REUNION 2009

Originally intended as a comment to Sleazy's post HOW LIVE IS LIVE?, this has become too large..

I believe the difference between pop-music shows and classical music concerts is that the former introduced an element of circus to performances in order to increase the entertainment value. Acrobatic tricks, dance troops, shaking heads, "crazy" vocalists etc. - the audiences have learned to perceive "live music" as something that comes with exagerrated physical activity of the performer. In fact, many people come to the shows with an unconscious purpose to observe the performer[s] rather than to listen to what is being performed.. How exciting is it to watch a piano player backed up by a symphonic orchestra for an hour? Certainly not as exciting as to see sweaty ecstatic guitarists jump around, build patterns and shake their heads, screaming.. However, the matter of fact is - the more entertaining the performers themselves are, the less "live" their show is likely to be, for in order to be able to perform all those entertaining tricks, the actual musical playing of the instrument has to be polished and rehearsed to be nearly automatic.. In the end, in most cases the audiences end up watching a dancing sampler on the stage, acting like a "bitch in the heat".. [not to mention backing tracks, lyp-syncing vocalists etc]

With the Reunion tour, SOISONG introduced elements of cinema into the show. Both music and visuals require a certain score, much in the way the classical music does, plus a very concentrated work around that score with laptops and nano-keyboards. All that leaves no room for the circus on the stage, nor for the expressing of our oh-so-interesting "personalities". We are aware that it is disappointing to some, but our shows come, and *will* come, without any flashing of the ego, without screaming and without sweat. For those interested in display of those.. how about going to see a football game? :)

//ivan

So we completed the last of the present series of demonstrations, in Cologne on Monday, and it was a great success, and the audience small but appreciative and enthusiastic.

Apparently in Poland some people thought the video was coming from a dvd, which it most certainly was not - I was triggering all sequences, along with some sounds, though not individual shots to be sure - neither my brain nor the fastest MacPro can do that smoothly in HD! But it nevertheless raises again the question of how live is live? Even if it were a dvd made specially for the show, would that be less a genuine performance than if the images were somehow created on the spot (which obviously is impossible)?

Some still believe that one should only have sounds in one's show that are made there and then - a metal spring beaten, a guitar smashed etc, while at the other end of the spectrum, others believe its enough to say "here is a piece I recorded in New York in the winter of 1978" and proceed to sit on the stage and listen to it playing, from the cd started by the sound guy.

I believe that the former view automatically cuts out more or less all the interesting music being made today (mostly with the help of computers) which actually cannot be played at all in the conventional sense, and the latter view is okay if you tell people "now we are going to play my cd", but is boring to watch, and does not show any respect for the people who have paid to come in.

SoiSong shows fall somewhere in between these two extremes - parts, like sequences of video shots, or morphs, or guitar riffs or drum breaks are pre-arranged but triggered live, while other parts are played there and then on our keyboards.

The most important thing for me, is that I try to put over the excitement and wonder I felt when first conceiving of the music and the image, to a live audience in a fresh and individual way each night....

I'm glad to say as this group of shows progressed we got better and better at doing that, and fortunately the Cologne audience seemed to get it, and like it...

Perhaps one day an art form will exist where images and sounds created in the imagination of the performer live on stage will be displayed immediately on the screen behind him, but until then we must make the best of the technology we have. In this respect SoiSong actually is Cutting Edge...

//sleazy

Last night in Wroclaw was a *very* Industrial Festival. Being on the stage with the legend who came up with the i-word itself, and [perhaps unintentionally] triggered the utter existence of that particular type of anti-music feels unusual and amusing. Amusing because the Reunion show was definitely the least "industrial" part of the day's programme! :)

The church sound with limiters/compressors in the system was quite shallow and amorphous, but the show went well - thanks to the audience. The crowd was extremely receptive, keeping the level of emotional intensity and the whole atmosphere of the event, despite the apparent lyricism of our nano-keyboards. Even the unofficial Thai Olympic anthem [Ti-Di-Ti Naoo] seems to have been received with attention exceeding confusion, so the total outcome was a great night! Thank you, everyone!


[A message to Damien in the Missing Child t-shirt, who had a drink with us backstage - if you read this, please wear the shirt tonight, we would like to see you again.]

More comments and photos later. Now - a hotel breakfast with the living legend! :)

//ivan

So SoiSong have taken the first steps in the Great Journey to the next level. Our singer remains missing despite all our efforts to find them, though fortunately their voice still comes through, if the venue is sufficiently cold or blue.

I'm glad to say in Moscow and St Petersburg he (or is it she? - modesty prevented any certain answer...) was in good voice, and the audiences were suitably shocked and stunned.

My demands upon the Intel MacBook to provide the show with several layers of live HD video, at once and to allow me to play them as you would any other live keyboard, have left it groaning, and occasionally skipping a few frames, but both it and I (as well as frequent Beta upgrades of the Arkaos vj software) are slowly learning to cope.

Our Kaos (the dog, obviously) would have approved!

Not only are we breaking the ice live, but I managed to run naked through snowy Russian night from a 105 degree (Centigrade!) Russian Banya into an ice-covered pond without suffering a fatal heart attack. Wonderful!

Each iteration of the show brings new discoveries, as well as new enthusiasts, so this weekend in Wroclaw and Cologne should be good.

//sleazy

Upon our arrival at the hotel in Linz, Sleazy was offered a room with king-size bed [I beleive the lady at the reception recognized his rather "royal nature", as I only got a regular single room]. So.. having decided to leave Soisong merchandize bags in the larger Sleazy's room, we most literally stumbled upon that octagonal wonder with a built-in radio-tuner! Felt like a good omen for the Reunion Tour, but that same night we ended up playing to a completely irrelevant audience, jammed inbetween a couple of semi-popular American rock-bands. Which would have made for a complete waste of the "octagonal bed omen", unless we took the chance.. That's when I thought to myself - if I'm ever getting into bed with Sleazy, let it at least be an octagonal one! More than once have I seen people wondering in public forums whether me and Sleazy share bed. Here comes the document to answer all the questions: SOISONG IN BED! :)

//ivan