Thomas Bloch's evil Ondes Martenot. 

Christ Hall Blues by Thomas Bloch

曾在二月時在網誌寫過 Glass Harmonica。

有興趣現場欣賞 Glass Harmonica 音樂的朋友，你們的機會來了！ 今年的法國藝術節（Le French May），法國 Glass Harmonica 演奏家 Thomas Bloch 將和香港城市室樂團於香港大會堂音樂廳表演。

Bonsoir mesdames et messieurs!

Have me met? No? You haven't heard of me? You haven't heard me? Well then, allow me to introduce myself. Martenot it is. Ondes Martenot. Oh yes, you're quite right, I am French. I was named after my dad Maurice Martenot. I came into being in 1928. Some years before, mon chère père, a musicologist and radioamateur, already fascinated by the observation of how „the purity of the vibrations produced by the lamps of a condenser whose intensity can be made to vary“, had a meet and greet with Lev Sergejvich Termen, the man behind the Theremin – a meeting which left him behind bamboozled and inspired him to create something similar electric-ecclectic for the musical world – me. Et voilà, here I am!!

The Ondes Martenot. Or Ondes Musicales. Musical Waves. What a poetic name for an unusual musical instrument like me. I am electric. I am monophonic. I am full of technical details, fancy falderal, electric device and stuffed with buttons, wires, keys and the like. I produce sounds through oscillators and a conventional analogue synthesizer. So far, so normal (for a Theremin-related product). But even among my section, I'm an outstanding species. Not only have I been best selling item in my branch over decades – just wanted to subtly slip that in, immodest as I am – it is foremost my tricky handling demanding outstanding skills of anyone who's trying to master the art of playing les Ondes Martenot. Let me explain. At first sight, I look like an E-piano with weird decoration on top. I've got a keyboard, I've got pedals. And both fulfill similar purposes as a piano's equipment. Feet solidly on ground and pedals. But then there is also a ring. One ring to rule me. Le ruban. A small, metallic ring on my interpreter's right hand forefinger. Frequency, pitch and intervalls all respond to whichever key the ring-finger is facing, allowing an incredible range of effects. Can you believe it? Any Tom, Dick or Harry just waggles their fingers and I have to run up and down nine full scales!! Alas, that's what I was made for I guess...... the question is: Does one hand know what the other one does? It does. And what is it, the left hand is responsible for while the right hand handles keys and rings and pitch and melody? Have a look at my side. There it is, a secret drawer full of buttons and controls; responsible for my right timbre, for intensity, for the pink noise and, most importantly, for not one, not two, but three loudspeakers: a principal diffuser, a resonnance diffuser and – and now we're getting fancy – a metallic one which is made of a gong that is set in vibration by an engine and replacing the membrane of a standard speaker, thus creating a metal sound halo at precise pitch. Phew. And what a sound it creates! An unseizable, floating sound filling the air, strangely fascinating and of a piercing captivity. And sometimes, I sound like an arcade game's soundtrack. Oh, I enjoyed great popularity once, especially in France. Hélas, these days are over.....still, though, more than 1,500 pieces have been composed for me. Messiaen, Boulez, Martinu, to name but a few on the more 'classical' side. I've made my way in popular culture, too. Jacques Brul, Tom Waits, Daft Punk, Radiohead, Muse. In film scores – Mad Max, Mars Attacks, Ghostbusters. See? 85 years of existence and I'm still la crème de la crème when it comes to electronic music. It's time I get back on stage. Hear me here!

Thomas Bloch performing on the Ondes Martenot. He's like the best ever.

André Jolivet - Concerto per Ondes Martenot and Orchestra

Thomas Bloch - Formula. Musical drug-trip through arcade land.

Radiohead - Pyramid Song

GHOSTBUSTERS! Not the who-you-gonna-call song, though.

Muse - Resistance. Ah, Muse, always a pleasure.

