While working at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. during the late '60s, composer David Borden met Robert Moog, who was then refining his first commercial voltage-controlled synthesizer, what we would now refer to simply as a Moog. Freshly returned from a stint as a Fulbright student in West Berlin, Borden had an open mind toward new ideas in music but knew very little about synthesizers, which were then fairly bulky and esoteric. According to the composer, this made him an ideal test subject for Moog, who allowed Borden to experiment with his prototypes as a way to proof the designs for regular consumers.
Not long after, Borden would found Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Company, a keyboard trio that performed works by then-emerging composers like Terry Riley, Robert Ashley, and Steve Reich. Very quickly, the trio evolved into an all-synthesizer ensemble, performing original work using a number instruments provided by Moog.
Inspired by composers like Riley, Borden wrote music that edged away from the abstract atonal sounds that dominated electronic music at the time, instead relying on the gestures that would become central to minimalism—simple harmonies, complex rhythmic figures, and repetition. Mother Mallard released two LPs—self-titled and Like a Duck to Water, both on Borden’s Earthquack label—before the group dissolved entirely during the late '70s (though it has since been reactivated).
Originally released in 1981 on Red Records, Music For Amplified Keyboard Instruments collects four of Borden’s post-Mallard compositions. Stylistically speaking, they are a direct continuation of that group's work. Indeed, they even involve the same instruments—the MiniMoog, Moog Modular, and RMI electronic piano—which Borden retained after the band split up. Now remastered and reissued by Spectrum Spools, the record still stands as an excellent work of minimalist composition and also an important piece of American electronic music. A number of early Moog oriented records involved shoehorning the instrument into existing repertoire (think "Switched on Bach" or "Switched on Country") or using it as a spacey aside within the context of prog or psychedelic rock. Music For Amplified Keyboard Instruments is different, and arguably more interesting, in that it involves new work composed specifically for that synthesizer.
At first listen, it’s easy to overlook the role of the Moog in Borden’s compositions. The gestures that often define synthesizer music—filter sweeps, squelchy modulations—are mostly absent from Music For Amplified Keyboard Instruments. In comparison to the work of German synth gurus like Tangerine Dream, the tweak-ability factor is fairly subtle. This was mostly due to Borden's frustrations with performing synthesizer music live. "After dealing with the many difficulties and variables that occur in live performance situations, especially with early model synthesizers, I developed a style and language of polyphonic music that can be played with simple, easy to set up wave forms," wrote Borden in the liner notes to the record's original pressing.
However, many of the compositions are heavily shaped by the capabilities of the synthesizer. The Moog is a monophonic instrument, meaning that only one key can sound at a time, which makes it mechanically impossible to play chords. As a result, much of Borden's work on Music For Amplified Keyboard Instruments relies on interlocking melodies that are performed by three keyboard players, each using two keyboards simultaneously. Together these figures add up to simple but frequently shifting harmonies. And there are convenient workarounds, too. On one piece, for instance, Borden tunes one instrument to a perfect fifth, so that when a single key is pressed, the keyboard produces two simultaneous pitches. The results, particularly on the pieces drawn from Borden's larger work, "The Complete Story of Counterpoint", are gorgeous and meditative.
While Borden has not become quite as well recognized as some of his minimalist contemporaries, like Reich or Philip Glass, you can hear his influence deeply embedded in the music of recent synthesizer-oriented electronic outfits, like Emeralds (whose former member, John Elliot, runs Spectrum Spools) or Daniel Lopatin, Laurel Halo, and James Ferraro, all of whom collaborated with the composer in the seventh installment of RVNG's collaborative series, FRKWYS. Most of these are musicians who perform electronic works in concert.
It's important to recognize that the pieces on Amplified Keyboard Instruments were recorded live. Arpeggiated melodies and chords are central to synthesizer music, whether applied in a Krautrock-style zone-out or club-friendly dance tune. However, those figures are often automated using a sequencer. Borden's compositions on this record and also in Mother Mallard were performed in real time by individuals, and while that made the music challenging to represent accurately, it also allowed for deeper and more intricate harmonic movement, which would have been time-consuming to program into an old-school hardware sequencer. And more than that, it allows for a bit of sloppiness—an un-gridded feel and inherent emotionality that's tough for a computer to crack, even now.
