A new year, a new piece. Or something like it…

The first version of the piece Erase(r)Head 1.0 (see log 014) called Is the mic on?  was played at Fylkingen, stockholm in December 2018. It consists of delay and feedback chains through a mixer. The difference being that Erase(r)Head 1.0 includes a cassettedelay (a modified cassettedeck) that connects the piece together in a big feedbackloop so to speak. Is the mic on? is a step towards a mobile version even though it is not particularily mobile at the moment. How I am to do this is not yet clear. In this version I still use a 16 channel mixer to get the 4 sub groups, each running its own delay and feedback chain. Since each chain is mono I can run 6 chains simultaneously this way.

It was the first time I tried the version.The idea is to explore more in depth the dissolution of performer – creator – instrument. As a piece of music i believe it worked out quite good and I still believe the decision to stand with my back against the audience is the right one. It just seems silly for people to be staring at a person, (in this case me) focused on listening and moving sliders and knobs on a mixer. I am very well aware of how this affects people since we engage in a live situation with all our senses regardless if we want to or not. I believe this is true, be it an Aphex Twin or Masonna gig. The point I am trying to make in this version is that the music is not about me. If anythng, it is more about functioning as a channel. This is a topic of its own and I will not go into it here but it is to be continued..

Some of the feedback I got was (of course) the staring at the wall thing. Also the fact that some people understood it was live and nothing prepared beforehand or pre-recorded or that there even exists a backup plan, should anything go wrong made it engaging. The speaker placement and mixing worked surprisingly well, although I didn’t get time to soundcheck and adjust the microphones as much as I would have liked. The people in the back of the room could hear the sound moving although the speakers were placed in such a way as they were in front of, but not directly facing the audience. They also needed to be within a certain range so I could let them feed of eachother.

I usually try to make a line recording of every performance I make since I never know what it actually sounded like when it is over. All that is left in the end is a feeling of what happend. The feeling is what it is and it rarely tells me anything about how it actually sounded. What strikes me most is how differently I percieve the piece when listening to it or if I look at the video. Needless to say I prefer the recording.