pics by Jordan Dorjee
Sound Series 04.05.12
After several weeks of Thursday night live music bedroom shows, the experience has unveiled that early difficulty of playing live music l presume all concerned must steer through, in my case; a mix of nerves and rookie playing power. Thankfully in this scenerio l've had the cushioned surrounding of my own bedroom and known friends over to nurture these first tender steps but the main problem has been how to provide something more performative rather than relying on the one pursuit of making music. Currently having to handle the sets solo with so many different systems and interfaces demanding coherency, it hasn't really been that successful and l don't think spending the whole set stationary, gazing down at the equipment sprawled on the bed is all that commanding.. Not having any written songs doesn't add much to the equation either.. getting there.
At a recent set (actually outside the bedroom at the Sound Series event on Parramatta Rd Leichhardt Sydney, pics above) l began the injection of other-worldliness, performance-projection that l've been needing; absurd but enough of an angle to get things moving correctly. With the ridiculousness of the recent KONY 2012 campaign, i've decided to harness this into the shows; creating (at least for the time being) something of a Kony performance alter-ego. Using my Moog pedals and Loop Station l surrounded the venue space with oscillation patters, sample + hold motions etc and then instructed vocally through the loop station the instructions for the audience to follow me once l ran outside, and like in the temporary hunt for Kony, try and find me within the close vicinity of the venue.
When discovered as l was, numerous times over the course of a thirty minute set, l would go back into the venue, set up a new series of loops and oscillations and then hide once more to the ongoing looped instructions given to the audience. Absurd and probably even stupid, but it's been the first music show l think l've managed to make more performance-based than musical-attempt and Sex Tape has always strictly been set out as a combination of the two, leaning more towards performance. I'll call it a positive step forward, more to come.
All the best,
Jim S
