We’ve covered the Lyricon earlier on PS dot com (click here), but this thing is just too wacky and awesome to ignore. Any wind-controller users out there? DS and i were at a fkkn crazy studio-liquidation sale this weekend and some dude walked out with one of those Akai wind controllers for $10… seems like a good deal. Mkkn fusion-flute y’all!!!! Herbie Mann electro!
One reply on “1977: The Selmer Lyricon Synth Flute”
Tom Scott was the big user:
Arranger and saxophonist Tom Scott played the Lyricon[2] on Steely Dan’s 1977 hit single “Peg” (later sampled by De La Soul in Eye Know) from Aja, and on “My Rival”, from Gaucho, as well as on Captain and Tennille’s chart-topper “Do That to Me One More Time”. He has also released several solo albums where he plays the Lyricon, and played it on many sessions, including albums by Quincy Jones, The Grateful Dead’s 1977 LP Terrapin Station, Blondie’s Autoamerican Album released in 1980, Michael Jackson’s hit song Billie Jean and on his theme for Starsky and Hutch. The Lyricon also figured prominently on his tour with Billy Cobham, Alphonso Johnson, Steve Khan and Mark Soskin for the Alivemutherforya album in 1978.
That said almost every woodwind player in rock had one at one time or another, and a lot of the fusion jazzers.
Selmer, however, was a remarketer, not the inventor.