Loop Artists NZ – Autumn Arena 2017

Looping at Autumn Arena

We’ve just come back from Autumn Arena, an annual festival at Easter, near Omaru, in the South island, NZ. We’d never been but so many people had mentioned it to us, it was near impossible not to investigate. Shocked as we were to be accepted to play at such short notice, we packed up the van for another adventure. As we arrived they were just closing the gate as too much mud and rain had turned the “road” into a form of thick chocolate icing.  So,on the gatekeeper Shell’s recomendation, off we went to the stage area down a much easier track. The stage was running behind schedule but to be fair, we’d raced there and needed a bit of time to soak up the atmosphere. Makeshift Parachutes were there with their backline and having driven down from Auckland, were pretty ready to play some music. Good people to hang out with.

So,finally Gary told us they were ready for us to stampede the stage with equipment and off we went. The set up was pretty smooth and apart from some monitor problems it was a decent sound for the first band of the day. They called us the “Soundcheck band”. Not sure how to take that;) The set went well. What beautiful surroundings with a natural arena and lots of familiar faces. The rain had stopped so although it was still pretty mucky there were spots to hang out in.

So anyway,the point of this blog was that we saw quite a number of Loop artists using Loop stations, almost identical to mine, for different uses. I initially began using it a number of years ago cause i wanted to introduce the violin into the set. It was so much fun, and so easy to compose on. Of course the loops need to be bang on otherwise Paul has a bit of a time of it trying to drum πŸ˜‰ He does a good job . Even when it goes wrong…… He also uses a sample pad to make big bass heavy sub sounds. We love a lot of bass so this is essential for us to create the sound we’re after. With all this extra technology  and more beat driven tunes we are definately veering steadily on the folktronica and ambient music path. So many ideas running through our heads now after listening to such great musicians over the weekend. We were really spoiled.

So the other loopers….;)

Of course we had Vojta (Vojta violinist on fb) who played  a tremendous set as always. He uses didgeridoo, with violin, kick drum and beatboxing, at the same time! to make a haunting, mystical, Celtic sound. With really upbeat rhythms, created by beautiful pizzicato double stopping (chords). People danced. A lot. Amazing musician.

Next up we saw Mihirangi. She was using an array of instruments including vocals, keys, a drum pad and beatboxing. Wow! What she could do with her voice was incredible. Later, at a looping workshop, she explained that she loved bass which was very apparent in her set. She was able to use some sort of effect to make her already incredibly bass-y voice go right down to the lower echelons of bass. Awesome. Then, using different time signatures at the same time along with superb melodies on vocals created a hell of a sound for one person. She also had the dance floor pumping!

Next up we saw Benji. Apparently he’s well known in these circles. He played a dinner set, during and after the Hangi. Good timing. Thanks to the very clever Connor who managed to arrange such an awesome line-up in the right order! People were so full from the glorious food that they were able to let themselves sit and become transfixed by Benji’s ethereal sounds. He used his great vocals to lay loops of poignant words with haunting guitar sounds made with a violin bow. Beautiful sounds. He got a Hang drum player up with him which is always a winner. Gorgeous sounds. He held the crowd for a couple of hours. No bother on him…

And that’s only the Looping acts that we managed to catch. A really high calibre of music at this festie. Basically the message was that the sky is the limit with the instrumentation and uses of the loop station. The styles were all different with Vojta and Benji creating a more atmospheric, ambient sound and Mihirangi a bit more Beat and Bass heavy. With Choice being a bit of both:) The things people are doing with their voice, rhythms and traditional folk instruments is experimental, progressive and very exciting. Roll on next Easter…..

If you’re a fan of Folktronica, Progressive folk or Ambient music and would like to get free downloads from up and coming band Choice go here and click download. www.choicerhythms.com
www.facebook.com/Musicbychoice/

www.soundcloud.com/deadbeatnz
www.facebook.com/vojta.violinist/
www.facebook.com/Mihirangimusic/

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