A constant exists in most modern and classical music – that constant being repetition. Most of the contemporary pop music we hear is drenched in repeated melodies, chord structures and beats. In the dawn of the decade of love, avant garde composers such as Terry Riley began experimenting with tape loops, manipulating the output of the loops to musical effect. Riley became a sensation in the 1960’s for his famous “All-Night Concerts”, where Riley performed improvised music from evening until sunrise, using an old organ harmonium and tape-delayed saxophone. During these marathon performances he would take breaks by playing back loops from his saxophone recorded during the same concert.
Before the turn of that same decade (while collaborating with Brian Eno) the guitarist of the progressive rock band King Crimson, Robert Fripp, developed a technique to loop his guitar by utilizing two reel-to-reel tape recorders positioned side-by-side. This new technique was facilitated by allowing the tape from the supply reel of one tape machine to be fed into the take-up reel of the second tape machine, which causes the sound recorded by the first machine to be played back later on the second. The duration of the delay is determined by the distance between the reels as well as the speed of the playback. Audio from the second machine is routed back to the first which causes the delayed signal to repeat. Fripp had a revelation that with this new system he could operate as a solo performer, building entire compositions in a live setting. Joanna Walton, Fripp’s girlfriend at the time, conceived a term to describe Robert’s delay system now widely known in the guitar world as “Frippertronics”. Electronic musicians should take note – in many ways, this looping technique spawned a new generation of singular performers who generate repetitious layers of sound in order to create innovative compositions live from the concert stage. This concept is in essence the modus operandi of most electronic musicians today. Guitarists aren’t the only ones getting into the looping game. Naturally, multi-instrumentalists such as Andrew Bird foresaw the potential in loop-based performance and presently continues to develop this technique.
Multi-instrumentalist and looping performer - Eric Radoux
Eric Radoux, one of our esteemed Speed of Sound artists performing next Wednesday (May 12th, 2010) will give us all a chance to witness his own skillful technique of looping. A multi-instrumentalist in his own right, Eric loops his own voice, guitar, trumpet, percussive elements – and anything else he can get his hands on – to construct his own compositions in real time. But while we tend to focus on methods and technology on this blog, it should be made clear – the quality of Eric’s song writing is intelligent and compelling. Find out for yourself and make a visit to his website to uncover the fresh fruit of his labor and you’ll find out why Radoux is one of Bloomington’s most promising singer songwriters.
Per the usual tradition for Speed of Sound artists, here is our interview with Eric…
Where do you originate from and what brought you to Bloomington?
I spent most of my time growing up in Greenwood, Indiana. I came down to Bloomington to go to IU, and I’ve stuck around ever since.
Your performance methods are centered around “looping”. For the sake of our readership, could you explain in fairly simplistic terms how it works?
Radoux maipulating the Boss RC-50 looping pedal
Looping consists of recording a sample of music and then allowing it to repeat over and over. New samples can be recorded on top of the original to create a layered, multi-tracked song in a live setting.
Do you feel audiences understand or “get” what you’re doing?
I think audiences have a good grasp by the end of a set how I create the songs on stage. The visual aspect seems to really sell the method of performing. Songwriting is very important to me, so it’s odd to me to hear so many more comments about the technology or the way I perform rather than the songs themselves, but I think that’s just what stands out to an audience.
I’ve noticed lately that there are a growing number of artists who do looping. We’re there any artists who use the same methods that may have influenced you to do the same?
Andrew Bird was the first musician I ever heard using looping, and the way he would use the repetition inherent in looping to create songs with a solid direction really stood out to me. There’s a singer named Camille who uses looping quite heavily in creating her mostly a cappella songs. The way she uses her voice for harmonies, percussion, sound effects, and more was a big influence for me as far as getting the most out of the voice.
You just completed a new album of songs called, “Inherit the Dirt”. Could you tell us about the process behind recording it? Did you use your looping technique for the recording?
