Support
Looper's Delight
|
Support |
|
|
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.
>