Electro-hop producer Blockhead admits he’s not a DJ, and that watching him punch his laptop onstage might not be the most riveting show on Earth. But he’s still convinced that making music with computers is the future.
LISTEN: “Which One of You Jerks Drank My Arnold Palmer?” by Blockhead
“I don’t know if laptop performances are a necessary evolution, but it’s certainly where the music is headed,” Blockhead, known to his folks as Tony Simon, told Wired.com. “Everything is computer-based now. There’s really no room for analog in electronic music anymore, unless you’re freaking crazy old keyboards.”
From his first two efforts ( Music By Cavelight and Downtown Science) to his latest, The Music Scene, out Tuesday from stellar electronic music label Ninja Tune, Blockhead has been freaking beats and gear with aplomb.
During the making of The Music Scene, he fell into a deep love affair with Ableton production and performance software. He hasn’t cheated on it since.
“It’s made everything possible,” he said. “In terms of matching and freaking the speeds and pitches of samples, it’s changed how I make beats. Before, I’d have to cut and paste, edit like crazy or just get incredibly lucky. With Ableton, all you do is line it up and find the right pitch. It’s too easy.”
Will such ease suck the life out of not just electronic music performance, but the digital age as well? Anything is possible, says Blockhead.
“From a sonic standpoint, laptops have expanded what an artist like myself can do onstage,” Blockhead said. “The problem lies in the performance. The digital age, for all its great parts, seems somewhat sterile.”
DJ Shadow’s New Site Signals New Era of Creative Control[#iframe: https://more-deals.info/images_blogs/underwire/2010/01/04-which-one-of-you-jerks-drank-my-arnold-palmer_.mp3?_=1]
