HC: Collaboration for me always requires a different approach from solo work, which I also do with a similar setup that I use in Deenzi, but obviously there can be many approaches within collaborating. I think it's dependent on the performance style and instrumentation of your partner and the flow and sensitivity you establish with them through rehearsals. With Andy, I think we take a pretty open, spontaneous approach within the constraints of our choice of instrumentation, which for the most part don't overlap - Andy is on keyboards and live electronic percussion (using sample libraries), and I do live flutes and more noise/soundscape/experimental sampling-based work. So, we're able to create a pretty dense sound with our respective setups. It's also interesting to note that I'm using mostly hardware (modular, pedals, no laptop) and Andy, who has lots of experience with hardware and analog synths, are actually entirely software-based (with a Kaoss pad as effects processor) for our project.
AY: The only thing I would add to what Heidi wrote is there is a complete openness and trust in what either of us do that allows for the music to go wherever it seems necessary to go. We enjoy being surprised and are always ready to build and comment upon whatever happens making Deenzi gigs different every time we play. Heidi's super interesting musical experiences and background along with her unique abilities as an instrumentalist and musical thinker makes this band one of the most enjoyable projects I've had the good fortune to be part of.
Coming up, Deenzi is playing this year's edition of Electric Eclectics in Meaford during the August long weekend.
Do you remember the first electronic live set that you ever experienced? Does this memory come with any emotional residue?
HC: I honestly haven't see a lot of electronic live sets. I think my first ever electronic live set was a DJ set but I can't remember who it was or where it was - obviously that didn't leave much of an emotional residue. Much more memorable was seeing Bjork live. Both times (once indoor and once outdoor at Centre Island) she had live string players, and one or two people on electronics. Seeing Kid Koala unexpectedly at an outdoor festival that I was playing in when I was member of a Japanese drumming ensemble was pretty memorable too. Not sure if that counts as an electronic set.
AY: My first experience of seeing electronic music performed was the theme music to an early '70s news program on CTV. The end credits showed a band performing on a beach with synthesizers. I was a TV kid and electronic sounds were everywhere in commercials, old films and TV themes but how they were produced was always a mystery to me. It was seeing a rock band at my high school that I finally understood what a synthesizer was and I rented a Yamaha monophonic shortly after. I ended up saving money from a paper route to buy my first synth, an MS10. These experiences pretty much started a lifelong interest in electronics that has never really gone away. This interest continues to inform my interest and investigation of all the other musics I'm into now.
What different equipment that you have used over the years sticks out in your memory? Do you have a piece of equipment that you miss most? Do you have any pieces that you don't miss at all?
HC: One of the pieces I think I'll never get rid of is my Eventide Timefactor, which I use exclusively as a looper/sampler that I run my flutes and Eurorack through. It's highly, highly underrated as a looper/sampler pedal, as it has controls over pitch (with different quantization modes), sample start and end, various overdub/replace modes, and it's all one-knob-per-function, so you can really glitch things out manually once you have a loop in there. My Eurorack system right now definitely sticks out for me in terms of the amount of freedom and experimental potential it offers.
AY: With my analog setup, the introduction of a ribbon controller and CV pedal were major revelations. With the ribbon controller I could now move completely away from "keyboard" phrasing and phrase like string and blown instrumentalists. The CV pedal gave me another CV source as well as an LFO I could apply to any section of the synth creating interesting results while sounding with the ribbon. I have a circuit-bent SK1 clone bent by an unknown maker and it's an amazing piece of gear! Fantastically gnarly sounds but I don't bring it out of the house except for very special occasions. I have not performed with either setup for about four years so I miss it. But, there's a chance it will appear with Deenzi some time in the future. I continue to use a Kaoss Effects Mk1 that I control with my feet. I'm busy with both hands (especially in Deenzi) and the ability to go from dry to wet, low to high settings intuitively is something I have always wanted and love being able to do with this thing. As an example, previously I would get frustrated with the LFO pot because it prevented the ability to go from slow to fast speeds without a ramp up (as is the nature of a rotary pot). This effect has been an essential piece of gear going on almost ten years.
Any advice for a producer who is looking to start prepping/creating a live set?Any advice for the actual act of performing?
HC: I guess there's different kinds of preparation depending on the style of music you play and the gear you use. I don't play a lot of pre-composed music nowadays (either solo or collaborative) so I don't have to pre-program or sequence stuff beforehand. With Andy, as mentioned, our musical partnership is pretty spontaneous, so other than Andy prepping his sample libraries and plugins, and me deciding what sort of hardware setup I want to bring for a particular gig (I like to vary things every time), we just have to make sure we show up with all our gear, adpators, and cables. In terms of the actual act of performing, my advice is to be in the present moment, and listen x 1000 - listen to what your partner is doing, listen to what you're doing yourself, listen for the groove and energy of the present musical moment. This may seem obvious but I think staying calm and grounded is also really important, not only when something is malfunctioning but as an overall state of mind. I think it's really easy to be taken over by the adrenaline of being on stage and all the excitement and anxieties that come with it. In my experience in instrumental ensembles, adrenaline often translated to everyone speeding up and just going nuts, and for me things often ended up not feeling very musical, even if we managed to still play relatively tight and not fall off the rails (which has also happened before). I think an awareness of space - mental, musical, physical - is really important in any kind of performance.
AY: I agree with everything Heidi wrote. I perform in purely improvisational contexts as well as projects with a repertoire. In either case I put a lot of emphasis on my personal preparation before performing and it often means spending quiet time before going on stage. I don't think at all about the specifics of what will be played. Just the feel. I think it's very important to allow spontaneous moments to be part of a live presentation. Ideally, a performer will have a good grasp of their materials (in whatever form they take) and the confidence to allow unrehearsed events to happen and make use of them when they do to present a unique listening experience to an audience.