Reflecting on hybrid performances
In all its permutations, music production is - at its essence - an art form, whose goal is to produce a unique sonic artefact that captures the vision of its creators, the imaginations of its audience, and that will serve the needs of its stakeholders.” (Burgess, 2014, p.179)
This quote by Burgess (2014) made me reflect and recognise the comparison to hybrid performances.The hybrid performance is about merging the worlds of music production, live performance and DJing – and giving your sonic world back to an audience. In this chapter I highlight three aspects I consider essential to hybrid performances. I am aware that a plethora of topics exist to reflect upon while discussing hybrid performances. In this chapter, I have highlighted three aspects I consider imperative to hybrid performances.
Connection to the Audience
When performing for an audience it is crucial to convey a sense of activity and engagement on stage. While a guitarist’s actions are easily visible and relatable, when your instruments are knobs and midi-controllers, it can be perceived differently. At times, focus is required to determine what to do next or concentrate on the playing aspect. However, the physicality of movement – becoming one with the music – serves as a compelling expression of a live performance.
With solo-live sets, you are limited to your two hands and maybe a foot or two (if you use a foot switch). There are only a certain amount of things you can do simultaneously. This includes actions like launching clips and scenes, and having part of the music as playback while you – for example – play the bass or sing live. Through practice, and drawing on my experience as a DJ, I learned that it’s okay to occasionally take a moment to “just” dance. While this might feel unconventional for a musician, as a DJ and as a clubber, I know that this is something that connects you with the audience. It signifies to the audience that you are also loving the music you are presenting to them.
Having watched various videos of women* DJs on social media platforms such as Instagram, where they dance while performing, I noticed a common backlash in the comment section. Some people argue that they are there "just for show" without actually contributing to the performance. While this may be true for some DJs, it's important to recognise that the tracks are already produced. This means that during periods without active effects or transitions, there is an opportunity to connect with the audience and share in the joy of the music. This is something I tried to adapt also in my live sets and for the hybrid set – as well as looking for ways on which other elements I can add live when the dancing comes to a stall.
Liveness in performance
In the article “Rethinking Live Electronic Music: A DJ Perspective”, Vadermast-Bell (2013) talks about a performance of Jeff Mills – one of Detroit’s techno pioneers – and how failures in the performance can contribute to the audience perceiving it as live. Vandermast-Bell continues: “He is hailing the listener to notice the ‘liveness’ of his performance; his own flaws and the defects that result from technological failure” (Vandemast-Bell, 2013, p. 245). Philip Auslander (2012) also describes this concept of liveness as something that is “not limited to specific performer-audience interactions but refers to a sense of always being connected to other people, of continuous, technologically mediated temporal co-presence with others known and unknown” (Auslander, 2012, p.6). What I interpret from this is the importance of daring to “make mistakes” on stage.
Jan Bang, a prominent Norwegian composer, producer and live artist – and also my teacher in the Electronic Music Forum at UiA – told us that a live performance must include risks and possibilities for failure. This way, you create something “in the room” that the audience can recognise they are a part of. It keeps the audience engaged. One example of these risks could be beat-matching with the "nudge function" in Ableton. Regarding the topic of how risk appears while beat-matching between different technological equipment that is not synchronised with each other, the producer-DJ KiNk explained in an interview with the online magazine Electronic Beats: “I use three CDJs to play loops of very basic recordings from my modular synthesiser: just basslines and simple melodies. The beats come from the Roland TR-8 drum machine. Everything is synced by ear, so it’s a bit demanding in terms of performance” (electronicbeats, 2017).
To DJ other people’s music, music that I love, and to create a flow and new interpretations of the music gives me confidence. I get the energy from the tracks and the groove. To add other elements and let the DJ set unfold makes me see an opportunity for creativity to flourish. In my experience as a performer, I've recognised that the performative aspect, marked by bold and confident movements during mixing, resonates with the audience. Jan C. Schachter (2012) argues the opposite: “Most electronic performers do not consider their physical presence to be an integrative part of the performance, the movements and actions for the control of the sound-algorithms are purely instrumental or task-oriented and do not have musically or physically expressive qualities associated with them” (Schacher, 2012). Could it be that the answer is somewhere in the middle? I agree that there is a difference in seeing a guitar player strumming on their instrument compared to someone turning knobs. But is it necessarily worse? Perhaps an answer would be somewhere along the line of the audience being able to see what you turn and immediately hear changes in the soundscape? That in this way, the experience becomes more monumental?
