Location - Dislocation – Relocation (‘Where is live electronic music?’)

Resumo

The word ‘dislocation’ has a negative feel about it in English but we can reinterpret the acousmatic dislocations of recording, telephone, radio and synthesis as cases of technology bridging gaps rather than creating them – the possibility of bringing people closer together, especially in their more recent versions which include interactive and responsive dimensions. Such technological change has led to a ‘relocation’ of the live. Many are anxious, some critical of the apparent shift towards creating live music mediated through technology. There is a loss of certainty as to what live is any more. We are clearly in transition. For the listener there is a complex relationship of cause to effect in interactive music performances – especially where there are no visible causes. We may never know what causes the sound we hear … but need we know? Trying to find out may be a cause of unnecessary anxiety. I shall develop the idea of meaningful response as a better way of looking at interactivity - and perhaps liveness itself - in music making. I shall also develop the idea of the animate net-work as one way of conceptualising a fully mediatised performance. Whether in a room together or connected across the world, it is in the end how we respond to each other that matters.