Re: [microsound] Re: on working methods for live performance

[graham miller <grahammiller@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

how can you differentiate between music and performance? it's the same
thing. performance is not merely  restricted to visual input, to the
so-called gestural theatre (god i fucking hate that term). one can
certainly listen to a performance with one's eye closed, right?  the
question is whether anything is actually being performed, the extent to
which the music is being performed. performance implies control, a control
over the parameters of  music through time. i think the critique is
generally about how much control an artist has over their music and to
what extent is the music automated. if i were to substitute a drum machine
for a drummer because the sound of automation is something i desire, i'd
like to make up for that loss of control in tonal controls, equalization,
filtering, spontaneous rearrangement... in this sense i have performance
parameters in my control that a drummer would not necessarily have - and
vice versa. in this sense, my instrument is the mixing board, not the drum
kit. but i still perform an instrument.  most laptop artists suffer from
the same attacks that DJs had initially been bombarded by - does clicking
'play' constitute a valid performance? if i want to hear a record, i'll
'play' it myself. if an artist 'plays' live, they better play live. the
aura of having the composer stand behind their work, the glow of the
screen illuminating them, does very little for me, despite it's obvious
futuristic implications.  there are plenty of DJs who are bullshit. there
are plenty of laptop artists that are bullshit as well.  i think the
audience deserves some kind pipeline into the artistic process.  they
deserve to know what is and more importantly what isn't being performed.
at least, i do. this may seem incredibly conservative, but nobody, outside
of this small circle of microsounders, is going to a give a shit about
some geek twiddling a reactor patch with an infrared beam. anyone, who has
played an acoustic instrument knows the extent of control a master
musician has over their instrument. it's as nimble as spoken language. i'm
not suggesting that laptop music won't reach this state of telepathic
control - it will - it's just no where near there yet, despite the very
cool and very futuristic toys that coming out. we are heading in the right
direction - it's just a long road ahead.

graham.


Greg Headley wrote:

> On May 9, 2004, at 2:31 PM, Wrightmichaelmw@xxxxxxx wrote:
>
> > For instance, do think it's important for the audience to know the
> > performers working process?
>
> I do not think it's important.
>
> > Who puts on a good show using electronics?
>
> Your into an area that a lot of people discuss (or complain about) in
> the wake of so many one guy and his laptop shows. To my mind, at the
> heart of this is the question of whether you (and the audience) want to
> hear music or want to "see a performance". You say Kaffe Matthews makes
> her methods clear. I've seen her play live three times, and she never
> explained her methods before or after. I only came to know her process
> through buying her CDs and reading about her. The first two times I saw
> her play I had no idea what she was doing on that computer screen; she
> did have the violin but only used it briefly at the start (to get some
> source material as it turns out). I've seen Francisco Lopez and John
> Duncan each perform in total darkness; neither ever put in an
> appearance before the audience (to acknowledge applause for example).
> Still, the performances were totally engaging. Bernhard Gunter plays
> his recorded works and mixes them on the fly; almost a dj set if you
> will. Again, I found his performance totally engaging (if nothing else
> because he played louder than I would have expected). I've seen Merzbow
> live both pre-laptop and since he went laptop (he actually uses two
> computers when playing). Great stuff both times. In fact it's almost
> funny to watch him work one computer for a while then turn to the other
> one (perhaps this qualifies as a "performance"). I haven't seen Fennesz
> perform, but I'm wondering what you mean when you say he's the only
> powerbook guy "who can really pull it off". Do you mean his music or
> his "performance"? There was a quote in the press materials for his
> Live in Japan CD. It said this had been the greatest laptop show ever.
> I found this hilarious. Does that mean his computer was doing the most
> efficient signal processing ever? Did his trackpad never act weird
> making the cursor jump across the screen? (I enjoy the CD no less even
> though I wasn't at the show).
>
> I'm interested in other opinions as there must be plenty of people here
> who have seen lots of computer-only shows.
>
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