I’m not REALLY against looping. I used to do it with Immi in Frou Frou. Many people still do it creatively. I’m just being curmudgeonly towards people who think using a looper makes them some kind of musical trailblazer :)
And I think – in the context of Punkt, surprisingly few of the people using loopers seem to have thought through the „politics of looping“ – how building a set around looping will force the music to follow a certain form. If that’s the form you’re after, by all means use a looper. But be aware of it.
Music software I love (eg Pro Tools) tends to pressure musicians to position musical ideas into a grid. So there’s also a „politics of the grid“. Sometimes I love the grid. But in my Punkt set there’s a moment of celesta improvisation where the grid is turned off; and there are other moments where I subvert the grid with programmed accelerandos and ritardandos.
Thanks for the Simone White suggestion. I just clicked on iTunes. It’s absolutely to my taste!
You rock (or ambient?)
Guy