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RE: nerds with toys



>(he could sway and move his body as his played, unlike a 
>keyboardist)

which is why man invented the keytar =D



> Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2009 19:05:47 -0800
> From: looppool@cruzio.com
> To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
> Subject: Re: nerds with toys
>
> Per Boysen wrote:
> /*"For this reason I try to kick off certain looper comands from laptop
> keys instead of instantly doing it "on the side" by a
> floor pedal while playing a physical instrument up front. Just to add a
> little laptop mangling to the show."*/
>
> I have really thought a lot about how to make the live looping
> experience more compelling for an audience as I have
> seen some laptop loopers give fairly boring presentations of otherwise
> beautiful music.
>
> One experience really shaped me in this, several years ago.
>
> When I first got into sampling (and would also, by the way, put velcro
> on all the notes of my midi keyboard controller so
> that I could velcro down a note which would loop as long as I wanted it
> to) but before there were dedicated
> digital live looping gear, I'd go home and put hours into
> customizing my samples that I would play in concert.
>
> At the time I was playing gigs with a musician who played a wind synth
> controller. This musician was a fantastic player but
> was not concerned with creating custom patches or samples on his gear.
>
> I, myself, was fascinated by the sonic morphing capacity of my Akai S950
> sampler. I could repitch sounds, change their envelopes, etc.)
>
> But after all that work on creating unique sounds (this was the genesis
> of my love affair with found objects as musical instruments)
> at the end of the gig, people would swarm my wind synth playing friend
> with a barrage of questions about his 'magical' instrument.
>
> At that point I realized that seeing me play the keyboard to trigger
> those samples left the audience with no visceral perception of me
> playing these unique sounds. Even though he never customized his
> sounds (and even played pretty old fashioned 80's new age synth
> sounds) the fact that he had this unusual looking and very physical
> looking (he could sway and move his body as his played, unlike a
> keyboardist)
> was vastly more 'entertaining' to the audience.
>
> So when the late great Dr. Richard Zvonar made the point at the Y2K3
> Round Table discussion that the future of looping lay in the creation
> of interesting new controllers, I agreed 100%.
>
> Modern audiences have been so inured to the fact that fairly canned
> shows can be made with laptop computers, foot controllers, keyboards
> and turntables
> that the next place to go is creative theater presentation with more
> kinaesthetically interesting controllers.
>
> Of course an instrument is a kinaesthetically interesting controller,
> as it were and it is obvious that some people make that a visually
> stimulating experience
> while others can make it be a yawn producing experience.
>
> ******
> Now, after saying all of that, I think it's completely okay, as well,
> for people to just make music that is interesting to listen to,
> irregardless of the use
> of 'theatrics' I myself, like to be entertaining, if possible
> but it's perfectly okay if others are not so drawn to that approach.
>
> ******
> and just saying that reminded me, too, that I went and saw one of my
> favorite abstract electronica acts, Autechre, for the very first time.
> They had the sound of god and it was in 5.1 stereo all around the huge room.
> They then turned off all the lights in the place (except emergency exits
> and the lights of the bar at the rear of the room) so there was
> nothing to look at. They even figure out how to cloak their laptops
> so that you could not see even the glow of the screens on their faces
> (how they did this, escapese me, but hell, I could see anything as was
> their intent.
>
> Sonically it was one of the most interesting things I've heard. The
> sound was awe inspiring.
>
> I got bored 2/3 of the way through and left early. My poor ADD
> brain just needed something to look at.
> Honestly, unless they change their tack, I won't pay money to go back
> to see them.
>
>


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