Photo of Syrinx by Bart Schoales
 
Syrinx was a short-lived progressive/electronic music trio formed in 1970 by composer and keyboardist John Mills-Cockell, saxophonist Doug Pringle, and percussionist Alan Wells in Toronto. The three young men were all apparently devoted acidheads who would often trip out in the middle of the woods jamming on their instruments. They’d all come from the city’s art and music scene and had been participants in various artsy “happenings” in the late 60s. Pringle’s loft space was the group’s central creative headquarters, where they would also perform for others. Mills-Cockell studied at the University of Toronto and Royal Conservatory of Music where he pioneered an electronic music course in the school’s basement. He was also an early adopter of the then new instrument, the Moog synthesizer.

Syrinx released their eponymous debut album in 1970, followed by a second album, Long Lost Relatives, in 1971. During their two-year span of working together, they did music for film and TV, for modern dance application and even recorded with the Toronto Repertory Orchestra. One piece of Syrinx’s music, titled “Tillicum,” was used as the opening theme tune for a TV program called Here Come the Seventies and also reached #38 on Canada’s RPM charts.
 

 
Last year the marvelously quirky RVNG Intl. record label put out an expansive two CD, three LP Syrinx anthology called Tumblers From The Vault and Mills-Cockell and Pringle will be reuniting for the first time (sadly minus Alan Wells who passed away in 2010) at this year’s Moogfest 2017 in Durham, North Carolina on May 20th.

Before they perform that night, a recently completed documentary directed by Zoe Kirk-Gushowaty will screen first. You can watch it now, after the jump…

 
You’ve heard this track at least a thousand times, even if you don’t know what it’s called—it’s the peppiest Moog masterpiece the 1970s ever produced, “Popcorn.” This is a wonderful black-and-white clip from some French TV show back when it was a brand-new song, it seems. It features six spunky and star-spangled dancers doing their damndest to inject the proceedings with a bit of energy. The dancers aren’t great but they give it their all, the choreography is “fun,” and of course the music guarantees a splendid time for all. Why can’t there be stuff like this on TV today?

The editing, though—could somebody give the director some decaf coffee? For most of the video there’s so much fast-cutting that I’m obliged to issue an epilepsy warning. On top of that, the director (possibly the camera operator?) seems waaaaaaaaaaaaay too interested in the shapely midsections of the female dancers—I don’t think that would fly today….

Anyway, if this doesn’t put a big, stupid grin on your face, nothing will.
 

 
Thank you Fernando Velasquez Pomar!

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Who Do You Think You Are? A one-hit wonder for several different groups
The mysterious J. Bastos and his one hit wonder ‘Loop Di Love’