Holly Herndon defends Laptop Musicians - Pitchfork Weekly

Holly Herndon discusses using her computer as a live instrument in Brooklyn's Wythe Hotel.

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• Category

  Music

[myabcsin3d]

As someone who also performs and composes with a laptop, we've only just begun to scratch the surface with the capabilities of what today's computers can do to create, enhance and enrich "electronic" or modern experimental sound-art. It's time to stop looking backwards and make something new, interesting, personal and exciting. Thanks Holly.

[Stevie Rey]

what a trippy life it must be for the 'first commentor.' they get up, wait idly for recently uploaded vids of some importance to pop up on their interwebbed sonar machines, where they engage them like torpedoes with a control-v. some commentors like keeping it authentic and actually type out 'first.' that is why they fail.

this chick can compose.

[Sione BT]

I totally see where you're coming from, I just don't think that it's a black & white thing. Definitely an interesting discussion, which is presumably why they had Holly talk about it!

And thanks, I'm glad you enjoy my music :D I consider it poppy in that I love making catchy melodies and dancy beats, but it's experimental at the same time. I mean, I don't have a problem listening to Katy Perry or Beyonce one minute and Dillinger Escape Plan and Krzysztof Penderecki the next. :)

[bootcheese]

Now as far as your question you're talking about modern percussion, like those street performers banging on buckets and pans and constructed ukeleles made out of milk cartons. That's ingenious in of itself. They could be considered instruments by some and junkyard trash to other, who would be the same to yell at these folks to get a real job. As far as calling those instruments............I'll have to get back to you on that one, I must admit you got me. :D

[bootcheese]

Ok before I answer your question I gotta say I heard your music and DAYAMN. This is exactly the point I was making about digital music revealing an analogue soul, mainly because of the people using vsti's and such. I wouldn't consider your shit "pop" until you add some cheesy lame-ass pop-ish vocals to them, THEN you're bordering in that territory. Instrumentals alone and it's not, it totally reveals a human side to it.

[Sione BT]

I do get your point. If I record myself playing guitar onto a laptop, obviously the laptop isn't an instrument in that case. But I can also take a series of images, convert their raw data into sound files and present them as generative music. If the computer isn't an instrument there, then what is? Also, if I make a beat by hitting bins with a stick, are the bins not instruments just because they weren't intended to be? And if they aren't, what is the instrument in that situation?

[bootcheese]

1nce again, we're talking about MUSIC here. A computer wasn't used or constructed to be a MUSIC instrument in its inception, it was only meant to calculate and store information to be passed along among other uses, reading, writing and performing music just happened to be one of them. That's why it's nothing but a piece of recording equipment that immolates natural sound, not creating it naturally. I will say that in recent years digalog has been revealing a soul and warmth to it.

[bootcheese]

Firstly, stick to the subject, we're talking about music, not what a laptop truly is--a portable computer. It is just that when we talk about music since nobody was using laptops let alone computers way back when in ancient times when Afrikan tribes were beating on drums or Incan Indians blowing into stone-/bone-/wooden-carved instruments. And as far as your 2nd point you 1nce again are missing the point of my argument let alone others--you're speaking seamantics again.

[Sione BT]

So inspiring. There aren't enough artists who draw from both pop and experimental music like this.

[Sione BT]

Firstly, a laptop doesn't just imitate natural/analogue sounds and it's not just a controller sitting between an instrument and an output. Secondly, 'instrument' and 'tool' are basically synonymous and I don't understand how there could be a clear distinction between the two.

[bootcheese]

The same reason why you cared enough to comment--because it's a debate. This debate is no different than the vinyl/digital debate. If we're gonna have a discussion at least let's clarify what's going on.

Now why did you care to respond to my comment?

[ChrisSketch]

why do you care? the end result is music so what does do the semantics matter?