RE: Live Looping without "organic" instruments.. is it live looping, "MUSIC" inside (regarding a recent debate)

[Anders Bergdahl <anders_e_bergdahl@hotmail.com>]

Matt the thing you did 10 years ago seems close to what guys like Jan Bang does with samplers live (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06-on9_Bazo&feature=related)

As for drum machines Yes if they have a backing of Freebird and just adding guitar and vocals.. but if you have a cool pre-recorded loop or static drum sequence and then you imprivise like Jon Hassel over it, then it can be very, veru cool. Or prerecorded as in MEtheny playing Reich's Electric counterpoint. So for me the distinction is down to the intended effect. Am i entertaining in a bar playing ZZ-top and Skynard covers over a canned backing or am I trying to make an interesting improvisation over an, intended, static backing.. 

But for Loopers Delight what keeps us going might be the intrest in creating an evolving peice of music be using loops ot live input that we repeat, add to and or manipulate during the perfoemence... or somtehinh like that... perhaps :-)

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Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:30:36 -0800
Subject: Re: Live Looping without "organic" instruments.. is it live looping, "MUSIC" inside (regarding a recent debate)
From: mattdavignon@gmail.com
To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com

....

About 10 years ago my live performances used ONLY pre-recorded loops. That is - loops of field recordings recorded onto cassette tape. The performance would be how I mixed those together, using portable cassette players. That was my "instrument". There was never any question for me as to whether it was live.

...

--Drum Machines / Backing Tracks / Pre-recorded Loops:
It'd be silly of me to say all drum machines are bad, but it is a turn off for me if a live performance includes one or more "canned" elements that do not get manipulated in real-time. I'd rather hear someone play solo guitar than hear someone play solo guitar over a pre-recorded backing track. At my venue, we call that "karaoke", even if there's no singing involved.


--
Matt Davignon
mattdavignon@gmail.com
www.ribosomemusic.com
Podcast! http://ribosomematt.podomatic.com
Rigs! http://www.youtube.com/user/ribosomematt

Anders Bergdahl <anders_e_bergdahl@hotmail.com> was all:

Hmm interesting Matt, some thoughts.. i imagined that the issue would be "live" since i do not play an instrument.. BUT if you listen to Jan Bang live with Jon Hassel for example he is triggering and manipulating samples live. 

MAtt said: "I would call that "Live Sequencing", which would be different but similar to live looping. The difference would be that in live looping, the "loop" is an actual audio signal, where in "live sequencing", the actual loop is a set of trigger instructions. "

 BUT there are not always a set of trigger instructions, some times i manipulate the lenght of the sample as it plays, and the playback speed, pitch, envelope, effects (i can also recordthese manipulations live and the it would not really be "programming")

And in this example i run the "vocal" track into a delay with 100% feedback and rather long feedback.. viola LOOPING :-) or... 

My main point is that playing a sampler is not very different from playing an synth, and keeping a sequence interesting is very much like developing the loop with inserts, overdubs and so forth. But with the sequencer/sampler it could be adjusting pitch a a sequencer step OR doing it for all steps while it plays..

And no i have no need to call what I do anything, most times i play guitar into the sampler where i sometimes just loop it while adding new tracks which could also loop, and resample and loop that. OR I could slice a loop and trigger slices at sequencer steps... now that is pretty much LOOPING, or... :-)