[microsound] Re: livecoding

[tasty radish <tastyradish@xxxxxxxxx>]

i have been to a lot of shows, and its pretty much always the sound/music that counts (imho). Now, if the concept of the 'work' or the show, as a whole, has a visual or theatrical component then that should be done to the full tilt. Basically just follow thru on your ideas, as much as you can (this is obvious but artists sometimes forget this it seems to me...). Don't muddle around at the show (please, get it togethor before hand.. its a show, not your living room..). The biggest 'problem' I think with live laptop sound/music has more to do with a quality that *sometimes* arises wherein it seems like the performer isn't really into what they are doing. This then gives the audience the right to not care as well. And really why should they -- we're all in the space togethor.  So, sometimes a bit of (quasi) theatrics can be useful (if even to get your own blood pumping).. much like all the intensity-knob-twiddle-checks that vinyl dj's sometimes go thru in anticipation of the
 next track (i.e. back and forthing the vinyl into place well after you have already found the spot pretty much-- i dj and for me 50% of the time at least this is just a kind of way of keeping you alert, rather then really, really absolutely and indisputably neccesary for each and every transition -- its like a tick in many moments.. however,  it does work on another level -- it LOOKS active/energized, etc.).  This kind of thing can be done with computer-generated/sourced music. The trick is to try and get beyond the usual ultra-serious eyes-locked to the screen stance.  
   
  Technologically speaking, there are performers who are doing things to get the audience involved. Deadulus comes to mind. He has his own midi-box that is basically facing the audience with all kinds of lights going left to right (following a sample thru from start to finish) that he can switch from one to the next causing the lights to change tempos in the process, etc.  Perhaps something like this can be virtualized on a projection, or otherwise, with GEM, etc, if you don't have the cash/time/skills to develop your own midi interface, etc.  And it does help his gigs to be more welcoming-in to the audience (something that the simple fact of the back of laptop screen facing you tends to create a wall literally). .In any case, develop the visuals, sure, but to me, the intensity, the moment where Something happens in sound/music shows is almost-always much more about the music/sound then the visual. It's like the visual are an extra bonus, most often (though it would be
 great to see people do work which integrates these in more then ghostly-abstract or floaty weed approaches, but really interacts them, such that one is not the same without the other...). One last thing, I do think there is a bias from the public (in general, though I think it is some respects not that big a deal) about live music played with traditional (analog) instruments and live music done with computers. I am not sure that making a big spectacle of your computer show, out of a kind of attraction-desire, is the way to deal with this frame of mind. I think you just have to be bold and clever, etc. etc. even perhaps theoretical/deconstructive/playful about the whole thing. Perhaps work to undermine/play with this bias per se, in the performance. For instance, have some kind of weird visual of pianos falling thru the sky, while cats run across old computer keyboards... i don't know just throwing out some wacky visual ideas to play/tweak a bit an audience's possible bag
 of biases. OR just have some super slow mo stuff of people playing really ancient instruments upside down going.... (David Chapell has this hilarious and true thing about how everything becomes incredible in slo-motion...)
  -A

 		
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