At the end of March, the Bob Moog Foundation hosted The Sounds of Innovation, the first in-person listen of the Abominatron Tape in its entirety, at the Moogseum.

The sold-out event began with Executive Director Michelle Moog-Koussa reading an excerpt from Bob’s biography, Switched On: Bob Moog and the Synthesizer Revolution, which provided historical context regarding the iconic 84-minute tape.

Afterward, attendees experienced the Moogseum by walking exhibit-to-exhibit as Bob’s voice and the very first sounds of the prototype played over the speakers.

Recorded in 1964, the tape was Bob Moog’s way of explaining to his collaborator, Herb Deutsch, the various controls, parameters, and capabilities of the Moog modular prototype. The Abominatron Tape is the first recorded sounds of a Moog modular – an instrument that would go on to significantly advance the development of electronic music and forever change the sound of music.

For attendees, hearing the tape was a window into Bob’s mind and process that they had been waiting to witness for a while. After listening to the historic tape, one person shared with the group that “This was a religious experience for me.”

Thank you to everyone who attended, as well as the North Carolina Arts Council, who helped sponsor the event.