Patrick Gleeson began experimenting with electronic music in the mid-'60s
at the Mills College Tape Music Center using a Buchla
synth and other devices. Upon hearing Walter Carlos' Switched-On
Bach in 1968, he left his job in academics, bought a Moog synthesizer,
and started Different
Fur studios in San Francisco.
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In 1971 Gleeson began playing with jazz great Herbie
Hancock, and his Arp 2600 synth playing can be heard on Hancock's
Crossings and Sextant. He toured with Hancock's band during
this period. Gleeson has worked with many other jazz musicians, including
Lenny White, Freddie Hubbard, Charles Earland, Joe Henderson and others.
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In 1976 he released his first solo album of synthesized music, Beyond
the Sun - An Electronic Portrait of Holst's "The Planets."
Gleeson played the Eu Polyphonic Synthesizer on this album. In his
liner notes he explains that earlier synths, such as the Moogs and
Arps of the period, were monophonic, i.e. they could only play one
note at a time. The Eu was polyphonic (could play more than one note
at a time) and had a built in microcomputer that allowed the user
to control the synth with "binary language."
The album is dedicated to "Robert Moog and and W. Carlos."
Walter Carlos also contributed the liner notes: "...Gleeson's
grasp of color -- orchestral, textural, infinitely elastic shades
of subtle grays and contrasts between families of timbre -- is simply
stunning." Carlos also goes on to make some comments about the
Eu sequencer as opposed to the live overdub approach used on Switched-On
Bach.
A beautiful sounding recording, (co-engineered at Different Fur by
Neil Schwartz), Beyond the Sun was nominated for a "best
engineered recording-classical" Grammy in 1976.
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In 1977 Gleeson released a more commercial album, Patrick Gleeson's
Star Wars. John Williams' music from the film's soundtrack was played
by Gleeson on a variety of synths, often accompanied with a funky, almost
disco-like rhythm track.
Rainbow Delta, an all original work, was released in 1980. There
are two suites, "Rainbow Delta" and "Draconian Measures."
"Rainbow Delta" opens with a strong pulsing rhythm track utilizing
synth drums, and includes some neat synth bird, cricket and storm effects.
"Draconian Measures" features atmospheric soundtrack-like
pieces with synth morse code and gunfire punctutations.
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A fairly straightforward version of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons
was released by Gleeson in 1982 on the Varese Sarabande label, utilizing
a Synclavier synth.
Gleeson and Different Fur were involved a variety of projects in the
70s, including work with Paul Kantner and Grace Slick on their 1971
album Sunfighter (he plays Moog and is co-author of "Universal
Copernican Mumbles"). He produced Coke Escovedo's 1976 LP Comin'
at Ya! at Different Fur, and a 1978 session there with New Wave/Punk
band Devo produced the classic "Come Back Jonee." In 1979
Gleeson worked on the soundtrack of Apocalypse Now, where he
is credited as "Master Synthesist." Gleeson sold his interest
in Different Fur to two employees in 1985. Recently, Gleeson released
an album with Bennie Maupin, Driving While Black.
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