RECORDING May 2023 - 17

Log
Log
LSession
The
Ondioline
+Gotye's
Ondioline
Orchestra
og
I
've got a unique instrument I want to discuss this
month called an Ondioline. The Ondioline is an
early monophonic electronic instrument invented
by the French musician, poet, inventor and instrument
builder Georges Jenny in 1941. A precursor of the
synthesizer, it is a tube-based analog instrument that
can imitate the sounds of wind instruments, string instruments,
bagpipes and even banjo, sitar or soprano
voice. Back in the 1940s these sounds were utterly
unthinkable and groundbreaking!
A unique aspect of this instrument is that it is built
with special springs that allow the player to gently jiggle
the three-octave keyboard laterally to create a natural
vibrato. The volume is operated via a lever by the
player's knee, much akin to the pitch bending levers in
a pedal steel guitar.
Georges Jenny developed the Ondioline on his own
while recovering from tuberculosis in a sanatorium in
France and later won an inventions competition for this
instrument in 1946. Still, it wasn't until 1947 that he
was able to start manufacturing it commercially.
In the 1950s, the French pop electronica pioneer
Jean-Jacques Perrey first heard the Ondioline and became
enamored with the instrument and committed to
using it during his performances. He convinced Jenny
to " gift " or lend him one. After extensive practice, he
14 RECORDING May 2023
og
LSession
All photos by Marc Urselli, Wouter " Wally " De Backer (with retouching
by Sam Valle), Phil Stanziola and David Weiss
Session
i
by Marc Urselli
impressed Jenny to the point that Perrey quit his medical studies and
started working as a traveling salesman and product demonstrator for
Jenny's handmade home-built instrument.
Perrey (who was later one-half of the early Moog-adopting duo Perrey
and Kingsley) enjoyed a great career in electronic music, playing with
the likes of Charles Trenet, Django Reinhardt, Yves Montand, Jacques
Brel, Paul Durand, Pierre Schaeffer, Harry Breuer, Angelo Badalamenti
and Édith Piaf. Piaf was so impressed with the Ondioline's sound that
she funded a recording session to showcase the instrument in New York.
Piaf connected Perrey with the then-owner of Carrol Music, Carroll
Bratman, who sponsored Perrey's Green Card and paid for his relocation
from France to the U.S. She assisted with his living expenses and the
construction of a lab and tape studio so he could continue to develop the
Ondioline and demonstrate its capabilities to American audiences.
Mr. Ondiolin
Perrey went on to tour and
perform under the pseudonym
Mr. Ondioline. He released
several EPs and LPs (the first of
which was called Mr. Ondioline
in 1960) that only exist in very
limited editions (more on that
later). He also appeared on several
TV shows, and I urge you to
check out his amazing 1966 appearance
on " I've Got a Secret "
to see a real-life demonstration:
youtu.be/7pOqkn9JgO8
The Ondioline
Orchestra
Georges Jenny built only about
1,200 Ondiolines, and mostly
by hand. This instrument is so
rare that if you look it up on
Wikipedia, you will only find a
blurry, pixelated photo. However,
All 3 Ondioline Documents as sold by Forgotten Futures
Photo by Wouter Wally De Backer-retouching by Sam Valle
Jean Jacques Perrey crouching behind Ondioline in 1960
Photo by Phil Stanziola
http://youtu.be/7pOqkn9JgO8
RECORDING May 2023

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