There’s been a butter knife sighting!
For a total, ignorant layperson such as myself (and I say this with nothing but love, seriously), oftentimes when I’m watching a live solo performance by an electronic musician, there seems to be no discernible correlation whatsoever between the myriad dial twists and button flips and miscellaneous jib jabs executed by the artist, and the actual music coming through the speakers. Really, is that shit even plugged in? Because I would be none the wiser if you simply pressed the play button on the CD player hidden beneath the table and then hopped around chaotically from knob to knob on the control board, pretending to “recreate” your tracks live.
Just sit back and dance. Enjoy. Play DJ. Who cares whether you’re actually “performing” the tracks?
Holy Fuck, by contrast, is pretty darn fun to watch live. Partly because there are multiple musicians, some of whom play more traditional instruments, and their performances therefore feel more visually familiar. Partly because I think sometimes I actually can discern a correlation between the electronic sounds coming through the speakers and the mad wizardry of Brian and Graham up front.
But mostly because they sometimes pull some incredibly badass stunts, like playing with a friggin butter knife! I offer Exhibit A for your enjoyment:
(By the way, for an actual discussion of the aforementioned dial twists and button flips from an actual musician, here’s a good one from Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet.)
[…] say I’m pleased with how this absurd little bird turned out. Here’s the original spark of inspiration, and a few more details […]