Quick Facts
Biography
Robert "Bob" Margouleff is an American record producer, recording engineer, electronic music pioneer, audio expert, and film producer.
Career
Most noted for his work with electronic music synthesizer programming for Stevie Wonder (beginning in the 1970s) for award-winning albums including Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale and Jungle Fever, all projects which featured Margouleff (with collaborator Malcolm Cecil) as associate producers, engineers and synthesizer programmers.
By helping Stevie Wonder develop many new textures and sounds never heard before, Margouleff and Cecil played a major role in bringing synthesizers to the forefront of popular music. As an influential electronic music duo - Tonto's Expanding Head Band - they recorded the album Zero Time (1971) attracting attention from many other leading artists of that era to the newly emerging music technology.
Robert Margouleff was an early customer, friend and collaborator of fellow New Yorker and music instrument pioneer Robert Moog contributing early insight toward Moog's musical instrument development for artists to routinely program and use synthesizers as part of their evolving sound ecology.
Margouleff also worked with and produced music with Billy Preston, Devo, Jeff Beck, Robin Trower, David Sanborn, Depeche Mode, Oingo Boingo, The Doobie Brothers, Quincy Jones, Bobby Womack, The Isley Brothers, Gil Scott-Heron, Weather Report, Stephen Stills, Dave Mason, Little Feat, Joan Baez, Steve Hillage, Paul Rodgers, GWAR and many others.
He also was an early creative resource at Andy Warhol's "factory" eventually co-producing Ciao! Manhattan, a semi-biographical cult film tale of 1960s counterculture film actress and socialite Edie Sedgwick as one of Andy Warhol's Superstars.
Later career, 1995–present
Robert Margouleff is currently a partner in Safe Harbor Pictures LLC. in Los Angeles, California where he has developed a fully tape-less 2D / 3D High definition production workflow from shooting, to editing.
As an avid sailor and documentary filmmaker, Margouleff is producing Tall Ships Of The World, a 13-episode series about America's greatest sailing ships which will be available on Blu-ray in 3D.
Robert Margouleff was a principal founder of Mi Casa Multimedia in Hollywood, California, a leading boutique surround sound (multi-channel audio) mixing studio specializing in home theatre DTS, DVD / HD DVD releases for major motion picture studios. Mi Casa Multimedia studios is located in a former home of actor Béla Lugosi.
He was invited to present as the Keynote Speaker for the 129th AES Convention on November 4, 2010 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. His lecture was titled: "What The Hell Happened?" which examined the influence of fast-paced technological developments on creativity in the music industry and the recording arts.
Discography
- 1971: Zero Time (Tonto's Expanding Head Band)
- 1972: Talking Book (Stevie Wonder)
- 1973: Innervisions (Stevie Wonder)
- 1974: Fulfillingness' First Finale (Stevie Wonder)
- 1975: It's My Pleasure (Billy Preston)
- 1975: It's About Time (Tonto's Expanding Head Band)
- 1980: Freedom of Choice (Devo)
Engineering, production and programming credits—other acts (solo)
(see also Malcolm Cecil Discography, Margouleff and Cecil (together) Discography)
- Alexander Courage - Original Television Soundtrack Star Trek From The Original Pilots "The Cage" & "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (1966, 1985)
- Ned Liben - Introducing The ARP Avatar
- Lothar and the Hand People - Presenting... (1968)
- America - Hat Trick (1973, synth progrmamming)
- Billy Preston - Billy Preston (1976)
- Stairsteps - 2nd Resurrection (1976)
- Inner Circle - Ready For The World (1977)
- The Busboys - Minimum Wage Rock & Roll (1980)
- David Sanborn - As We Speak (1982)
- The Innocents - The Innocents (1982)
- The Manhattans All I Need (1986 Producer [Additional], Remix)
- Depeche Mode - But Not Tonight 7in single (1986 Producer [Additional], Remix)
- Branford Marsalis - Renaissance (1987)
- Wilson Pickett - American Soul Man (1987)
- Oingo Boingo - Good For Your Soul (1983)
- Shadowfax - The Odd Get Even (1990)
- 2 Live Crew - Live In Concert (1991)
- Tony MacAlpine - Freedom to Fly (1992)
- Various - Alternative NRG (1994)
- Avalon - "Rumour Has It" / "Catch Us if You Can" / "Messin' with My Baby" / "Blackmail"
Awards and recognition
- Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical – 1974
- Malcolm Cecil & Robert Margouleff (engineers) for Innervisions performed by Stevie Wonder