Jean-Jacques Perrey

Short biography of Jean-Jacques Perrey: Jean-Jacques Perrey was born in France in 1929. He was studying medecine in Paris when he met George Jenny, inventor of the Ondioline. Quitting medical school, Perrey travelled through Europe demonstrating this keyboard ancestor of the modern synth. At the age of 30, Perrey relocated to New York, sponsored by Caroll Bratman, who build him an experimental laboratory and recording studio. Here he invented "a new process for generating rhythms with sequences and loops", utilising the environmental sounds of musique concrète. With scissors, splicing tape & tape recorders, he spent weeks piecing together a uniquely comique take on the future. Befriending [a=Robert Moog], he became one of the first Moog musicians, creating "far out electronic entertainment". In 1965 Perrey met [a=Gershon Kingsley], a former accomplice to [a=John Cage]. Together, using Ondioline and Perrey's loops, they created two albums for [l=Vanguard]: [r115919] (1966) and [r56809](1967). [a=Perrey & Kingsley] collaborated on sound design for radio and television advertising. Perrey returned to France, composing for television, scoring for ballet and continuing medical research into therapeutic sounds for insomniacs. Some of his compositions on library labels like [l=Editions Montparnasse 2000] are credited to his daughter [a=Pat Prilly]. Like he said in an interview, she wouldn’t compose but give him ideas and play things on her organ so he gave her credit on those songs.

1. http://www.jeanjacquesperrey.com/