The Mackrosoft

Stardrive featuring Robert Mason
Stardrive (Columbia) 1974

This is some of the spaciest funk out there! On the back cover, Stardrive describe themselves as “the first rock band on earth to feature a synthesizer as LEAD instrumentÉno tedious blooze guitar. No lisping vocalists. Just Mason and his extra-special, extra-terrestrial machine, zipping through funkafide space like greased lightning.” The machine they refer to is the synthesizer Robert Mason constructed himself because of inadequacies he heard in all existing synths at the time. The result was one of the first polyphonic synths ever created, with sounds truly his own. The compositions are quite tripped out, with tempos and vibes changing several times throughout a song. “Air Sauce” is the standout track for us, alternating between an extremely laid-back groove one minute and an onslaught of heavy drums and aggressive synth stabs the next. Definitely an inspiration for our own music, especially the title track on Exile in the Woods.