Improvising and acting in the now
Cambridge Dictionary defines improvising this way: “to invent or make something, such as a speech or a device, at the time when it is needed without already having planned it”. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/improvising
My musical journey started when I was seven years old, playing the classical violin. Fast forward ten years, at the age of 17, I tried bringing the violin out of the classical format and had a jam session with a band. However, lacking experience in improvising on scales, I left the session feeling somewhat defeated. Jam sessions like these serve as common grounds for gaining improvisational skills, where musicians spontaneously play without prior preparation. While the format encourages impromptu performance, it's typical to agree on the scale being used, ensuring that the notes played by each musician harmonise seamlessly.
Fast forward another 11 years, when I started DJing, I initially played pre-planned sets because I was hesitant to make decisions on the fly. As I grew more comfortable, I realised I needed to plan the first three tracks to warm up before transitioning to freestyle, inventing the set while attempting to "read the crowd" and respond to their reactions. Adapting to the energy in the room is not always easy, as sometimes the "vibe of the night" is off. However, when it works, the reward compensates for the times it doesn't. Positive feedback from the audience boosted my confidence.
Engaging in mental preparation, maintaining logs, practising breathing, and honing vocal techniques also help with “acting in the now” on stage. Be present while the set runs, and add and remove elements as you go. I came a bit closer to improvising during this hybrid performance, a skill I intend to further cultivate in the future.
Striking a balance between pre-show preparation and leaving room for in-the-moment occurrences is something to aim for. To become confident enough to improvise on the keyboard, or with vocals on the fly, but not being discouraged if the beginning has a lot planned and prepared in the rehearsal studio. The essence lies in being present throughout the performance, infusing authenticity into the hybrid experience.
What appears musically, culturally and ethically in the hybrid performance
Musically hybrid performances open up an even more dynamic experience for the audience on the dancefloor. The DJ's horizon expands beyond the techniques of the decks, and the live performer finds new ways of interacting with their sound material. The artist has an infinite number of imaginable ways to carry out the hybrid performance – adding an instrument or two, incorporating a drum machine, or inviting another artist to play the saxophone during your DJ set, much like the DJ did at that memorable time in Sudblöck, Berlin (as mentioned in “Personal Cultural Relevance”).
Influences from a broad spectrum of music, genres, and cultural elements consolidate into the artist's unique musical expression. These influences are impacted by the technology available at different times throughout history. Today, we have access to an abundance of music because of the internet, allowing us to discover music from all over the world with just one click. The tracks I enjoy DJing have a lot of rhythm and percussive impulses. I like to incorporate tracks that feature vocal melody lines with lyrics from other languages and appreciate their unique sonic expression. Sometimes, I sing in English, and other times in Norwegian. The underlying groove makes the language seem universal.
To quote producer-DJ Mark Ronson on this postmodernist way of reusing artists' material for your own unique expression: “We live in a post-sampling era. We take the things that we love and we build on them” (TED, 2014).
To utilise already existing music poses an ethical dilemma around rights. When DJs and live performers play a gig, the responsibility of paying the licensing fee for the music is on the venue or booker. In Norway there are two organisations that work as the collector and distributor: Tono and Gramo. Tono is mainly considered for live music, and Gramo for using pre-recorded material – for example, a DJ set. The music performed at the venue is considered a “non-fixed medium of expression” and has flexibility in the copyrighted material (Russel, 2017). However if the set is recorded it becomes a “fixed medium” and can breach on copyright infringements. If the set is uploaded to a streaming platform – especially if it is monetised – you would need permission from the artists included in the mix set. This issue is something all artists need to take into consideration and check for agreements and rights that must be followed.