re: is using Pre-recorded Loops Cheating

[kkissinger@kevinkissinger.com]

Quoting Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com>:
>
> Matt Davignon wrote:
> "Things that are not OK:
>
The OK/Not OK issue is a test that I apply only to myself.  It occurs  
to me that what I would consider "cheating" for me (a  
composer/performer/improviser) would be "ok" within someone else's  
artistic space.

For every thing that I can think of that I personally wouldn't do,  
there is at least one celebrated artist who has done those very things.

I have to conclude that the only thing that is not OK for me is to:  
try to be someone that I'm not and/or try to be all things to all  
people.

Whether I happen to compose a work that uses my own pre-recorded  
material or is entirely live, I simply do what is necessary for me to  
realize the result that I want.
>
> John Foxx was really
> interested in emotions and lack of emotions:  machines interacting with 
>human
> beings.
>
Yes! Yes!  Often when I perform a work, I look for a crescendo of  
emotion the same as I look for dynamic, tempo, texture, and rhythmic  
changes.

Often times, there is more excitement and tension from "holding back"  
than from "giving 100% emotion 100% of the time".
>
> To me, the artificial was far more exotic and enticing.
>
I think the beauty of analog synthesis is its failure to replicate  
acoustic instruments.
>
> Even trying to emulate a drum machine perfectly is fun for me because
> I'm a human being and can't do it.   It's just fascinating to me the 
>really
> minor imperfections that occur when attempting to do something silly like
> this.
>
In my looping works, I discovered that not all loops have to be played  
by looping hardware.  Sometimes I just play the same phrase over and  
over in real time.  In fact, I try to play it mechanically enough that  
it really SOUNDS like a loop.  I have found this a most effective  
technique.
>
> Personally, I have to confess that the preoccupation of many musicians in
> their attempts to never have anything repeated is actually more 
>irritating to
> me than the ones who are guily of repeating things over and over.
>
Always a balancing act between repetition vs. meandering.  Too much of  
either can be boring.  How much is too much?  Heck, I don't know.
>
> That's my take on it, though it probably won't be the most popular on 
>this
> list.
>
Raising my coffee mug in a toast to Rick, Matt, and everyone else here.

I am grateful for this thread ... it gave me some ideas for some new music.

-- Kevin