wax&wires

Beardyman – Live Looping Via Kaoss Pads

I got turned on to this guy when Kent and Imogen Heap were tweeting about him. While this first video represents one of his more complex songs musically, I’ve been more impressed with his ability to improv songs based on themes that the audience shouts out at him (check out Oompa-Loompa Blues for that). We’ve seen that take well to crowds recently with The Roots improvising songs to various styles about audience members on the Jimmy Fallon Show too. While it’s not the newest and most ingenious concept, it always seems to be a crowd pleaser. The live looping that Beardyman incorporates adds a layer of intrigue to his as well.

Back in college, we used to sample the crowd with a Kaoss Pad and mix the effected samples into songs as we played. To actually compose an entire piece on the fly is another endeavor entirely though.

The best artist might be the one with more unique music, but the best performers always find ways to engage their audience and establish a relationship with them. Who do you think finds more success?

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 4th, 2009 at 10:49 am. It is filed under wires and tagged with improv, live, looping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.