Mr. Dolby on stage in concert
Back when the earth was young, before the internet, CDs, ipods, and their ilk, I recall listening to my “walkman” to a young Brit who was of a different cut than his synthe-pop contemporaries. Mr. Thomas Dolby had (and has) an intriguing sound, but it was when I first saw his video (back when MTV actually played videos), that I had my first glimpse of a strange and amazing world I have now come to associate with Steampunk.
“Lab Photo”, back in the 80’s
Instead of modern and sleek electronic equipment, he had retro-looking scanners, and extensive use of wood and old rusty knobs/handles on his music equipment. I purchased his first album, “The Golden Age of Science”, and it has been a mainstay of my listening library (from cassette to CD to Ipod). Not a big fan of “She blinded me with science”, I did regard the rest of the album outstanding, musically and lyrically.
(Well worn) cover art of the “Golden Age of Science”
I did a bit of searching, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that not only is he still active in the music realm, but he’s on tour (well, in England and currently in Ireland – apparently missed his US visit…) and blogging about the experience (on his website). I’ve listed a few of his links in case you wish to learn more about this Steampunk pioneer.
(a series of interviews about his earlier work)
http://www.thomasdolby.com/soleinhabitant/
(a fairly audio-philic techie review of his equipment, including modding tips)
http://createdigitalmusic.com/2006/04/13/thomas-dolbys-blog-road-rig-build-your-rig-cheap/
