The process of recording has helped me evaluate my approach to recording in many ways. The primary difference is the ability to redo things. Live, if you hit a jazz note, it comes back at you via the echo & you're forced to move with it, although this isn't necessarily a bad thing! With a recorder, I can be as picky as I like & start over until I run out of enthusiasm. Balancing the urge to be perfect with the vitality of live work is the major problem.

Computer loops need matching so that the start and end points join seamlessly (unless you want a rhythmical effect), but the echo makes life easier, since you can allow sounds to repeat across the replay point, giving a much looser wash of sound. I play until this is achieved, then hit the "hold" switch. I improvise over this backdrop, then unfreeze it & allow the sound to fade whilst introducing new sounds. Whilst allowing very free playing, the drawback is that any cocked-up notes/crap sounds are looped for however long the repeat rate is set for. This requires you to sort out the sound/lick over a frozen pattern, then unfreeze & play it. This encourages you a) to listen to the sounds & introduce some meaningful new element & b) to let things float around while you decide what comes next. This produces performances that (hopefully) flow and also extend over a long period.

With access now to digital techniques and a computer with enough go juice to work with them, it now seems I have no excuse not to produce masterpieces. Every day the PC stares at me saying "come on then, get creative". I started with Acid Por, but for the last year have used Ableton. It's an amazing bit of software for loopists.

How it goes down...
Audience reation varies - those that can "go with the flow" have a great time, whilst others yearn for more conventional verse/chorus structure. One (drunken) punter said "there's a randy whale coming up the road", which I took as a compliment. The nature of the beast is such that every night is different, even if you return to familar themes. It is impossible to duplicate things exactly, no matter how hard you try. Realising this, I don't even try, but let the mood of the evening express itself.

Sometimes I work around conventional chord backdrops (often "violined in" with the volume control, or arpeggiated chord work, timed to loop appropriately. However, using the various effects racks allow me to generate a huge variety of un-guitar-like sounds. Gigs have ranged from pubs to raves to "performances" & I'm looking (hint hint) for an opportunity to release my work in some form or another.

Other loopists
Influences are many and varied, but those most directly related to looping music include Robert Fripp (check out Live Soundscapes), David Torn (What Means Solid Traveller is awesome!), Micheal Brook (does anyone have his email?) & Bill Frisell. Bill Nelson is another thoughtful musician I've followed since his early days in Bebop Deluxe - I once had a chance to support one of his solo gigs but declined with a misplaced inferiority complex - Vinni Reilly stepped in! Andy Cocker (see above) shares many musical tastes & we're working on a project together. Stephen Fellows (lately of the Comsat Angels) has been a long-time influence - I even got to play with him in the CSA for a short while - and has given me lots of encouragement. His "Mood X" CD shows a similar if sparser approach to guitar sounds. Some day I'll persuade him to do a gig with me. Lesser known but equally worthy talents include David Cooper Orton and Stephen Scott. See the links page for these artists.