... has got to be a big part of the solution to a compelling electronic music performance. This has been hashed and re-hashed a thousand times, but the back of a laptop screen does not give the audience sufficient insight into what's happening onstage, no matter how many glowing pomaceous fruits it's adorned with. A willingness to be open and honest about one's performance is just one of the reasons I'm so impressed by the setup DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist had on their most recent tour:
True, they're laptop-free, but I think the idea would still translate pretty well into the digital domain. Next step: more physical interfaces.
1 comment:
I agree, transparency is important. Considering that a lot of music is composed at home on a laptop, the story behind the music is often not that exciting. There needs to be an element that can be added to a live show, so that its not a rehashing of what's on the album. I've currently thought that it would be cool for a part of the band to be a VJ, someone who can mix live camera streams, prerecorded visuals quantized to the beat. A lot of bands are performing with visuals these days, its pretty easy to set up I'm sure. I'm also interested in the idea of audience interaction. The development of tools that lets the audience contribute to the sound generated in some sort of meaningful way is also very interesting, whether its picking up floor vibrations, or tripping a laser/photo sensor. Its all bunk, though if the music stinks, and the band isn't that into it.
It comes back to the fact that one of the exciting things about live performance is watching the musicians strike an instrument and seeing sound come out. Strong technical ability is also pretty exciting to watch live. The instrument solo is a pretty tried and true technique. Squarepusher and Four Tet are superb musicians, and I can only imagine that their live performances trump what is heard on their albums.
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