Eric in the studio during the "Inherit the Dirt" recording sessions
Actually, that album represents the other end of the musical spectrum for me. It’s much more of an energetic folk album, and I wanted to record it with as much spontaneity as possible. My friend Jonah Malarsky recorded and produced the album on a digital 8-track recorder, and we rarely recorded more than one or two takes of any part. I didn’t use any looping techniques on this album, mainly because this music was much more melodic and rooted in chord harmonies than what a looping pedal can handle. I’m still exploring how to implement stronger and more varied chord progressions within a looping framework, but I’m not there yet.
You’re certainly no stranger to electronic music. In fact, your “Credit” release was distinctly flavored with electronic sounds. Could you tell us about the gear you used for that release?
The two songs on the “Credit” single were my first real attempts at doing something with more of an electronic flair. Everything but the vocals was created using a MIDI keyboard and the synthesizers and samples in Propellerhead Reason, which I had just acquired. Honestly I’m not that wise to synthesizers or samplers or much of how they work, but Reason was a great way to explore those ideas in a way that made sense to me.
What is your background in electronic music and are there any electronic artists currently catching your ear?
My background in electronic music primarily consists of music I’ve listened to. I started out listening to Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works ‘85-’92 when I was in high school, and I’ve picked up little things here and there since then. Probably most of my concepts of electronic music come from that Aphex Twin collection, so as you can tell, I’m very up-to-speed. These days, some of my favorite electronic artists include ambient artists like Tim Hecker, artists that combine electronics with acoustic elements like Aufgang and Martyn Bennett, and whatever you’d call the more moody stuff like the Knife or Invisible Conga People.
Do you consider your looping performances to be “electronic music”?
In the sense that they require electronic devices in order to be performed, I would agree. However, while I take a lot of elements, like my concepts of beats and sound textures, from what I would call electronic music, I don’t really think of those songs in that way. It’s mostly voice, guitar, trumpet, and other acoustic instruments being wrung through an electronic filter. Whatever that is called, that’s what I’m doing.
Do you foresee doing more compositions such as the ones on “Credit”?
I definitely see that in the future. At the moment my mind has been caught up in chord progressions and folk music explorations, but I’m always incorporating electronic elements into the songs. I’d like to return to the things I was doing on “Credit” once I’ve cleared some of these current things from my head.
I’ve always loved the marriage of traditional instruments with technology and you are quite the “instrumentalist”! How many instruments are you able to play?
On recordings I’ve used my voice, guitar, trumpet, piano, horn, xylophone, bass, tenor guitar, ukulele, and tiny shaky percussion instruments like shakers and tambourines.
I’ve noticed that artists who us the looping technique are very particular about the gear that they use. For our more technically minded readers, why did you choose the Boss RC-50?
I picked the RC-50 about 3 years ago because its features seemed to match what I imagined I wanted to do with looping. I had never done looping before, but what I had in mind was more than soloing on top of looped chord progressions. The RC-50 can run 3 independent (or dependent) loops at the same time, and this seemed like a great idea for putting beats on one loop, textures on another, and maybe a lick on the third. The pedal also gives you a few cool options like fade-ins and fade-outs and things like that. It really allows you to customize it to what you want to do.
Are there any specific musical goals you have for next 5 years?
Five years seems like such a long way away, since I’ve only been performing in a solo capacity for maybe three years. I’m not even sure what my goals are for next year, to be honest. Long-term, though, I’d love to be a better improviser, both with looping and just as a musician in general. I guess that means I need to really study up on how to play my instruments beyond just figuring out enough to get by. I’d like to have a band at some point; that seems like a definite direction at this point.
http://www.ericradoux.com
http://www.myspace.com/ericradoux
http://www.reverbnation.com/ericradoux
http://www.facebook.com/ericradoux.music
http://ericradoux.bandcamp.com
~Written by Mark Kunoff
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