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Looper's Delight
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The red pill or the blue pill? Both! M... At 11:30 PM 8/13/02 -0700, you wrote: >Oh my, it's some loop philosophy... how can I resist? 8() > >How ya doin', Rick? > >"Rick Walker/Loop.pooL" wrote: > >> Matthias (whose music I adore and who I consider a good new friend) >> wrote: >> >> "I just shortly repeat what Kim an me pointed several time at on >this >> list: >> With FB constantely at max, the loop turns into a ball on a chain: >The >> phrase you started with keeps you in the same mood, you cannot evolve >when >> you feel its time, just revolve, chopp off... ;-" >> >> This can happen, certainly, but there are many ways of making music. >> I, personally, am not a fan of Jazz Fusion as an example, >> but to categorically state that this music keeps you in the same mood >> because I don't happen to enjoy the form is absurd. > >I personally didn't take Matthias' comment as an aesthetic judgement at >all. To me, it's an expression of a technical concern, and a very >important and valid one at that: what do you do with a loop once you've >built up a texture, if you don't have feedback control? > >I would speculate that the comment about "the same mood" is not a >reflection of Matthias' personal listening taste, but rather the >loopists' challenge when working with a loop without feedback: how do >you evolve the texture aside from either overdubbing more and more >layers to it (thereby creating an ever-denser texture), and/or ending it >abruptly (which are the two possibilities Matthias described in his >original remark)? > >Feedback is an incredible tool for this sort of thing, and Matthias' >incredibly fluid and organic style would be unthinkable without it. >It's just like I couldn't imagine doing what I like to do without a >momentary Replace function (and, increasingly, 8th/cycle quantization, >cycle-quantized loop switching, DirectMIDI, etc. etc.) - that's MY own >solution to how I develop a loop and change its direction. (Ironically >enough, I can regularly play a whole concert without ever touching the >feedback control...) > >> I love repetition, personally. I have loved Terry Riley, Philip >Glass, >> Hamza El Din, Reggae, et. al. > >I like their stuff too. And I would point to works like "In C" or >"Music For 18 Musicians" as good general examples of the sort of >principle Matthias is talking about: the idea that you can evolve the >loop by fading various elements in and out of the picture, and that over >time, the entire textural content of a basic "loop" can completely >change and evolve, in subtle and organic ways. > >> It's really o.k. if Kim or Mattias don't. But let's keep our >> communications and our aesthetic biases clear. A personal aesthetic >> predilection is exactly that: a personal predilection. It's ok to >have >> them without being judgemental about others. > >I don't believe either Kim or Matthias are opposed to repetitive music - >if they were, they'd very likely find something to do with their lives >other than design looping software! 8() > >And in the case of Kim and Matthias, it's important to remember that >you're talking about two guys who have designed several versions of a >software which is utterly without peer in its particular focus and >design angle. There are things the EDP was doing in its software >version 8 years ago that STILL haven't been duplicated or matched. I >can only imagine how frustrating it must sometimes be to have spent so >much time working on an instrument that's still so underrated and misunderstood. > >So I'm all for discussing these expanded possibilities, because it >increases the general understanding of the tools of the trade. And it >also allows a fascinating insight into some of the creative corners of >the design process in general. For instance, the EDP's >painstakingly-programmed 127 discreet feedback values assume a >tremendous amount of significance when you see and hear Matthias' >seamless work. Some of the more "out there" Echoplex functions make >more sense when you find out that Kim Flint is a big hip-hop, jungle, >and heavy metal fan. > >I think it's fantastic that there are folks like yourself, Rick, who are >making great music with very simple units like a DL4. But I also think >it's important to make people in general aware of the possibilities that >lie beyond simply recording, repeating, and overdubbing. A lot of these >techniques are not very difficult to use, they already exist in many of >the devices people presently own, and they can open tremendous doors >into different technical and aesthetic avenues. > >It's one thing to choose to work within very tight technical >constraints, the way you have. But it's another thing to be unwittingly >constrained by one's own expectations of the parameters that are >available, simply because they never explored the other options out >there, you know? > >> Everyone is Creative. I think there is a disturbing trend in >western >> culture specifically to be perfectionistic and judgemental. >> I think that we, as artists and loopers have a great opportunity to >> reverse this trend (if only in a small,small way) and actively support >> people's creativity. It's all good. > >I agree that it's important to encourage people to do their thing. But >I also adamently feel that it's JUST as important to approach an art >form from a respectfully critical point of view. > >In other words, don't just settle for what's commonly available. Don't >just work within the parameters of what we commonly associate with these >tools. Don't just accept that looping HAS to sound a certain way. > >Why shouldn't we challenge ourselves - and one another - in a healthy, >respectful, encouraging way, to go beyond what we expect, and what we >already know we can do? > >I haven't seen anything that Kim or Matthias have said that I would >describe as disrespectful to other people's music. Can they be blunt? >You bet. Direct? Absolutely. Fed up with the status quo? For sure. >Challenging? I sure HOPE so. But I think that's how any art form grows >and develops - by having a healthy dissatisfaction with the way things >are already done. > >Maybe this is easy for me to say, Rick, since I've heard both of these >gentlement express their very deep respect and appreciation for your >music. So I know they're not knockin' ya... far from it, in fact. > >Well damn, I guess this is a brain spew and a half. Time to get back to practicing! > >Hope y'all are well tonight. > >Woo hah, > >--Andre LaFosse >The Echoplex Analysis Pages: >http://www.altruistmusic.com/EDP > >