The purpose of this post is to be as clear as possible about Jonny’s history with both the ondes Martenot and its relevant derivatives: the Analogue Systems French Connection, the ondes Musicales Dierstein, and the ASADEN Ondomo.

Jonny’s original student model ondes Martenot alongside his Analogue Systems French Connection with The Apprentice cabinet – originally posted by Wordless Music on Twitter during rehearsals for two screenings of There Will Be Blood in September, 2014.

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ondes Martenot

Though a fan of the ondes Martenot since his teens, when he fell in love with Olivier Messiaen’s Turangalila Symphony, Jonny did not see an ondes Martenot until he obtained one in 1999 (1). During the recording sessions for Kid A / Amnesiac, he found a posting for one at a music store in Paris. He had it mailed to Radiohead’s studio, and learned to play it by himself (without a teacher) as the band was recording (Wavemakers – youtube). In addition to the Martenot itself, Jonny also received all three diffuseurs/resonators (unique speakers designed by Maurice Martenot) (1).

The ondes Martenot which Jonny found in Paris was part of a special run of fifty digital ondes, built in 1983 by the son of Maurice Martenot (2). The student model differs from a normal ondes Martenot in that it is only four octaves (rather than six) and has the control panel to the left of the keyboard (rather than a drawer). Also unlike a normal ondes Martenot, the instrument uses additive synthesis, using sliders to adjust the relative balance of certain overtones. This gives it the ability to add simple harmonies through manipulation of harmonics/overtones. Jonny uses this capability, set to a minor third, for his one-off performances of Cymbal Rush with Thom Yorke (youtube). These student models are also referred to as the "musique de chambre" models (federation-martenot.fr).

This particular ondes Martenot is responsible for all of the Martenot sounds on Kid A and Amnesiac, as well as Radiohead’s subsequent albums. As for soundtracks, it definitely features on Jonny’s soundtracks for Bodysong, There Will Be Blood, and We Need to Talk About Kevin, all of which were recorded before Jonny obtained his ondes Musicales (see below). It may also have been used on the soundtracks for The Master and Inherent Vice. The Martenot was also used in the recording of Junun by Shye Ben Tzur and The Rajasthan Express. Jonny can be seen playing the instrument in P.T. Anderson’s documentary, also called Junun, which shows the recording of that album.

Jonny used the student model ondes Martenot for Radiohead’s tour in 2000, but on all tours from 2001 to 2012 Jonny used an Analogue Systems French Connection instead (he commissioned the French Connection due to concerns about the Martenot being damaged, more info below). Surprisingly, Jonny switched back to the ondes Martenot for the 2016 Radiohead tour – perhaps obtaining an ondes Musicales made him less concerned about the 80s ondes Martenot being damaged. In the interim, it was occasionally brought out for live performances, such as in 2005 for the Ether Festival, in 2006 for the The Big Ask Live and for Cymbal Rush on KCRW, in 2010 at the Glastonbury Festival, in 2011 for the Colbert Report and Roseland Ballroom shows.

Jonny has also performed with it in 2014 for the There Will Be Blood live scores in New York, in 2015 for the London Contemporary Orchestra show in Moscow, and in 2017 for the Le Marche earthquake benefit show.

Jonny generally uses a Boss TU-12H, taped or velcro’d on top of the Martenot, to tune the instrument. In live performance, Jonny has used both the Boss RV3 and the Boss RV5 with the the ondes Martenot for reverb. Though he has all three diffuseurs, in performance Jonny has also used Vox AC30s as amplifiers/speakers, or just sent its signal straight to the PA. Jonny rarely uses the (low) range of the Martenot which could damage the speakers of a guitar amplifier, and surely likes the distinctive tonal characteristics of a guitar amp (as compared to a “flat” PA speaker).

This picture, from the performance of How To Disappear Completely in 2000 which features several ondes Martenot, was titled as followed by Thomas Bloch: “Jonny Greenwood and Thomas Bloch playing ondes Martenot during a TV show with Radiohead”(3). Video of said performance. A Palme resonator is visible just behind Jonny.

