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laptop hell



>The
>>> laptop performer (or computer performer) does not offer the audience
>much,
>>> apart from the raw sound of their music. In a dance music environment
>this
>>> does not matter much because the audience immerse themselves in the music
>>> in a physical way (even though they all stand "sheep like" facing the
>DJ).
>
>
>Doesnt this all depend on the audience as well as the performer?
>
>You can have two violinist's who play at the exact same abilities.  One
>plays in a robotic fashion, while the other plays with alot of visible
>emotion .  They play the exact same music but what makes one experience more
>pleasurable then the other?  They both sound the same do they not?  Istn it
>just a matter of preference?  Some people do need to be entertained.

>One of the best performances i have ever seen in any genre was a cat by the
>name of o9.  All he had was his lap top, a knobby box, and BUZZ loaded up on
>it.  He was so into his music that his enthusiasm was infectous. The entire
>club ended up entranced in his performance.  One of the few times that there
>werent "talking gaps" throughout the club.
>
>I really dont see the difference between what he did that night and playing
>what one would call "a traditional Instrument.? "  Sitting behind a Concert
>Piano (as someone on this list stated a few days ago) and sitting behind a
>Laptop are the same thing.

No they are not the same thing. Everyone knows how a piano works and most
people have some idea of the level of skill and feeling that a pianist puts
into their performance. The nuances of each note can be appreciated because
the audience basically know what's involved in the technique and know that
that sound is being generated in their presence. This experience of the
work could be defined, as Kim says (after Benjamin), as its "aura."
This is what is missing in the laptop performance. The laptop is more or
less a "black box" in the sense that it has input and output but what
happens in between is not known. This does not mean that the performance is
not real, or  as good musically as any other performance. Its more that the
audience is not able to connect the sounds that they hear to a certain
process or technique that  would help constitute the "liveness" or aura for
them in that particular situation.
Also different situations demand different requirements  from the
performer. A performer at a rock concert might need to exhibit charismatic
qualities that would not be so necessary in a dance music environment. A DJ
at a dance party might need other qualities such as rhythm and timing and
to be able to respond to audience feedback. But these things might not be
so relevant in the context of an experimental electronic music performance.
I think that part of the problem is the inability to think of the
experimental electronic listening environment as being radically different
than the dance music environment.

But, as I said before, its not just laptop performances which suffer from
this loss of aura. Most purely electronic acts suffer from the same
problems when put in the experimental performance environment (my own
performances included). However, there are exceptions which, to me,
maintain the aura of live performances: Scott Horscroft's piece with four
guitarists keeps me captivated every time I see it.  The Loop Orchestra - 5
blokes with reel to reel taperecorders putting loops on the machines and
playing them together - you understand whats going on immediately and
appreciate its live aspect. Toy Death, who make all their music with toy
instruments. All of these acts convey something in the excecution of their
live performance that cannot simply be written off as mere entertainment
value (as if entertainment were something only required by phillestines,
and beneath the values of the digirati).

I think this is a genuine issue that needs some careful thought, (not
hot-headed  kneejerk responses, as has happend with many posts on this
subject). The objectors to laptop (or computer) performance cannot be
conveniently written off as philistines or luddites. On the other hand,
those who  mystify electronic music with the term "digital" - meaning cool
and cutting edge, or avant garde - are also contributing to the same
problem.

I don't feel that visual stimulus, in the form of video projection, is the
answer either (especially in the form of tedious syaesthetic patterns). I
reckon its time for a bit of content in the work. Something for the mind to
engage in rather than the continual retreat towards new age immersive
interiorization justified by the concept of (corporate)technological
innovation.


Ian Andrews
Metro Screen
Sydney


Email: i.andrews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.metroscreen.com.au

Metro Screen
Sydney Film Centre
Paddington Town Hall
P.O. Box 299
Paddington NSW 2021
Ph : 612 9361 5318
Fax: 612 9361 5320