Ken, is to describe the various aspects of Ken’s music and also give an insight to the man himself. Ken, what was your musical training, history, influences etc.? ‘When I was seven years old, the nuns at Catholic school (2nd grade)
told us that they were to begin giving piano lessons at the convent. Anyone who
had a piano could sign up for Saturday mornings. I went home that night and
told my parents I wanted to take piano lessons, but we didn’t have a piano.
To my surprise, they went out and bought a nice apartment sized baby grand,
for their living room. I took lessons for about six years, but even though I
could read music, I still liked picking out chords and melodies to popular
songs by ear. My mother encouraged this, and often bought sheet music to
musicals of the time (i.e. "Georgie Girl", "The Sound of
Music" etc.). My teacher wanted to start me on the organ so I could play
for Sunday services, but she got older and took ill, cancelling my lessons.
The pastor there gave me a key to the church organ, and I wrote my own songs
besides picking out Led Zeppelin and Vanilla Fudge tunes; I still have a tape
made there once on my dad’s cheap recording machine.’ ‘In junior high (9th grade) my best friend and I decided to form a rock
band in music class one day. The band stayed together for three years, but I
was the only original member left in the end. (This is why I don’t own a
piano now - I sold the baby grand to buy a portable Lowrey organ). About that
time, I began to write songs for the band, but they only did one of them
because it was the only the singer could write words for. I continued to play
my music for people who came over my home to visit. Most thought it was
good.’ ‘Before I left college, I took a course in electronic music. This event changed the course of my life. Until this time, I was deeply engrossed in (what I called) "organ rock": Deep Purple, Genesis Gentle Giant, Yes, ELP, Van Der Graaf Generator. To listen to Morton Subotnick on the Buchla synth was disappointing event. I had to relearn how to listen to music all over again. But I kept trying, and a bass player friend of mine (Mark Chance) turned me onto Tangerine Dream. I bought some early Klaus Schulze LP’s, a mini-Moog, and a 4-channel Teac and began to record my first approach to my own brand a electronic music (Steeple Church, The Dream In E/C) inspired by Schulze’s early works (for choir/organ). As a rock musician, Ken is in a world of his own creating his unique style
and identity. .... REACHING BEYOND THE SPHERE is indeed a brilliant album, scarcely have I heard rock powered with such emotion and energy without the need for being avant-garde or weird. Myers is indeed an exceptionally talented guitarist too, I thought such impeccable guitaring had been lost back in the 70's, but not so. Totally instrumental, this is what bands like Camel in their early days could only hint at, being tied down by record contracts undoubtedly does restrict creativity. The closest comparisons that come to mind here are Shylock’s LP GIALOGUES and occasionally Sensations Fix’s PORTABLE MADNESS, full throttle with guitars and synths doing overtime, Ken has certainly become an adept drummer too. In fact this music is so good, that actual words to describe it fail me. etc.... Article by Alan
Freeman To
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