Morgan Z has long been drawn to the work of film-score composers like Vangelis, Tangerine Dream and Giorgio Moroder. That much is clear when you listen to Chrome Canyon’s debut LP “Elemental Themes,” produced mostly at Morgan’s spacious Greenpoint apartment. That’s where he keeps some of his favorite toys, including a Juno 60 synth and a Korg PE 1000.
“It’s very Jean Michelle Jarre sounding,” he says of the Korg. “It’s probably the oldest instrument I have, and it’s fully polyphonic which means that every single note has its own oscillator.”
Morgan took his Brooklyn recordings to Nilesh Patel, the legendary audio engineer who has worked with Daft Punk, Air and Moby. “Elemental Themes” ended up being one of the final projects of Patel’s life; he died suddenly in December 2011. As a tribute, his notes are printed on the sleeve of the LP, which came out last year.
As a live act, Chrome Canyon features two of Morgan Z’s former bandmates in Apes & Androids: drummer Pablo Lopez-Douzoglou and bassist Eric Davis. They all came together in Greenpoint for this exclusive Play Room performance of “Legends,” featuring lights, synth and a whole lotta theremin.