I'm a drummer who plays live beats electronic. Why do I do it? To make
the music interactive with the listener.
Some artist give us a show or wear a fuzzy wig while others focus on
their decks/computer screens like they're in they're studio at home. But
a great artist gives the listener an interactive experience that feeds
off the energy of a live room making the experience superior to
listening at home. I don't care how they do it, but they make the
listener an important part of that show. They did it twenty years ago
when they were playing gigs off a Commodore 64 and/or a DAT and they'll
be doing it in 20 years on whatever is the instrument of choice. But
the medium should never supercede the need to involve a listener in your
art form.
Live performance is a language that's fairly new to electronic artists
so I'm still excited to watch someone pull off music that's interesting,
even if the show is inferior to your average 80's metal band. But
eventually I'll expect the same professionalism/excitement in a live
electronic show.
Remember when Meat Beat Manifesto? They were exciting as hell!
Remember how much Trent Reznor sucked on his first two tours ( w/
Jesus/Mary Chain then Ministry) when he was still trying to pull off a
Robert Smith thing on stage? He figured it out and we will too. I'm
excited to watch and listen as we do so.
Mark
-----Original Message-----
From: chthonic [mailto:chthonic@chthonicstreams.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2003 3:15 PM
To: idm@hyperreal.org
Subject: [idm] laptop shows
i know this has been brought up before, but i wanted to throw the
question into sharper relief.
how much do visuals and/or performer action/interaction mean to
you as an audience member?
i ask because the increasing amount of music being created on
laptops inevitably brings up the question of what to do live. the
most valiant and effective effort i recall was seeing styrofoam open
for the notwist. in addition to his laptop, he had a keyboard, a
mixer, some effects, and he sang. i bought his CD right after he
played.
however, other people i've seen have been pretty boring, and
though the music has been good, i find myself wishing i was
elsewhere, listening to their CD. some such artists respond to the
live challenge by attempting to make small motions or faces that
let us know something is happening, treating us to unreleased
material or exclusive "live remixes", or simply playing really loud.
but to me all these things are miniscule. there isn't much to see,
to connect with as far as what the artist has put into it. even
projected visuals can only do so much.
does anybody else care about this? or are you content to go to
electronic music shows for things like community, higher volume,
exclusive merchandise, different mixes?
perhaps the problem is attempting to judge electronic music
performances by "rock show" standards. however, they frequently
play in the same venues, and are both put up on stage as though
there's something to see.
d.
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