Tom and I teamed up
again, though for a completely different kind performance to our
Kenneth Anger soundtrack. Knowledge of Bugs had previously played
in Oxford, and when invited back for the MOMA event asked if I'd
like to be involved. Tom had been building programs on his laptop
geared towards improvisation, and the one we used this time recorded
live audio and automatically looped sections of it. The recording
of each loop was triggered by pressing a foot pedal while playing,
and each loop (I think there were 8 in all) could differ in length
as well other parameters such as pitch. Some of the parameters
were set to change randomly, while others could be controlled
by the operator. Each loop could be recorded over and replaced
repeatedly, enabling you to completely change the piece very quickly,
and you could also choose play live over the loops without recording
anything. It took me a while to get the hang of all this, and
we got to the day before the event without coming up with many
ideas. Then I started fiddling around with my sampler, and stumbled
upon something I'd never discovered before: that it allowed you
to record new samples while simultaneously looping previously
recorded ones. This proved to be the turning point, as I was familiar
enough with my sampler to be able to improvise quickly without
having to think too much about the process itself. With both of
us playing electric guitar and creating our own loops, we soon
came up with two long pieces of evolving guitar texture. These
formed the backbone of the set, and the remaining track involved
me processing Tom's woodblock rhythms using the laptop. The final
performance went well, although I remember the last track never
quite made it to the uplifting conclusion it ended up at during
one of the best run-throughs. Such is the fickle nature of improvisation
I suppose. It was nice to play in a light, airy, high-ceilinged
gallery too, instead of the usual dingy hovels.
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