Tubular Bells for the Moog Synthesizer by Mark Jenkins

Check it out: the Synth and Software contributor has a new album and is performing

Synth and Software contributor Mark Jenkins has been giving his first post-COVID concerts in the UK, playing for Mike Oldfield fans in the village near where the instrumental master behind “Tubular Bells” recorded his second and third albums “Hergest Ridge” and “Ommadawn.” Oldfield’s hillside cottage studio The Beacon is now empty, but the views from further up on Hergest Ridge remain spectacular – for anyone who can manage the steep walk. 

Mark’s CD is “Tubular Bells for the Moog Synthesizer,” and it uses a range of Moog hardware and software including a classic Sonic 6, Theremini, and AniMoog. For live concerts the hardware is from the Behringer range of Moog clones, including a Model D “MiniMoog,” a 960 sequencer, and a wide range of other System 55-style modules.

These modules offer a huge bass sound particularly well suited to the closing passage of “Tubular Bells Side 1,” which introduces several instruments in the style of Ravel’s “Bolero,” playing the same melody over a repeated bass line. Oldfield himself said that the long repetitive passage was very hard work to record…

Next year is the 50th anniversary of the release of “Tubular Bells,” the introduction from which was famously used in the movie “The Exorcist.” Several groups in the UK and elsewhere are likely to be playing commemorative concerts. “Tubular Bells for the Moog Synthesizer” is available worldwide from CD-Services.com.