Battles using Live live, with APC40 and stuff

[Cezband]

Just saw this video posted up by the Battles facebook group:

http://www.blogotheque.net/Battles,6030

I think Battles are badass anyway because of the crazy stuff they do live, but I spotted the APC40 and sure enough when you get a glimpse of the screen on one of the macs it's running Live.
They're also using an Axiom 61 keyboard which made my day considering I ordered one just last week.
And I could be wrong but that looks like an FCB1010 on the floor too...

Basically it's all the gadgets that I hear about people using but never usually see being used. All very cool, although I almost wish the camera would stop being arty and jumping all over the place so I could see just what they're doing with them.

[tinymachines]

Awesome video of an awesome band! That's not a normal takeaway show.

[McQ714]

that was the musical equivalent of modern art. it's just pieces of scrap metal you found at some construction site... nothing more! i don't care how much shit i catch for posting this, but that was a fucking mess! worst jam session ever!!!

[cubehog]

that was the musical equivalent of modern art. it's just pieces of scrap metal you found at some construction site... nothing more! i don't care how much shit i catch for posting this, but that was a fucking mess! worst jam session ever!!!

Comparing it to Stockhausen, Cage or something they play on "Forum Neue Musik" this is Caveman´s Disco. But man, do I like these rhythms. John Stanier was probably more important to Helmet
than most of us wanted to believe. He isn´t arty at all in his interviews.

And Don Caballero also delivered a quasi Steve Reich approach to postrock guitar playing. Not so well formulated and jamlike, but at least it gave me a reason to get more into
plectrum+3-finger-system on my strings and the fretboard.

I´m sorry, but to me Battles is way much more important than the Beatles at least conciously. One could argue no Battles without Beatles. But I find Beatles boring and the drumming
is not comparable at all, or not ?

It´s just silly wordplay really, but this is supposed to be fun music in comparison to some "serious composers" who write instructions on paper to smash the music stand on the floor and think it´s a
superb sounddesign performance . This type of art is also considered as music (Neue Musik). Not everything in this genre is mega-arty though. But comparing Battles to some pretentious artsy fart
is a little bit too much to not discuss the theme of where music ends and noise (cheating with random tones) begins.

This Battles song has a nice beat and some repetion. And I think they could reproduce this arrangement in a liveshow setting too.

[mike_o]

that was the musical equivalent of modern art. it's just pieces of scrap metal you found at some construction site... nothing more! i don't care how much shit i catch for posting this, but that was a fucking mess! worst jam session ever!!!

totally agree.


worst playing on the best setup.

even money cant buy these guys a groove.

[nuxnamon]

i expected to see some sort of dj turntablism/controllerism battle.. WTF was that??

[Rabalder]

Battles rock!

[Cezband]

Wow I thought people had more love for Battles

It's definitely a loose performance, and it's all about John Stanier holding it all together. His drumming is such a great mix of intricacy and no nonsense stomp.

I can see why some people don't like it - I could have done without all the "wine-glass-on-the-snare-drum" shit myself. But to me, the fact that every Battles song is instantly recognisable as one of theirs simply by the sound of the instruments over-rides any sloppiness in the live arena.

I'm sure they'd be tight as fuck if they played verse/chorus/verse/chorus bullshit rock n roll with no tempo changes. I like the fact that they're trying to put all those weird gadgets into the equation and doing it with a smile on their faces, even if they have to hang on by their fingernails. I think attempts at originality (regardless of how succesful) should be worth the risk.