Deformed Electronic Dance Music

Abstract

This performance investigates the ways in which improvisation and digital repetition can be brought together to produce what I have termed ‘Deformed EDM (Electronic Dance Music)’. Digital repetition is generally employed in EDM performance to create fluid transitions between predetermined loops synchronised to a global tempo. I am interested in what lies beyond the boundaries of conventional 4/4, loop-based EDM performance and new modes of live interaction beyond the norm. In the performance I explore the tension between musician/machine and control/unpredictability. The performance is made possible by nativeKONTROL’s Clyphx MIDI Remote Scripts for Ableton Live and a custom Ableton Push Controller mapping, which allows the user to extend and rework the relationship between musician and machine. In extending the creative possibilities of commercial devices beyond what they offer 'out of the box', novel forms of interaction can be uncovered and new musical terrain observed. Original electronic source material is reimagined through real-time loop manipulation to create synchronous/asynchronous rhythms and textures, evolved with effects and dynamic processors.