Robert Margouleff Shapes Sounds

About this episode

Robert Margouleff discusses his pioneering work in electronic music and the creation of TONTO, along with his collaborations with Stevie Wonder and other artists.

In the late 1960s, pioneering electronic musician Robert Margouleff and his musical partner Malcolm Cecil built something unlike anything the world had heard: TONTO — The Original New Timbral Orchestra — a sprawling, one-of-a-kind synthesizer system that would go on to reshape the sound of popular music for decades to come. A Grammy winner for his work on Stevie Wonder's Innervisions, Robert joins us in studio on the What Difference Does It Make Podcast to share the stories behind one of the most creative partnerships in music history. He takes us inside the making of Stevie's most celebrated run of records — Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, and Fulfillingness' First Finale — and reveals how TONTO's revolutionary sonic palette helped define that era. He also produced Devo's commercial breakthrough Freedom of Choice, one of the defining 80s music albums that helped bring synth-driven pop to the mainstream, and collaborated with Billy Preston and The Isley Brothers, cementing his place as one of the most influential figures behind the boards of his generation. It's all captured in his memoir, Shaping Sounds: Stevie Wonder, Devo, The Synth Revolution And My Life Behind…

People in this episode

Hosts: Dave Sloan, Holly Cantos

Guest: Robert Margouleff

Topics covered

• electronic music
• synthesizers
• music history
• Stevie Wonder
• TONTO
• 80s music

Keywords

• Robert Margouleff
• TONTO
• Stevie Wonder
• synthesizers
• 80s music
• Devo
• music history

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Innervisions, Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Fulfillingness' First Finale, Freedom of Choice, Shaping Sounds: Stevie Wonder, Devo, The Synth Revolution And My Life Behind The Music

More episodes of The (Mostly) 80s Music Podcast: What Difference Does It Make?

• Mike Gomoll Sings The Praises For Joey's Song · June 12, 2026 · 1h 10m
• Matthew Hild Gives Olivia Newton-John A Little More Love · June 5, 2026 · 49 min
• Gen X Summer Song Favorites · May 22, 2026 · 57 min
• Annie Zaleski Gives Us 50 Reasons To Love Stevie Nicks · May 15, 2026 · 42 min
• Gina Gershon Survives The San Fernando Valley · May 1, 2026 · 39 min
• JayQuan Is Raising Hell For Run-DMC · April 24, 2026 · 59 min