The performance of electronic music in a live environment has been a thorny issue ever since synthesizers and sequencers gained a foothold in the 1970s and widespread popularity in the 1980s. Critics' complaints that the music wasn't truly "live" and thus less authentic only gained momentum in the late '80s and early '90s as house and techno, much of it instrumental, exploded and live acts were accused of simply pressing play and standing back. Or waving their maracas around madly.
[partner id="wireduk"]Indeed, some said Top of the Pops' decline through the '90s was a result of too many faceless and uninteresting dance acts being featured, a theory given some credibility by the legendary "performance" of The Orb simply playing chess during their appearance in 1992.
However, in more recent years, as it became clear that electronic music was here to stay, and with the demand for people to hear their favorite electronic songs within the communal atmosphere of a live setting, electronic acts have developed several strategies to elevate their performance into something rivaling, and sometimes eclipsing, that of any traditional band.
DJ sets have become all-encompassing multimedia experiences, dance acts now regularly headline festivals and more bands than ever are co-opting the sonic possibilities of electronics into their music.
Wired.co.uk spoke to three top exponents of their art to find out how they make it work.
We interviewed Paul Hartnoll of Orbital, along with trance pioneer Paul van Dyk and Bruce Carter from The Whip
It is fair to say that Orbital almost single-handedly put to bed the accusation that electronic gigs were unmusical and predictable, bringing the crucial element of live improvisation of structure and sound to dance music, and with it, huge success. Their performance at Glastonbury in 2004 was picked by Q Magazine as one of the top 50 gigs of all time.
So how did they do it? Well, in their early days, Orbital simply packed up their studio and went on the road with the whole lot; a few keyboards and synths, a four-track to use as a mixer and six trusty Alesis MMT-8 sequencers. Hartnoll told Wired.co.uk: "The memory was so crap we'd use three at a time and then literally swap them over when we needed the other sounds!"
Nowadays, the brothers use Macbook Pros and Ableton. "I've been waiting for technology to catch up," explains Hartnoll. "Ableton is the first bit of software that means it when it says Live." In addition they use two Lemur Touch Pads to manipulate sounds, but the keyboards are analog rather than software synths.
Their improvisation is based first around structure, using Ableton, and also around sounds via the synths, underpinned by samples. Crucially, it's based both on their own perceptions, and also on audience reaction.
"Our analog synths don't have memories deliberately.... It's a wildcard," says Hartnoll. "Every night is different; often you can't quite get the right sound so you'll play with something else, which inspires you to go off on a tangent. Sometimes you just get on a roll with a track and it'll last 10 minutes, the next night it'll be three because it just doesn't work out. It's also down to the audience reaction.... They'll love different songs, it's often down to the local and current tastes."
'The visuals are kind of our lead singer jumping around and pulling faces.'The use of samples mean that even amongst the improvisation, the audience can hold on to their knowledge of the original tracks: "Samples are the recognizable, main part of the track.... They are identical to the record as it was recorded 20 years ago. It gives that kind of recognition that people love, but your drum sounds and analog synths are changed around."
Of course, Orbital are famed also for their trademark headtorches (originally worn simply to see their equipment) and also for their visuals, a crucial aspect of live electronic music. It's a fact that physically, two men near some equipment do not match the presence of a live band, but this is compensated by inventive visuals, Hartnoll said: "'The visuals are kind of our lead singer. They're the lead singer jumping around and pulling faces."
Paul van Dyk has similarly injected a love of improvisation into his epic DJ performances (he can boast of playing to a million people on Barra Beach in 2008), which have become less DJ sets and more full live performance.
Originally using the standard setup of two turntables and a mixer, van Dyk now uses a live setup of two Macbook Pro 17s (one for audio, one for software), an Allen & Heath 4D mixer and a host of synths, triggers and MIDI controllers for Ableton Live and Logic Studio.
His switch to this setup was borne out of a desire to "take my musical performance to the next stage," he said. First, like Hartnoll, he wanted to be able to change things around to respond to the crowd: "I take the key elements and put them together differently, for example to change the loop to a breakbeat if that beat is working that night." He also wanted the element of live instrumentation from the synths and triggers to ensure that there was no "dead time" in a set.
He noticed while out at clubs that "it took ages for something to happen during a mix in and out of a track. I wanted an intense set all the way through, I always wanted something to be happening." Nowadays, the set is so far removed from the early days that he wonders, "What did I used to do for eight minutes between songs?"
Again, visuals play a huge part for van Dyk live. Two years ago he decided to make a drastic change and work with his own visual and light artists, who would have content for specific sections of the set, but also be able to improvise along with him, keeping everything synced using LPC and timecodes. His current live setup includes a crew of 10 people, a hefty amount for an act traditionally light on personnel, but it demonstrates his commitment to a full multisensory experience.
Finally, The Whip has attracted huge acclaim for its energy-filled live shows. Originally recording with electronic drums and synths dominating, the group's live show now sees much more of a balance, with live drums, bass and guitar added on top of an electronic backing track, playing out from a Macbook, using Logic, running stems of tracks through to a mixer, which can blend the parts as the venue acoustics demand.
"I've always loved so many different kinds of music and love electronic dance music as much as I do the sound of live instruments, so it always just seemed natural to me to bring the two sounds together," says Carter. "I think it's really important to make sure you get the energy of the live instruments across, after all they are the organic elements in our sound and the human touch, too.... In the live arena you need that live energy coming off the stage."
The Whip approach things from a more traditional "band" ethos, with the live aspect coming far more from the physicality onstage rather than improvisationally responding to the crowd on a given night. However, they take account of this by refining the set with each gig played: "We work out from crowd reaction which bits need to be longer/shorter or more exciting," literally crowdsourcing opinion. They also incorporate nods to DJ culture, by having segues between tracks to maintain the energy, rather than breaks.
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For any aspiring live electronic performer, the themes running through these approaches are obvious. The music must have a human performance element, whether through analog synths, improvisation of structure or physical performance of traditional instruments. Secondly, the music must respond to the audience in front of it, whether directly in the case of Orbital and van Dyk, or indirectly over time in the case of The Whip's refinement of their set structure.
Thirdly, it helps to have a visual engagement -- the live experience engages all of the senses, and a great light show, screen visuals or your singer jumping off a speaker stack can all provide this. In fact, just do something; it will almost certainly be an improvement on watching two guys playing chess.
Orbital are working on a new album, with estimated completion date of November 2011. Paul van Dyk's Evolution tour visits London Ministry of Sound (Aug. 26), Halton Creamfields (Aug. 27) and Newcastle Digital (Aug. 28). The Whip release a new album Wired Together on Sept. 19 and play London Hoxton Bar and Kitchen (Sept. 7), Glasgow King Tuts (Sept. 9) and Manchester Ruby Lounge (Sept. 10). Photo: Tomasz Wagner/Flickr
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