Synthesizer pioneer and producer of Stevie Wonder, Malcolm Cecil has died

Malcolm Cecil, influential producer and designer of the world’s largest analog synthesizer, has passed away, according to the Bob Moog Foundation. The organization wrote on Twitter that he died Sunday morning (March 28) from a long illness.

Cecil was the co-designer of the Original New Timbral Orchestra (TONTO), a massive analog synthesizer that brought new sounds to popular music. He started the project with Robert Margouleff, taking ownership of TONTO in 1975 and maintaining it for almost four decades. The success of Cecil and Margouleff’s work with TONTO has opened up possibilities for synthesizers in the pop world and beyond.

Growing up in England, Cecil studied science and engineering in school while also becoming a competent bass player, taking work as a young man with the BBC Orchestra. He developed an interest in electronics from a young age, learning the circuits during his time in the Royal Air Force. After his release, a stint in South Africa and a stay on the west coast of the United States, Cecil then moved to New York.

During his time as Chief Technical Engineer at the famous Mediasound Studios, he first encountered the Margouleff and Moog synthesizers. In a 2017 interview, he recalls: “I had never seen Moog before. I watched it for a few nights, saw an oscillator voltage control, and thought about it. “I know what it is. Voltage control filter. . . I know it too. Envelope generator. . . does this thing send mail? The two began working on the material together, releasing their debut album. Zero time as Bandeau Expanding of TONTO in 1971.

Shortly after the album’s release, 21-year-old Stevie Wonder showed up at Cecil’s apartment with a copy of Zero time and an interest in working together. From there, Cecil and Margouleff helped Wonder develop his revered record series in the 1970s: Music of my mind, Talking book, Innervisions, and First finale of Fulfillingness. Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson used TONTO (and Cecil’s production) for their collaborative album 1980, appearing with the machine on the album cover.

Cecil and TONTO shaped a number of projects throughout the 1970s and 1980s, appearing on albums by the Isley Brothers, Billy Preston, Quincy Jones, Minnie Riperton, Randy Newman, the Doobie Brothers, James Taylor, and more. He returned to work with Stevie Wonder in 1991 Jungle fever. The National Music Center in Calgary, Canada acquired TONTO from Cecil in 2013, completing a full restoration in 2018.