John Mills-Cockell

John Mills-Cockell (born May 19, 1943) is a Canadian electronic musician who recorded three albums with the experimental combo Intersystems in 1967/68, followed by a brief stint with psych-rockers Kensington Market. He then formed the electronic trio Syrinx, which issued two albums in 1970/71 on True North. As a solo artist, he released two albums on True North in 1973/74 and a third in 1977 on Anubis Records.

Background

John Mills-Cockell was born on May 19, 1943, in Toronto, Ontario. His father played violin in a palm-court trio and sang in a church choir. Mills-Cockell began piano lessons at four and joined the choir at five. As a teenager, he played jazz with trombonist Russ Little. He spent part of 1958 in London, where he worked in the music department at Harrods. At a Proms concert in Royal Albert Hall, he heard Hugh Le Caine’s tape piece “Dripsody.”

Mills-Cockell studied music education at the University of Toronto. Instructor Myron Schaeffer introduced him to the university’s electronic music studio, and Mills-Cockell began making pieces with tape recorders. At the Royal Conservatory of Music, he studied piano with John Coveart and composition with Samuel Dolin. He also attended Gustav Ciamaga’s electronic music seminars at the university. In 1966, BMI awarded him a Student Composer Award. Mills-Cockell and fellow student Ann Southam assisted Dolin with an electronic music course at the conservatory.

Intersystems | Syrinx 

He befriended two course attendees: installation artist Michael Hayden and poet Blake Parker. Hayden enlisted Mills-Cockell to record sound for Mind Excursion, an installation at the University of Toronto’s Perception ’67 festival. The three formed Intersystems with architectural designer Dik Zander. Intersystems recorded the 1967 albums Number One and Peachy for the Allied Record Corporation. In March 1968, Mills-Cockell played a Moog modular synthesizer in the group’s Duplex presentations at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

In 1969, he joined Toronto group Kensington Market for the album Aardvark, produced by former Cream soundman (and eventual Mountain bassist) Felix Pappalardi, who allotted Vancouver studio time for Mills-Cockell solo tracks with percussionist Alan Wells. Back in Toronto, Mills-Cockell played at the Meat and Potatoes restaurant with saxophonist Doug Pringle. The three formed Syrinx and signed to Bernie Finkelstein’s True North Records, which issued their 1970/71 albums Syrinx and Long Lost Relatives. The trio also recorded “Tillicum” for the CTV series Here Come the Seventies.

Solo

Following Syrinx’s 1972 breakup, Mills-Cockell composed the synthesizer score for Sheldon Rosen’s adaptation of The Stag King at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre that December. He also scored the CBC/Trans-Media documentary Carnivals with synthesizer, electric piano, and string quartet.

In early 1973, he adopted the J.M.C. Heartbeat name for music that combined his voice with an ARP 2500 and keyboards. He issued “Instant Replay” (b/w “See Stop Shuffle”) on True North. That summer, Mills-Cockell traveled through Europe while composing music for the six-part documentary A Third Testament. For his first solo album, Heartbeat, he selected two pieces from The Stag King and three from Carnivals.

Discography:

• Heartbeat (1973)
• A Third Testament (TV, 1974)
• In Concert (1975)
• Gateway [aka Neon Accelerando] (1977)

Sources

• “Mills-Cockell, John,” Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia. Gives his birth date, birthplace, and university studies. (Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia)
• “10 Questions for John Mills-Cockell,” September 8, 2013. Mills-Cockell describes his father’s violin playing, family music lessons, and entry into the church choir. (barczablog).
• Jesse Locke, “The Astral Excursions of John Mills-Cockell.” Interviews Mills-Cockell about Russ Little, London, his studies, Intersystems, the Vancouver sessions, and Syrinx. (Musicworks). 
• “BMI Composer Award Winners.” BMI lists John L. Mills-Cockell under 1966. This resolves a date conflict with the later Musicworks article, which gives 1968. (BMI).
• “John Mills-Cockell,” first-person interview. Describes his early instruments and lessons, Dolin’s class, Perception ’67, and the formation of Intersystems. (Modulisme). 
• Thom Holmes, “Early ‘Live’ Moog Modular Artists: John Mills-Cockell.” Uses Mills-Cockell’s account to date the *Duplex* presentations at the Art Gallery of Ontario to March 1968. (Bob Moog Foundation). 
• Robert Beatty, “John Mills-Cockell,” October 14, 2016. Mills-Cockell recounts Pappalardi’s support, the Vancouver recordings, Pringle’s restaurant appearance, and the transition from Intersystems to Syrinx. (BOMB). 
• Syrinx: Tumblers From the Vault, reissue notes. Confirms the trio’s personnel, the two album years, and the origin of the Vancouver recordings. (RVNG Intl.). 
• “Here Come The Seventies.” Identifies CTV as the network and Syrinx’s “Tillicum” as the theme. (The History of Canadian Broadcasting).
• RPM, October 7, 1972, and March 31, 1973. The first issue announces the Ontario Place program and calls Mills-Cockell and Pringle former Syrinx members. The second carries True North’s J.M.C. Heartbeat single advertisement. (October 1972; March 1973).