I agree about the "stop looking at the DJ" part.
I'd be so happy to have more clubs take the emphasis off of the DJ and put
it back on the floor again. Maybe laptop DJs could do the same - take
themselves completely out of the performance or put themselves in a place
where it's impossible or ridiculous to try and watch them. I always love a
DJ booth lofted up above the floor or close to the dancefloor but in a dark
corner.
didn't Aphex Twin play with a couch and a coffee table on stage while giant
neon coloured bears with his face on them dance around? I think he laid
down on the "floor" most of the time almost out of sight. If you're going
to "perform" then make it something messed up like that.
If I was to do a laptop show - which I don't but I'm thinking as an
audience member - I do something like Coldcut - a bit of interactive video
or just stand behind a screen that is projecting visuals. Then I can punch
play and do my taxes at the same time ;)
I've had four hours of sleep and I think it's showing
MEK
Martin Dust
<[EMAIL PROTECTED] To: 313
<313@hyperreal.org>
com> cc:
Subject: Re: (313) Laptop
performances
06/24/04 05:38 AM
Don't we go here every couple of months...
But if you want names...
Surgeon/Female/Regis/Guy Called Gerald/Claude Young/Paula
Temple/Kraftwerk/Throbbing Gristle/Coil and so on...
Stop looking at the DJ and focus on what comes out of the speakers and we
are all laughing at Kraftwerk being called a gimmick - jeeeshhhh
Welcome to the future, stop living in the past...
Martin Dust
>
>
>
> On 24 Jun 2004, at 07:27, Simon Hindle wrote:
>
>> So I've been having a bit of a discussion on a local messageboard about
>> laptop performances.
>>
>> By and large, they're really BORING. It looks like people are checking
>> their email. Or, if they're bopping along, it looks like they're
>> checking important email but really need to go to the toilet.
>>
>> What's the solution? Name some laptop performances you've seen that
>> were really good SHOWS. And say why they were. Is it really simply a
>> case of having stellar visuals as well, or is there a whole new
>> paradigm
>> out there for this type of performance?
>>
>> I liked Kraftwerk's minimal-movement-black-suits-and-plinths affair,
>> but that sorta ties in with their aesthetic, and I heard Aphex Twin did
>> a show where he just lay on the floor and twiddled with the laptop - no
>> effort at all. That appeals to me in a twisted way but is somewhat
>> gimmicky.
>>
>> I personally wonder if laptop performances are more suited to more
>> artistic interpretations - ie having a gig in an office, with extras
>> sat
>> at desks with PCs as well, and only one of them is the musician. Stuff
>> like that.
>>
>
>