Jonny’s ondes Musicales settings for a live screening of There Will Be Blood in New York, USA, 2014.09.19 (twitter).

Jonny sits at his ondes Martenot during a performance at the “Big Ask” in London, 2006.05.01. His Palme Diffuseur is visible behind him, mic’d with a condenser mic, and a Boss TU12H is taped to the Martenot.

From Wavemakers: a photo of Jonny showing his student Model ondes Martenot to Suzanne Binet-Audet. His Analogue Systems French Connection and ‘The Apprentice’ cabinet can be seen in the background (on top of his Fatar MIDI keyboard).

In this photo from the recording of Junun, Jonny’s ondes Martenot can be seen on his right. On Junun, Jonny used the Martenot for Roked, Chala Vahi des and Allah Elohim.

Jonny sitting at his ondes Martenot at a performance with the London Contemporary Orchestra in Moscow, Russia, 2015.10.15. The Martenot is connected to a Boss RV5 Reverb. He also used a Vox AC30 for an amplifier/speaker at this performance.

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Analogue Systems French Connection

Though he did use it for performances in 2000, Jonny did not want to continue to bring his ondes Martenot on tour, as he worried that it might be damaged. He attempted to obtain another, but found that of the run of fifty student Martenot, four were already in the hands of other musicians, and the rest were at a school in Japan (2).

Instead, he turned to the company Analogue Systems for a replacement. Jonny originally obtained one of their synthesizers in 1999, using it on Kid A and Amnesiac. Rather than building a standalone synthesizer, Analogue Systems built a CV-controller to be used in conjunction with a modular synthesizer. He tried Analogue Systems’s first prototype in April 2001, and after a few modifications production began. Radiohead received the first two French Connections in May 2001 (2), and the French Connection was first used live on the seventeenth of that month: to perform Pyramid Song on Top of the Pops (youtube).

Jonny used the French Connection exclusively for ondes Martenot sounds for all Radiohead tours from 2001 to 2012. As mentioned above, Jonny’s ondes Martenot was often used instead of a French Connection for one-off performances, but some still feature the French Connection (such as Radiohead’s Scotch Mist webcast or their 2012 Austin City Limits performance, both discussed below). For the 2016 Radiohead tour, Jonny eschewed the French Connection in favor of his original student ondes Martenot.

The French Connection is also visible in photos from the recordings of Hail To The Thief and In Rainbows. It is unknown whether it was used at all for The King of Limbs.

As a controller, the French Connection creates no sounds of its own. Instead, it outputs ‘Control Voltages’, which can be used to control parameters of modular synthesizers. To obtain ‘Martenot’ sounds, Jonny uses the voltage from the ribbon to control pitch and the voltage from the button to control volume. However, these voltages can theoretically be used to control any aspect of the synthesizer.

Jonny has never used his Martenot Diffuseurs with the French Connection + The Apprentice. Instead, he sends its signal to the venue or room’s PA speakers, and frequently used a Boss RV3 or RV5 to add reverb. He also frequently uses an Akai Headrush for looping, specifically on performances of How To Disappear Completely and Where I End and You Begin.

Jonny performing Jigsaw Falling Into Place on his French Connection during the “Scotch Mist” webcast, December 2007 (youtube). He only has a few modules (RS95, RS180, RS100) in his ‘The Apprentice’ cabinet for the performance, and is using a simple patch of only a VCO and a VCA (both controlled directly by the French Connection).

A photo of Jonny performing The Amazing Sounds of Orgy with the Analogue Systems French Connection on Austin City Limits, 2012.03.06.

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ondes Musicales

On July 14, 2011, Jonny received the very first ondes Musicales. This instrument is part of a new run of the ondes Marenot constructed by Jean-Loup Dierstein. Jonny received the keyboard, along with “the double pedal and (new) the CV gate out (on the floor), the main and resonance loudspeakers (left, near the Fender Rhodes) and the metallic loudspeaker” (3). Though no new Palme diffuseur is currently being produced, Jonny frequently uses his old Palme – in combination with the main and resonance loudspeakers – for live performances.

