Moog Indigo Created by Jean Jacques Perrey. Vanguard Records. (1970)

After establishing himself at the vanguard of electronic music as one half of Perrey & Kingsley, Jean Jacques Perrey continued to pursue his own uniquely space-age brand of humor-oriented pop throughout the 1970s. One of the best examples of his work during this time is Moog Indigo, an album built around Perry’s experiments with the Moog synthesizer. This album has been popular with the electronica crowd thanks to the presence of “E.V.A.,” a funky synth excursion that became popular with remixers (Fatboy Slim turned in a memorable remix of this tune on Best of Moog). The remainder of the album divides its time between funky lounge-pop and experimental tracks that mix avant-garde electronics with novelty pop. One of the big highlights in the lounge arena is “Soul City,” a funky instrumental where Moog synthesizers take the place of horns in a guitar-heavy slice of R&B. There is also a swinging take on “Hello Dolly” that sounds like cocktail jazz from another planet. As for the strictly novelty-styled tunes, the most memorable is “Gossipo Perpetuo,” a clever tune that mixes tape loops designed to sound like chattering voices with a fast-paced synthesizer samba groove to create a genuinely smile-inducing slice of novelty pop. Serious electronic music fans may find Moog Indigo’s humor-oriented style too lightweight, but everything presented here is tight and catchy and there is no denying that Perry has assembled his songs with amazing technical skill. In the end, Moog Indigo is a solid pick for lounge fans with a sense of humor. ~ Donald A. Guarisco, All Music Guide

An incredible record of funky moogy grooves — possibly one of the best of the genre! Jean Jacques Perry really outdid himself on this record — going past the simple cut ups of his work with Gershon Kingsley, and hitting a style that was more groovy, and more song oriented. The best example of this is the album’s fantastic funky tune “EVA” — a monster break/moog cut that’s been sampled by Gang Starr for “Just To Get A Rep”, and more than a few other artists over the years! The rest of the record’s just as great — and cuts include “Soul City”, “18th Century Puppet”, “Gossipo Perpetuo”, and “Passport To The Future”. — Dusty Groove America

(21 votes, average: 4.52 out of 5)

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