re: loop instrument

["Jan Pek" <swirlee@angelfire.com>]

 >Because I'm rarely performing on a conventional instrument, I can 
>devote my attention to the looping system in such a way that it IS an 
>instrument. Thus I rarely let looped material just "sit" in the 
>musical texture. I often "capture and dump" material at a rapid pace, 
>or I may capture several simultaneous loops of contrasting materials 
>and bring them in and out of the mix.

Chris-

I am interested in this way of looking at looping 'as an instrument'. I am 
working on processes and tools to help bring fluidity into looping. May I 
ask, what kind of interface would you like to see in a loop instrument? 
How do you see yourself 'playing' such an instrument? What form would it 
have? How would you interact? 

What about collaboration with other people? In your vision, could more 
than one person be playing the loop instrument at a time?

For example, I grew up improvising piano, so it is easy for me to imagine 
an interface where new loops are automatically mapped across a keyboard, 
allowing me to 'play' them.  I also grew up programming, so I can relate 
to an interface with macro-like commands like 'F1B4' fade loop 1 out over 
four counts.

Right now I'm looking at core principles for loop technology. Here are 
some thoughts:

Everything is breathing
There is no final product
Only the rhythm of returning
Only the growth of resonance

Mill - Sawdust
Process - Byproduct
MILL "The Circular Process by which Grooves are Cut"

the process by which the process is developed is itself the process. there 
is no stable architecture. the song is the singing.

DISC EROS-
wheels revolving within wheels, imprinted with sound, synchronized by 
crystal clocks

time becomes resonant 
dream antenna

basic principles?
* Individuality. -different physical arrangements expose process- UI 
decoupled from core process. A guitarist plays it differently than a 
keyboardist.

* Fluidity- the loop process does not disrupt the channel by forcing 
structure. does not take the improviser away from his flow.

* Simplicity- honor limits.

* Community- encourage collaboration.

* History- there is no product to store, only the reverberations of the 
past. material that is unused, fades away. equally, processes and 
experiments that are fruitless, fade away.

* Association- loops are linked to one another by their use together. when 
two loops are sounding together, this creates a magnetic link between. 
loops self-organize into a network based on the activities of the 
conductor (that's you!). this helps the conductor to find related loops 
fluidly.

* Ant medicine- things grow in their own rhythm,  take small steps.

 
many thanks,
-yon



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