Jonny likely used the ondes Musicales in the recording of Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool. He performed on the instrument for the first time in February 23, 2014, for a show with the London Contemporary Orchestra Soloists at the Wapping Hydraulic Power station in London. At that show, Jonny used it to play Messiaen’s Vocalise-Étude, and also his own work Prospectors Arrive from the soundtrack to There Will Be Blood.

Jonny would subsequently use it for several performances with the LCO Soloists: Roundhouse (2014.03.29), Wind Tunnel Project (2014.06.14), Manchester (2014.10.10), Oxford (2015.02.21), Geneva (2015.02.25), Dublin (2015.06.17), Open'er Festival (2015.07.03). At these performances, Jonny used to the Musicales to play works by Messiaen as well as many of his own compositions. It was also used for the two Roundhouse live screenings of There Will Be Blood (2014.08.06, 2014.08.07).

A photo of Jean-Loup Dierstein delivering the very first of the new ondes Musicales to Jonny, 2011.07.14.

Jonny’s ondes Musicales settings for a live screening of There Will Be Blood at the Roundhouse, 2014.08.15 (twitter).

Jonny’s ondes Musicales setup for a performance with the LCO Soloists in Manchester, 2015.06.17 (twitter). He is using the Musicales’s Main and Resonance diffuseurs, plus his old Palme. His tanpura is also visible.

Jonny’s ondes Musicales settings for a live with the LCO Soloists in Geneva, 2015.02.25 (twitter).

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ASADEN Ondomo

In 2014, a prototype of a new replica of the ondes Martenot was presented in Japan by the company ASADEN (youtube). The instruments are built by Naoyuki Omo, who had previously built replicas of the Martenot and its Diffuseurs (including the new Palme which was mentioned in our Palme-building guide) and the ASADEN Eleki Ribbon. Jonny expressed interest in the new instrument, and played a prototype in early 2016 at the Barbican Festival (see picture below).

The Ondomo went into production in 2016, and Jonny visited Japan to pick one up in August, 2016. This original instrument is in a green-brown finish, you can read more about it in this article. In early 2017, two more Ondomo were delivered to Jonny – a second in a green-brown finish and one in the standard natural finish. He used all three instruments  during Radiohead’s 2017 tour. Additionally, a fourth Ondomo in a black finish with a new style of Tiroir (drawer) was delivered to Jonny in late May, 2017, and, on June 20th (just before the band’s gig in Dublin), Jonny’s older Ondomo were fitted with the new Tiroir. The new style of Tiroir was specially requested by Jonny, and features an analogue VCA with a slower response time than the original digital VCA. This gives a little less precision to the performer, but makes a smoother sound easier to achieve (especially on fast notes).

Jonny used Ondomos for all of his Martenot sounds on Radiohead’s 2017 and 2018 tours. He also used one for his 2019 benefit concert in Fermo, Italy.

You can read more about the Ondomo here.

A photo of Jonny playing a prototype of an Ondomo for the first time. It was presented to Jonny prior to his performance with the Shye Ben Tzur and the Rajasthan Express at the Barbican Festival, 2016.03.11 (twitter).

A photo of Jonny playing an Ondomo in Japan in August, 2016.

A close-up of Jonny’s black Ondomo, originally posted by craftsman Naoyuki Omo on May 25, 2017 .

A photo of Micka Luna helping Nao to fit Jonny’s older Ondomo with the new style of Tiroir, originally posted by Micka on June 20th, 2017.

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Sources

(1) http://web.archive.org/web/20080214053947/http://www.therestisnoise.com/2004/04/mahler_1.html (2) http://www.analoguesystems.co.uk/Reviews/fconnection_review.htm (3) http://www.thomasbloch.net/new_ondes_martenot