Thursday, Mar. 18, 2010

Mellodrama: The Mellotron Movie

The Mellotron's creation was downright groundbreaking. By prerecording instruments and accessing them via keyboard, it essentially became the first system of using sampled sounds to create new sounds. Created in the 1940s by Harry Chamberlin, it was originally known as the Chamberlin before the idea was stolen and renamed Mellotron. I wonder how many rap deejays out there today realize that their trade was born of an aging suburbanite who decided he wanted his organ to sound like the Lawrence Welk Orchestra? This is the irony of "Mellodrama", a documentary which sheds light on this little-known instrument by interviewing musicians, composers, the manufacturers and even Mellotron historians. The Mellotron has been championed by rock bands of the '60s and '70s and again during its resurgence in the '90s and the new millennium by alt-rock bands. A cornerstone of any song it touches, producing a unique sound that can be incorporated in any number of areas from creepy horror soundtracks to prog rock to jazz and funk. Unlike every other DVD we review in this space, in this case, Surge had a rare chance of actually interviewing the filmmaker, Dianna Dilworth, who gave us a deeper perspective than we could possibly manage blabbering on about a movie that is really worth blabbing about (and renting, if you can find it).

Surge: As a filmmaker what attracted you to the story of this instrument?

Dilworth: I am inspired to make films about the slightly unknown shadows of major pop culture phenomenon. While most people have probably not heard of the Mellotron, most people have probably heard it, as it is on so many famous songs like "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Space Oddity" and "Nights in White Satin"...I was fascinated by the technology and the history, so a few years later, I decided to make the film.

Surge: Toward the end of the film as new technology was introduced that made digitally sampling the Mellotron's original sounds an option, there seemed to be a definitive argument between the purist that thought the authentic sound was the way to go and those who said that the samples are, "literally the same." In your opinion, which side of the argument would you fall?Are you a purist or a progressive in terms of this beloved instrument?

Dilworth: I am kind of split on this. I do agree that there is nothing like having the original instrument. However, there aren't that many out there and they are expensive, so I am fully in support of people using the samples. I like to think that young indie bands who don't have the money to buy the real instruments or access to big studios, can still use them. I actually own the MAudio samples myself.

Surge: The popular songs that used Chamberlins/Mellotrons are listed throughout the decades in the film, but it seems that there were a significant amount of films that have used them in their scores. Is it possible to get a short list of some key films that used the sound of this instrument to help define their scores?

Dilworth: "Magnolia," "Boogie Nights," "The Beyond," "Suspiria."

Surge: The Chamberlin/Mellotron seems to be the official instrument of the eccentric. With such a small niche market and the resurgence in manufacturing them, on average, how many new Mellotrons are sold in today's marketand what is the going rate?

Dilworth: I'm guessing not many...I know Mellotron Archives has made more than 100 new models. They go for about $7,000.