| #626 |
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2002 |
Perilous 626 Sound Summit is over for another year and life can return to some semblance of normality, except for the onslaught of summer . . . . This year’s event was a step up from last year, helped in no small part by a fantastic Saturday night event, Hardwarehouse (props to Pauline & Kite), that harked back to the halcyon days of early 90s warehouse raves. This year there seemed to be a consistent theme that emerged in panel discussions and in general bar-room talk at the gigs the dilemma of live performances for electronic acts. For the last couple of years both here and overseas there has been an increasing shift towards live performances and away from the DJ-mediated experience. Some acts have moved into a live arena by attempting to replicate their studio setup on stage, or by getting ‘live musicians’ to stand in for their drum machine, sampler etc. Others add an element of theatre or cabaret. I’ve been trying to identify reasons for this shift in attitude away from ‘faceless techno bollocks’ (as the early 90s slogan used to go). First, there has been an explosion in the accessibility of studio gear with many studios being compressed down into a laptop complete with software synths and virtual samplers. Whilst software implementations vary in quality, what was inconceivable 5 years ago is for many a reality a totally portable studio and instrument set. The effect of the portable studio has been to liberate complex setups from the confines of a physical studio full of expensive and easily damaged rare equipment. This has meant there are a lot more artists discovering that they can take their recordings out on the road. The other effect has been to lower the entry level for producers allowing a vastly increased number of people to try their hand at production. The main problem with the ‘laptop as studio’ is that as a performance tool it lacks both a performative interface (the mouse is not as good-looking nor as functional as a bashable drum pad or even a keyboard), and the ‘amazement’ effect of a mountain of gear with flashing lights on stage. As a side-note, Apple have been smart enough to realise the ‘performance’ element of laptops and a while ago inverted their logo on the lid of their laptops to face the ‘audience’. Second, the explosion of producers has not been met with an explosion in recorded output. Whereas several years ago it was feasible to release your music on record for it to reach an club or other audience via the deft hands of a DJ, such ‘mediated performances’ are becoming more and more difficult. Whilst it is easier and perhaps cheaper to self-release music it is more difficult to make it standout enough for a DJ to pick it up from the swamp of new releases each week. Similarly, in Sydney and elsewhere, the stagnation of the music scene and increased genre fragmentation have meant that the diversity of music played by DJs is steadily decreasing. And for many styles now being produced there just are not the DJs to ‘mediate’ the performance of the tracks to a crowd. So what does the producer do? No DJ will play their music, and yet somewhat paradoxically, it is easier for them to get on the road themselves and play it instead. Sound Summit revealed a number of different approaches to the idea of a live show. US rapper Sage Francis delivered a sterling live show with only a backing CD and himself. However the set was impeccably well structured with careful consideration of track ordering and the insertion of spoken word interludes to give the crowd (and himself) space to catch their breath. Sage’s show was so tight that it revealed the work needed to be done by local crews in working on their live shows. Similarly, Kevin Blechdom’s impassioned vocal delivery, stage presence and set structure makes her laptop show captivating. At the other end of the spectrum, Manitoba’s use of two turntables and laptop running AudioMulch could have been simply a ‘press play’ type of performance but the ability to bring in and out familiar loops (Basement Jaxx, Timo Maas, Dem2, and even a bit of Daft Punk) gave an energy and flexibility to his set. Melbourne’s Curse Ov Dialect went the next step in their dress-up performance with Ozi Batla filling in for a missing member wearing nothing but a Ned Kelly/cricket outfit made out of VB cartons . . . . and Manchester’s V/Vm managed to make a lip-sync of Billy Idol’s White Wedding entertaining by his stage antics and pig mask. At Frigid on the 20th, for those who can resist the lure of the first real summer festival (Livid) and the hype of The Streets and Nightmares On Wax’s ‘new sound’, we have Neotropic’s only Sydney show. Neotropic will be doing her folktronic show with laptop, guitar and voice, delving deep into an English folk tradition surrounded by electronics. Neotropic will be supported by Ollo who have been touring around Australia with her and have their debut album about to emerge on Creative Vibes. Sunday 20th, 5pm to 10pm. Yellow Peril (www.snarl.org)  Goto
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