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Looper's Delight
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Sarcasm mode = on Hmmmm....... let me see.... naming a genre of music that requires specific capabilities derived from any of a number of devices that is used to create the music.... I have it!!! FuzzBox Music!!! Sarcasm mode = off Is there such a thing as wah-wah music?? I have sympathy with the desire to have something that consolidates music with loops in it, but if you can find a term that will cover Classical, Opera, Jazz, Rock, Hip-Hop, Country and Folk, then I definitely want to know it! David ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Hamburg" <mark_hamburg@baymoon.com> To: "Looper's Delight" <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com> Sent: Sunday, April 11, 2004 6:36 PM Subject: "Live Looping" > I've been pondering Andre's departure while away from my e-mail for a week. > > Andre may or may not be uncomfortable sharing a genre with Matthias Grob and > Rick Walker, but I think there is a fair amount of overlap and in ways that > are distinct from a singer-songerwriter using loops on a DL4 for > accompaniment and in ways that are pretty distinct from others I've heard at > looping festivals such as Richard Zvonar, Matt Davignon, or Amy X Neuburg > (who are all relatively distinct from one another). I think that similarity > is potentially apparent to people who aren't familiar with the >technology. > Andre is more aggressive and less ambient in his playing than some but there > are some core similarities stemming from a musical style that grows and > evolves the music as the audience listens. > > But that's where I think the "Live Looping" movement got itself in trouble. > There is an aesthetic similarity, but I don't think I've ever heard >anyone > express what it is. This leaves us with "Live Looping consists of people who > use loopers live". But that includes the singer-songwriter with the DL4 who > doesn't think of himself as a live looper per se. As Kim (I think) has > pointed out, it makes knowledge that something is a looping event be >about > as informative as knowing it's a guitar event or a trombone event. > > So, to really be successful as a promotional tool -- which I think is the > basic reason for trying to define a genre -- there are a couple of things I > think should happen: > > 1. Someone needs to come up with a definition of the aesthetics and > experience from an audience perspective. > > 2. The name needs some consideration. If there is real audience knowledge of > live looping then that name may be worth keeping, but it also carries >with > it the problem that to use a looper live may not make one a live looper per > se. Mark Sottilaro and I started toying with the name "Cycletronica" last > time this came up. He seems to have done more with it than I have. > > I've also been thinking about Loopstock and wondering whether the > potentially anemic showing in Los Osos is symptomatic of a bigger >problem. > Maybe it's just that like me other people have schedule conflicts. I'm > trying to resolve those conflicts, but I haven't managed to do so yet. > > Or are Andre's frustrations taking hold at a broader level? I've found >the > festivals extremely valuable to me as a player because without them I > wouldn't be playing publicly. But I've also found them a bit frustrating > both as a player and an audience member. For example, as a player, I become > paranoid about getting my rig into a form that will set up and strike >very > quickly. That probably results in some useful focus and keeps me from > spending a performance playing with too many toys, but it is also a bit > stressful. And I really would like a soundcheck though the audience > presumably wouldn't. As an audience member, I find it annoying when >others > haven't worked as hard and the festival turns into a festival of >technical > difficulties. (As a performer, I can think "there but for the grace of God" > but that wouldn't cut it if I were just an audience member.) > > Is it time to evolve beyond the marathon festival model? To what? How do we > keep bringing the community together without the stress level burning people > out? > > Mark >