I guess the one question you are not address is how much control does a
performer have over their music as an indicator of liveness. I think 4 guys
with guitars and each one of them randomly naming a genre and a key to play
before they improvise the music in is a lot more live than say a guy with a
song-based sequencer pressing play.
It is not a "paradigm shift," it is common sense. The more random
chance/spontainious decision making can play a role in your performance the
more live you are. I think there is something innately more live about a
jazz trio improvising on a standard than there is in a guy pressing play on
a DAT, or the sequencer equivalent. It is not rockist predjudice, it is just
a common sense bench-mark for all musicians. Playback is always less live
than perfomance, and as electronic musicians dealing with midi and sequenced
audio we are somewhere between being truly live and being playback,
depending on the interface a performer chooses to use.
I have always said that I would rather hear a bunk live act with good songs,
than somebody playing live who doesnt have songs. And as for delivery, it is
just a matter of principle. If you are claiming that you are live, and you
aren't, you are going to be called out.
The future of this music is not DJ's, it is post-techno perfomance.
I am going to go as far to say that in 10-15 years techno is finally going
to become the future jazz that it has been promising for years
now. The real future of this music is in played, customizable, interactive
music interfaces. Rather than playing a midi sax, or a keyboard to control
synths, the future will be controller interfaces that are hardware and
software customizable that act as both controllers and sequencers. A live
act will include 2-4 people improvising with non-standard electronic
instruments jamming with some kind of computer based AI music system.
Instead of buying new synths every couple years, you are going to program a
new interface on your control hardware. Instead of playing back pre-recorded
sound or note information, the music will be written and manipulated on the
spot.
Alan Kurzweil(formerly of Kurzweil Music Systems, inventor of the K250) has
some very interesting insights into the future of music and creativity in
general. If you are interested in ideas about possible futures in electronic
music, his last book "The Age Of Spiritual Machines" is an excellent read.
Sorry for yet another rant.
Take care,
Mike
From: "M Elliot-Knight" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: 313@hyperreal.org
Subject: RE: RE: [313] fuel to the fire : was "hawtin hawtin everywhere"
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2001 17:06:38 +0000
That's my point, the reason a lot of electronic music producers do
lives is because people are used to go see live artists, and they >expect
performing skills.
People, in general, also expect the 'look' of someone performing (ie.
strumming the strings of a guitar, pressing down on the keys of a synth,
etc)... it's just a shift in the paradigm that is required. The performers
have made it (by using laptops and such), it's time the audiences make it.
But they are always going to be slower than the performers in making the
switch (or even giving up their expectations of what "live" means).
If a performer is using a keyboard to play over some prearranged track are
they playing live anymore? If they spin a record in their "live" set are
they a DJ or a "live" performer?
Do you like the music? Then what the f~ck does it matter how they go about
bringing it to you.
Change your paradigm and your ass will follow.
MEK
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