Mellotrontastic! // mixtape collective

Main

Random!

Mellotrontastic!

Mellotrontastic!
Created by:	johnny_luddite
Tracks:	14
Length:	01:16:39
Keywords	1. mellotron 2. strings 3. sampling
Created on	1/19/07 8:16pm
Level	5
Points	2453
Total visitors	52
Unique visitors	30

description:

I just listened to a radio documentary about the Mellotron, the early sampling keyboard that actually played taped notes of the instrument you were trying to emulate. That led me to a website dedicated to the instrument, and that in turn led me to this, a little trip through the world of the mellotron, from the Beatles to Modest Mouse and many stops inbetween.

tracklist

1	The Beatles : Strawberry Fields Forever
	Probably amongst the best known tracks to use a mellotron. The flute sounds at the beginning define it for me. One of the few sixties recordings where I can listen again and hear something fresh still. SHOW MORE
	Track 1 from Magical Mystery Tour Length: 00:04:10 Year: 1967
	Track Description: Probably amongst the best known tracks to use a mellotron. The flute sounds at the beginning define it for me. One of the few sixties recordings where I can listen again and hear something fresh still. SHOW LESS
2	The Kinks : days
	A great song, Ray Davies melancholic voice and upfront mellotron strings. What more could you ask for? SHOW MORE
	Track 2 from Kronikles Length: 00:02:51 Year: 1972
	Track Description: A great song, Ray Davies melancholic voice and upfront mellotron strings. What more could you ask for? SHOW LESS
3	David Bowie : Space Oddity
	Another very identifiable song, and Bowie's first true classic. The strings on the recording were played on a mellotron by a double tracked Rick Wakeman. He later blew up his mellotrons apparently because of their unpredictability as stage instruments, but here the instrument just helps add to the strangeness and beauty of the record. SHOW MORE
	Track 3 from Space Oddity Length: 00:05:16 Year: 1969
	Track Description: Another very identifiable song, and Bowie's first true classic. The strings on the recording were played on a mellotron by a double tracked Rick Wakeman. He later blew up his mellotrons apparently because of their unpredictability as stage instruments, but here the instrument just helps add to the strangeness and beauty of the record. SHOW LESS
4	King Crimson : Epitaph
	Crimson's epic doom laden masterpiece, with wonderfully full almost overpowering string sounds from the mellotron. SHOW MORE
	Track 4 from In the Court of the Crimson King Length: 00:08:25 Year: 1969
	Track Description: Crimson's epic doom laden masterpiece, with wonderfully full almost overpowering string sounds from the mellotron. SHOW LESS
5	Matching Mole : Immediate Curtain
	Robert Wyatt's band after he left Soft Machine, and it is Wyatt himself who plays the full on mellotron strings here. Obscure but entirely wonderful. SHOW MORE
	Track 5 from Matching Mole Length: 00:05:57 Year: 1972
	Track Description: Robert Wyatt's band after he left Soft Machine, and it is Wyatt himself who plays the full on mellotron strings here. Obscure but entirely wonderful. SHOW LESS
6	Yes : And You and I
	One of the masterpieces of prog rock and mellotron use. Rick Wakeman again. I avoided Yes for about twenty years, but I now listen to them again, usually when I am in a Mogwai mood. SHOW MORE
	Track 6 from Close To The Edge Length: 00:10:11 Year: 1972
	Track Description: One of the masterpieces of prog rock and mellotron use. Rick Wakeman again. I avoided Yes for about twenty years, but I now listen to them again, usually when I am in a Mogwai mood. SHOW LESS
7	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark : Joan Of Arc (Maid Of Orleans)
	We move from the prog rock seventies into the synth pop eighties, but oddly, this was the time that the mellotron started to make a comeback. OMD used them extensively, and on this track the female vocal samples as well as the strings are from a mellotron rather than a synth. SHOW MORE
	Track 7 from Architecture and Morality Length: 00:04:12 Year: 1981
	Track Description: We move from the prog rock seventies into the synth pop eighties, but oddly, this was the time that the mellotron started to make a comeback. OMD used them extensively, and on this track the female vocal samples as well as the strings are from a mellotron rather than a synth. SHOW LESS
8	Talk Talk : Life Is What You Make It
	This is from the mid eighties when Talk Talk started to divert from their poppy beginnings into almost Floyd territory. In that respect, I see them as a link between early Floyd and Mogwai, but then at my age you start to see all manner of stuff that might not actually be there. SHOW MORE
	Track 8 from The Color Of Spring Length: 00:04:29 Year: 1986
	Track Description: This is from the mid eighties when Talk Talk started to divert from their poppy beginnings into almost Floyd territory. In that respect, I see them as a link between early Floyd and Mogwai, but then at my age you start to see all manner of stuff that might not actually be there. SHOW LESS
9	Oasis : Wonderwall
	Another leap forward in time to 95, and what was good enough for the fabs is certainly good enough for Noel and 'our kid'. Mellotron cellos abound. SHOW MORE
	Track 9 from (What's the Story) Morning Glory? Length: 00:04:18 Year: 1995
	Track Description: Another leap forward in time to 95, and what was good enough for the fabs is certainly good enough for Noel and 'our kid'. Mellotron cellos abound. SHOW LESS
10	The Flaming Lips : Are You a Hypnotist??
	I am the only one who thinks Wayne Coyne and Grissom out of CSI are in some strange way related? Anyway, that has nothing to do with anything. My fave Flaming Lips album, with this track containing lovely choir samples a la Mellotron! SHOW MORE
	Track 10 from Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Length: 00:04:44 Year: 2002
	Track Description: I am the only one who thinks Wayne Coyne and Grissom out of CSI are in some strange way related? Anyway, that has nothing to do with anything. My fave Flaming Lips album, with this track containing lovely choir samples a la Mellotron! SHOW LESS
11	Belle & Sebastian : Nice Day For A Sulk
	I just read B&S described as 'fey and twee'. Well sometimes that isn't a bad thing. Again, lovely mellotron flutes on this. SHOW MORE
	Track 11 from Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant Length: 00:02:36 Year: 2000
	Track Description: I just read B&S described as 'fey and twee'. Well sometimes that isn't a bad thing. Again, lovely mellotron flutes on this. SHOW LESS
12	John Frusciante : Carvel
	Lots of nice flutes and strings here, some mellotron samples, some actually played on a mellotron. Frusciante's work gets under my skin in a way most peoples music can't. SHOW MORE
	Track 12 from Shadows Collide With People Length: 00:06:14 Year: 2003
	Track Description: Lots of nice flutes and strings here, some mellotron samples, some actually played on a mellotron. Frusciante's work gets under my skin in a way most peoples music can't. SHOW LESS
13	The Mars Volta : Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt
	Frusciante plays on this, as does Flea. If anything sounds like vintage Crimson in the modern age, it is this! SHOW MORE
	Track 13 from De-Loused In The Comatorium Length: 00:08:44 Year: 2003
	Track Description: Frusciante plays on this, as does Flea. If anything sounds like vintage Crimson in the modern age, it is this! SHOW LESS
14	Modest Mouse : The World At Large
	One of the bands I am now listening to as a result of hanging about MTC a lot. Mellotron strings abound through this song, but the instrument really comes into it's own near the end where they play about with the pitching, and the effect is pretty wonderful. SHOW MORE
	Track 14 from Good News for People Who Love Bad News Length: 00:04:32 Year: 2004
	Track Description: One of the bands I am now listening to as a result of hanging about MTC a lot. Mellotron strings abound through this song, but the instrument really comes into it's own near the end where they play about with the pitching, and the effect is pretty wonderful. SHOW LESS