Hello,
As a performer this is the kind of question that seems to pop into my own
head every once and a while--what can I do that is entertaining for myself
and the audience but allows me to create and perform electronic music in a
live setting?
Something that occurred to me recently was how much of this debate over
'live' performance rests on expectations carried over from rock and pop (and
hiphop) concerts into electronic shows. It seems that the more successful
shows in IDM draw on resources from outside IDM to make their shows
engaging. But could it be that there is something about that use of
computer that alienates people? A computer is a two way connection between
a person and a machine, with both interacting (to some degree) with each
other. The computer is designed to demand your attention in a manner so
wholly different from that of most other instruments that it almost seems as
though the audience is left out of the equation. Perhaps the audience feels
that the performer isn't really 'there' as in engaging the audience, etc.
So maybe this is a question of presence and absence--how much presence is
demanded of the performer?
I would say that 99.9% the presence required depends on the setting. Some
people don't like to dance and would rather listen. Some performers would
rather have people listen than dance. For example: the Autechre show
mentioned; Radiohead has been known to ask people to not mosh at shows, etc.
There is apparently a two-way communication between the audience and the
performer to be maintained, and maybe the problem at a lot of IDM shows is
that the audience isn't sure what the performer expects of them, and vice
versa. I would say that musicians writing music for listening are asking
people to listen, whether they like that or not. The audience doesn't have
to comply, but they are being asked. If a performer is engaging the
audience in a blatant manner (ala Cex), the audience knows they are being
engaged.
I don't have any answers to this solution, but I would also say that it can
be disheartening for some musicians when the audience doesn't understand the
'unwritten rules' of a performance. All performances have them (picture Cat
Power playing to an audience--should the audience listen quietly or jump
about madly because they are so driven?) and some performances maybe just
need to articulate them better. The first step I think I would take if I
was a laptop artist would be to not perform raised up on a stage or in a
position to be watched. Beyond that, I have no idea.
cheers
Mark & Melissa
hellothisisalex
www.hellothisisalex.com / records.hellothisisalex.com
mp3s at www.raw42.com/cgi-bin/featuredartist.pl?artist=213
mark@hellothisisalex
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