Celluloid (USA/Electronic)

Mellotron oriented two albums by then teenager Charles (Chuck) Minuto, made in early 80's. Other than that, and the fact that there is a re-release of both albums on CD, there isn't much info about him except this from planet mellotron (scroll further down for samples from Neptune):

Well, thanks to US reader Tom O'Neill, I can give you considerably more information. It seems that 'Celluloid' was the nom-de-plume of one Charles (Chuck) Minuto, who was still in his teens when he recorded these strange albums. Chuck recorded an electronic piece called Murmadon's Log at Tom's place, prior to the albums, which is easier on the ear than his later projects. The 'computer' he lists on the Mercury sleeve was, in fact, a rented Synclavier, which must've eaten up a fair chunk of his limited budget, but explains why the non-'Tron sounds are so good for the time. He had a more limited budget for Neptune, which presumably explains a) the lack of any Synclavier and b) the poor pressing quality. It's unknown whether Minuto still holds the mastertapes of these albums.

Anyway, the composition on Mercury is of the dark'n'doomy variety, befitting its rather grand subject matter, and has a really quite relentless air about it; despite being effectively rhythmless, this isn't 'lie back and enjoy it' music by any stretch of the imagination. The three pieces on side one are instrumental, but side two's Part II: The Civilization Of Planets surprises by Mr. Celluloid's rather portentous singing, though I'm not sure it adds much to the proceedings. There's a good bit of Mellotron use, although he only had one tape frame at this stage, with strings, brass and male choir. The Melting Of Stars features a fanfareish brass part, but the other two sounds (unsurprisingly) comprise most of the 'Tron work on the album. The music certainly isn't 'standard' electronic stuff, but for those who prefer the darker end of the spectrum, laced with a fair amount of Mellotron, this is probably worth a listen.

Neptune went the whole hog, and was recorded entirely on the Mellotron. It's a good deal odder than his debut, with much use made of Mellotron FX tapes; laughter, applause, church bells, smashing glass - you name it, it's here. Much of it sounds as if it was recorded 'live' in the studio, possibly on two (very) defective M400s, with considerable tape-wobble, and switching between sounds on the fly. The overall effect is less 'musical' than 'ambient', though that gives the wrong impression; suffice to say, it's very different to Mercury, with much repetition of the FX, and no real 'structure' to the pieces at all. Apart from the sounds used on Mercury, I think I can hear church organ, timps, flutes, some unidentified woodwind (?) and maybe cellos, so I suspect he used a couple of machines and overdubbed some of the parts later. Anyway, you're unlikely to find this on vinyl, so if you buy the CD, you've got it anyway.

These albums are rare as rocking-horse sh*t, and were mostly circulating on tape copies until 2002, when an 'official' 2-on-1 release was announced. Beware; it's an overpriced CD-R with minimal packaging, looking like something someone could've knocked up on their home PC (see sleeve, right). It's also been mastered from vinyl; the sound quality's reasonable, but I can hear crackles here and there (particularly on Neptune), with no obvious attempt made to de-click it, and it sounds like the original tapes were f**ked anyway. I've just paid new shop price for this, and feel somewhat ripped-off, although the music is worth it. A third title, Jupiter is rumoured, though no-one I've spoken to has ever seen or heard a copy, so I rather doubt that it exists. [Note: Minuto mentioned it to O'Neill, but probably never found the money to record it].

Huge thanks are due, by the way, to Daniel Miso for the sleeve images above. He owns both of these...

p.s. Johnny tells me that Minuto is alive and (relatively) well, but is in no condition to make any music again. Since the mastertapes are almost certainly long gone, I think that 2-on-1 CD-R is the nearest we're going to get to an 'official' re-release.

Other links: rym discogs

"Mercury" 1982
1.Mercury (Part 1)
a) The Formation Of Space, Land, And Sea
b) The Melting Of Stars
c) The Arrival Of Man
2.Mercury (Part 2)
a)  The Civilization Of Planets

"Neptune" 1983
1. Neptune (Part 1)
a) Central Countryyard        
b) Throne Room        
c) Pavilion of Forestlife        
d) A Crown in A Glass Case        
e) Cascade Through A Room        
f) Tarot Cards        
g) Zodiac Wheel        
h) Palace        
i) Cirkus Maximus        
j) Monsters from The Depth of The Sea
2. Neptune (Part 2)
a) Attack and fall of The Titans   
b) The Marshes of Primitive Realm
c) The Ascent of Poseidon
d) Earthquake

I speak with Chuck often and he has agreed to have his music re-released. He doesn't recall what happened to the master tapes. I have his demo tapes if anyone is interested. . Anyone interested in the music of Chuck Minuto, contact me at P.A. and I will render all the information about him and his life in the present. Chuck would be happy to know that people are interested in his music. 

^I wrote that biography knowing very scarce information so any additional info with which I can update with is welcome, or you can make an entirely new bio too.

Photo is also fine, and if Chuck will have an official page from which he will promote the music and re-releases I can put that up on the artist page as well.

This morning I played my vinyl copies of Mercury and Neptune. Earthquake!!!