Live Performance I："busy on stage"

When I first saw a Nils Frahm live performances on YouTube a few years ago, I was instantly hooked. Although Frahm’s music has plenty of appeal for pure listening, the live performance impressed me all the more.

One of the comments on the video joked that, “He is like Iron Man when it comes to the keyboard.” I was definitely amused and thought, my feelings exactly.

After all, the performance fits well with most people’s impression of Iron Man: a rich guy with the power to control technological devices. Frahm certainly appeared wealthy with all that musical gear, and much of that gear had the aura of high tech that only a master could control.

Is this impression accurate, though? As I learned more of the story behind the performance, I discovered that most of Frahm’s gear consists of vintage instruments, bought on the cheap decades ago. And now that I have become more familiar with various electronic instruments and practiced on them, the gear no longer gives me the feeling of high tech.

Yet in spite of these revelations, my excitement while watching Frahm’s performance hasn’t diminished. The feeling that I am watching Iron Man in action persists.

What is the reason?

I guess I can narrow it down to two main factors: the interesting visual experience of seeing an artist “busy on stage”, and a sense of authenticity that comes from knowing where each sound originates.

“Have you seen this? Another performance of Nils Frahm getting all sweat and went crazy with a bunch of machines.”

An amusing message I received from a friend.

It‘s surely accurate enough, Nils Frahm always seems to delight in manipulating as many elements as possible during his performances. I see this as a quest to make the performance genuine. Frahm’s frantic on-stage manipulations give each sound an origin in space and time.

Many members of an audience want to see how the artist plays an instrument, and which sounds each instrument or machine makes. This visual authenticity was always part of live music performance before the electronic music culture arose, from classical concerts to jazz and rock club gigs.

It seems to me that the same audiences who value a live performance over a DJ set would also treasure a merging of sonic elements and visible actions.

I see the same visual authenticity in Ryuichi Sakamoto and Taylor Deupree’s Boiler Room live set. The “active on stage” element of the performance surely makes it more intriguing for audiences members who wonder how electronic musicians create their sounds.

Just as importantly, I suspect that those who do not strongly relate to experimental music still found the event far more interesting than if the artists had just played the sounds on a computer.

Getting back to Frahm’s performance, this might just be my childish way of thinking, but I keep returning to that Iron Man feeling. The amount of movement required to control so many elements, the getting all busy and sweaty throughout the performance, really does add an entertaining joyfulness very similar to the feelings evoked by a superhero film.

Even if others do not feel these things the same way, the fascinating interplay of sight and sound in his performances must give any audience a higher level of enjoyment, and a stronger sense of involvement.

Inspired by these thoughts, I decided to bring the “Busy on Stage” aesthetic into my own work, with live performances of my tracks “endless spells” and “as you brainwashed by tri”.

To be continued…