Benoît Moerlen (born 6 February 1956)
/ref> is a French percussionist, best known for his work in

Gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

Pierre Moerlen's Gong Pierre Moerlen's Gong was an instrumental jazz fusion band led by French drummer Pierre Moerlen which developed as an offshoot of the psychedelic progressive rock band Gong founded and led by Daevid Allen. It was notable for the prominent use o ...

and a later offshoot Gongzilla.

History

Moerlen studied the

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist, ...

at the Strasbourg Conservatory, where his elder brother

Pierre Moerlen Pierre Moerlen (23 October 1952, Colmar, Haut-Rhin – 3 May 2005, Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, near Strasbourg) was a French drummer and percussionist, best known for his work with Gong and Mike Oldfield and as Pierre Moerlen's Gong. Biography Pie ...

had also studied percussion. Moerlen first played with Gong on 1974's ''

You In Modern English, ''you'' is the Grammatical person, second-person English pronouns, pronoun. It is Grammatical number, grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all case ...

'', Pierre already being a member. He joined more permanently for ''Gazeuse!'' (1976) and ''Expresso II'' (1978) when the band had come under Pierre's leadership. The latter was released under the Gong name in the UK, but as by Pierre Moerlen's Gong in North America. The band toured Europe in support. Benoît remained with the band for ''Downwind'' (1979) and ''Live'' (released 1980). Having left in 1979, Benoît joined Pierre in

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

's touring band, and he appears on the resultant live album '' Exposed'' (1979). He re-joined Pierre Moerlen's Gong in the late 1980s for ''Second Wind'' and ''Full Circle Live '88'', also playing additional keyboards. He also appeared with Pierre on Oldfield's ''

Islands An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be cal ...

'' (1987). Moerlen was then a founding member of Gongzilla, playing vibraphone and

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbr ...

, with bassist

Hansford Rowe Hansford Herndon Rowe Jr. (May 12, 1924 – September 5, 2017) was an American film, stage and television actor. Early life and education Rowe was born in Richmond, Virginia, the son of Virginia Isabel (née Willis) and Hansford Herndon Rowe, ...

and guitarist

Bon Lozaga ''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initially developed in ...

, with whom he had played in Pierre Moerlen's Gong. They released ''Suffer'' (1995) and ''Thrive'' (1996, with guests

David Torn David M. Torn (born May 26, 1953) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is known for combining electronic and acoustic instruments and for his use of looping. Background Torn has contributed to recordings by artists as diverse ...

and

Gary Husband Gary Husband (born 14 June 1960) is an English jazz and rock drummer, pianist, keyboard player and bandleader. He is also a composer, arranger and producer. Husband is a member of John McLaughlin's group The 4th Dimension, he also regularly ...

). Moerlen also plays solo marimba concerts in France, Belgium and Germany, and works in a duo called Akimbo with the German vibraphone player

Stefan Traub Stefan Traub (born 20 March 1969) is a Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament ...

. In 2005, Benoît was rehearsing with Pierre for a new line-up of Pierre Moerlen's Gong when Pierre died in his sleep.

Filmography

* 2015: '' Romantic Warriors III: Canterbury Tales'' (DVD)

References

External links

LoLo Records page
Canterbury scene French percussionists 1956 births Living people Gong (band) members {{percussionist-stub