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From:
To:
Dave Walker
Cc:
,
Date:
Sat, 5 Nov 1994 14:25:05 +0000
Subject:
Re: CULTURE? WHAT CULTURE?
Msg-Id:
<199411052214.OAA12993@teleport.com>
Mbox:
idm.9411.gz
From private email - sender's identity withheld unless he wishes to reveal it....
quoted 5 lines Does this need to be spelled out in crayon? Every worthwhile live>Does this need to be spelled out in crayon? Every worthwhile live >performance I've ever been to succeeded because a genuine interplay was >achieved between performer and audience (or DJ and dancers)... etc. The >capability for interaction beyond a preset script is what makes even a >live-sequenced performance inherently more interesting than a DAT playback.
I agree with all of this. My first question concerning live performance is: How "live" must a performance be a valid performance? At one extreme you have total improvisation, at the other you have DAT playback w/ no additions to the original musical material. Is a performer singing over a backing DAT valid? Is Orbital punching sequences in and out & changing the mix without touching a keyboard valid? Is a DJ spinning records on two 1200s valid? Are they somehow less valid than a Bluegrass band because most or all of the material is prerecorded?
quoted 9 lines I've seen Vapourspace do PA's three times now. Every performance was>I've seen Vapourspace do PA's three times now. Every performance was >completely different -- not because he did a silly dance or played air >guitar, but because he he fed off the energy of the dancers, tweaking >sounds and sequences in response to what he was creating and what the >audience was giving back to him. Mark Gage is a bespectacled funny >looking geek -- no one was standing looking at him because "it's the >concert thing to do" -- rather people were orgiastically humping >speakers, staring into the lights as their tabs kicked in, whatever: >because he was able to accurately engage the vibe and respond to it.
Yes - this is the way it should be. I went to see Autechre in Seattle, where everyone, except myself & possibly one other person, were standing around gawking at the "band" punch in tracks on their R8 move mixer faders, tweak synths, and the usual techno boffin antics. They stormed off stage after 20 minutes, presumably because only two people were dancing. This leads to my second question, which is: Is there REALLY a need to have people on a stage? Couldn't they just as easily be located in the DJ booth? I feel that if we removed the visual focus presented by having performers on a stage, the audience will focus more on 1) each other and how everyone is connected and 2) the music and how it is affecting them.
quoted 2 lines mr. i read the crosspost and there isn't a damn inch of bandwidth on>mr. i read the crosspost and there isn't a damn inch of bandwidth on >playing live vs playing dat.
Well, I feel like the shift in musical tastes are intimately connected w/ the imminent shift in the performer/artist relationship. More on this later.
quoted 5 lines Well, I do. The best "live performance" in the Techno realm I've ever seen >Well, I do. The best "live performance" in the Techno realm I've ever seen was >seeing Richard James hunched over a mixing board doing live remixing of his own >material. I got to hear unreleased music and familiar music in an altered >format, and since the realm of the Rave is that of the DJ doing mixing, it made >absolutely perfect sense in that context.
I agree that this is a very valid performance, but did you need to SEE it to enjoy it? PEACEOUT MR-808 Now on Sony: Blood Music remix - Global Communication