FW: Who's on the forefront of loopmuse?

[David Kirkdorffer <DKirkdorffer@exapps.com>]

I mostly agree with what you say here.

I was hoping to get us all thinking critically about what in Art would
probably be called Critical Theory. 

Conferring issues with value based on the new ideas they contain.  So
who has been creating new ideas with looping?  Who is expanding the
looping genre? Who has been adding new twists to what has been done?  

It's not the amount of technology used - we all agree on that I suspect.
But without a certain aspect of technology none of this would be
possible.  

If it's the Dance Scene where real innovation is taking place, maybe we
ought to advertise the existence of our loopy-list to a few dance and dj
oriented web-worlds??

David

        -----Original Message-----
        From:   Kim Flint [SMTP:kflint@chromatic.com]
        Sent:   Tuesday, February 03, 1998 6:58 PM
        To:     Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com;
'Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com'
        Subject:        RE: Who's on the forefront of loopmuse?

        At 03:50 PM 2/3/98 -0500, John Price wrote:
        >Gosh darn it! Im feelin awful chatty today. 
        >
        >The forefront of Looping today is on what most here would
undoubtedly
        consider the lowbrow side of all things loop that is if you are
prone to
        categorizing things. 
        >
        >IMHO - It's the dance floor dude that is still driving things
loopey for
        the majority of the world - Musicians and audiences included.


        I tend to agree with this, although it's not always so lowbrow
as you might
        think. A lot of that is a bit of a pose, and often times the
people behind
        it are very sophisticated musicians. The possibilities for
innovation and
        creativity are huge, and a lot of talented people have moved in
that
        direction to take advantage of it. Andre did a nice job of
commenting on
        that, no need for me to add anything there.

        The dance/electronic/hip-hop/etc. scene is definitely where I
see all the
        innovation in looping as a method, as a process, as a tool, as a
type of
        music. I see people there constantly pushing to evolve things
and do
        something different, move it to the next level. The musicians,
the audience,
        the dj's, and the press all seem to support and encourage that,
it's
        ingrained in the scene in an interesting and healthy way. Loop
concepts grow
        by leaps and bounds there. 

        Another spot of innovation would be the solo instrumentalists,
integrating
        loops into compositions and performances in interesting new
ways, expanding
        their reach. I think you see that here in the many people
looping with
        fingerstyle guitar, or cello, or voice. Probably there are
innovative things
        happening in the academic/high-brow world, but I just don't
follow that
        enough to know. 

        Where I don't see much innovation with looping is in the droney
guitar loop
        scene, the stuff often associated with Fripp. The music may
continue to be
        vital and interesting, but the use of loops is pretty stagnant
and
        complacent. Sorry, but I just don't see anyone pushing the
looping process
        anywhere in that scene. (although it's possible that I just go
so bored with
        it I stopped paying attention.)

        For me as a developer of loop devices, it is definitely the
dance producers
        who are driving things. They are the ones forcing the innovation
in tools
        and driving us with a constant flow of ideas. Trying to
understand, meet,
        and anticipate their needs so that a looping device might be an
effective
        instrument in that world is a very tough challenge! And the
possibilities
        are so huge and fresh, along with the sheer volume of
creativity, that the
        challenge is really quite exciting and fun. You really get the
feeling that
        when a new feature is introduced, someone will jump on it and do
something
        remarkable. 

        With the droney guitar loop crowd, most of the push is to get
one box that
        does all the things that different boxes available 10-20 years
ago did. And
        that's certainly reasonable, but it's not exactly breaking new
ground. You
        give them something new and they barely notice, maybe getting
around to it
        after a few years. (and in 15 years they will just be demanding
that feature
        in any new device!)

        anyway, that's my take.

        kim


        >Obvious and overexposed Loop Leaders: Beck, Square Pusher, DJ's
Spookey &
        Shadow (Spelling??) Photek, Puff Daddy ( He aint original and he
sure don't
        drone. But his loops are in the hands and ears of eager children
all across
        the world while their $ is secure in his bank account) and The
Orb on the
        Higher end of low end. 
        >
        >Frankly, I can't nor would I ever dare say that any artist is
better than
        the other. Its always like a pissing contest. And I cant stand
it when
        people turn music appreciation into a sport and forum for their
own biases
        and need to be acknowledged. Just a premonition of how people
will respond
        to DK's question.
        >
        >
        >
        >-----Original Message-----
        >From:  David Kirkdorffer [SMTP:DKirkdorffer@exapps.com]
        >Sent:  Tuesday, February 03, 1998 1:02 PM
        >To:    Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com
        >Subject:       Who's on the forefront of loopmuse?
        >
        >I'll try this again, just to see if this gets picked up.
        >
        >*So, just for giggles, what / who is on the forefront of
"looping-based
        >music"?*
        >I know this is somewhat an impossible question, but, maybe it's
worth
        >bashing around for a while.
        >
        >David Kirkdorffer
        >
        >Attachment Converted: C:\Program Files\Eudora\Attach\RE Who's
on the
        forefront of l
        >
        _______________________________________________________
        Kim Flint                       408-752-9284
        Mpact Systems Engineering       kflint@chromatic.com
        Chromatic Research              http://www.chromatic.com