Heat Ray: The Archimedes Project is an album inspired by the work of the Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor Archimedes, performed on analogue synthesisers by the Will Gregory Moog Ensemble with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Will Gregory is the by Ivor Novello winning musician, producer and co-creator of Goldfrapp and the Moog Ensemble have been performing together since 2005.
Whereas most modern digital synthesisers are relatively consistent in their sound, analogue synthesisers have a personality all their own. They can be affected by temperature and come with wonderful old tech such as vacuum tubes, pots, valves and circuits that can be recalcitrant. But when they’re in the mood then they produce glorious swoops, bleeps, metronomic arpeggios, grating or woozy phasing, all of which can sound simultaneously vintage and modern; like a spaceship made of wood and brass. Just the names of the instruments are evocative: Minimoog, Moog Voyager, Moog Sub 37, Korg 700s, Roland Promars Compuphonic, Prophet 6 and Roland JX3P.
The titles of the tracks draw from Archimedes’ many inventions such as the screw, heat ray, and claw, all of which inspired “spirals of melody, circular structures, sequences, and patterns”. The album roams the lush pastures of soundtrack and classical composition harking back to electronic pioneers like Delia Derbyshire and Wendy Carlos and more modern composers like John Carpenter.
The use of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales on tracks like ‘The Claw’ conjure up all sorts of memories of Bernard Herrmann’s scores such as Jason and the Argonauts, with bold brass, impish wind instruments, swelling strings, pizzicato runs, and the doubling of bass synth notes with timpani at the start is pure genius. The gentle pulses at the start of ‘Archimedes’ Screw’ are like plangent electronic raindrops which build to a torrent of colliding electronics; a perfect musical description for the invention whose cylindrical shaft and internal screw turns to lift water. ‘Heat Ray’ manages to convey the intensity of focused solar energy and the arc of the sun; like having a solar farm aimed directly at you, and ‘The Sand Reckoner’ is as close to how I imagine mathematics would translate into sound as you can get.
Heat Ray: The Archimedes Project is an inspired collection of compositions, and the mix of electronics and orchestra is a master stroke. The album is a playful, dramatic and constantly changing landscape that lifts the spirits like every turn of Archimedes’ screw. This is the genius of the Moog Ensemble: sine, sealed and delivered.
Will Gregory Moog Ensemble socials: Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | X | YouTube
If you want a deeper dive into the synthesised world of Will Gregory then I highly recommend Sound On Sound magazine’s 2022 interview Will Gregory: My Favourite Synthesizers
Also of interest is the Why We Bleep podcast (the Hazel Mills episode is excellent) and the documentary Sisters With Transistors.
For the sake of argument, Moog is not pronounced like the noise a cow makes but as it would rhyme with ‘vogue’; and if you’re in any doubt see this clip of Bob Moog himself.
Will Gregory Moog Ensemble players:
Will Gregory – Minimoog and Mellotron | Graham Fitkin – Moog Voyager | Hazel Mills – Prophet 6 and Minimoog | Ruth Wall – Korg 700s | Vyvyan Hope-Scott – Minimoog | Hinako Omori – Prophet 08, OB6 and Minimoog | Daniel Moore – Moog Sub 37 and Minimoog | Adrian Utley – Minimoog | Ross Hughes – Roland Promars Compuphonic MRS-2, Minimoog, flute and bass clarinet | Eddie Parker – Minimoog and Roland JX-3P | John Baggott – Minimoog | Simon Haram – Minimoog and EWI | Harriet Riley – Marimba, snare and bass drum
Review by Paul F Cook
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