This is a Mellotron.

This is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic keyboard originally developed in England in the early 60s. It superseded the Chamberlin, which was the world’s first musical keyboards to play the pre-recorded sounds of other instruments.

This has become the topic of a documentary that just came out in January, directed by Dianna Dilworth (she’s got a website, you can check it out).

This documentary gathers music icons and bands such as The Beach Boys, The Zombies, King Crimson, Yes, Black Sabbath, Genesis, Maroon 5. All of them talking about the Mellotron!

Now I’m asking to myself: does anyone really care about a full-length feature on something so specific? To doc-makers: here comes a few ideas: Guitar Picks, stage towels, tour buses, club doormen (that last one actualy sounds good).

Trailer: