Re: Live Looping versus using Pre-Recorded Loops

[Phil Clevenger <phil.clevenger@gmail.com>]

It's funny to read so much talk about definitions... when for me, after 
coming back to music after a 15+ year absence, I am invigorated by seeing 
previous definitions falling away.

That said, when I think of anything LIVE, I think there must be the 
possibility of the train derailing. That's what makes watching a 
performance so compelling. SO within that, I think it's perfectly fine to 
include pre-made loops, pre-made roadmaps, anything at all, in a 
performance... as long as spontaneity is a fundamental.

Milli-Vanilli style lip-synching, and the loopy equivalents of that, are 
exactly the opposite: it is about ensuring that the train cannot derail, 
that there is no possibility of spontaneity whatsoever.

I admire folks who can only improvise, walk onstage with NO plan... but 
the other side of that is a feeling that perhaps one is lazy, and may have 
fear around committing to the process of building solid ideas. Just 
saying, there are two sides to each side... and composing is hard, and 
requires courage as well. Reality is that most of us live somewhere 
between the two absolutes.

One interesting area omitted so far is the notion of loop-based heightened 
reality, as in some of Andre LaFosse's recordings: based on EDP improvs 
(live and uncut though without an audience) which were subsequently nipped 
and tucked, for better symmetries, tighter motion and so on... even some 
overdubbing to enhance certain passages... Certainly Andre has earned his 
stripes as a live looper by any definition... but these recordings are 
certainly not live... yet I really love that notion of taking something 
raw and making a polished artifact from it...

Phil :)



On Nov 6, 2011, at 8:57 AM, william middlemiss wrote:

> 
> Its a question of bandwidth and resource allocation. An inordinate 
> amount of time is needed to record the parts for a complex piece such as 
> Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint at the beginning of a performance. 
> Add to that the preparation time for learning and practicing the parts 
> all the way through- all but the most attentive listeners with long 
> perceptual ability would retain interest. Hence the need for a 
> prerecorded 'tape.' 
> 
> Same kind of thing with Stockhausen's Kontakte, and many other complex 
> works. Necessity dictates preparation of materials in certain 
> circumstances. I certainly would not call that cheating- in fact I would 
> say it's the opposite. Preparation/practice is not cheating.
>