Lu wilson2d ago

this week i performed with an MC for the first time. it was amazing!!!

i didn't know i was gonna do that until i was at the event itself. it was opportunistic / serendipitous. when i arrived, the organiser introduced me to an MC who was booked for the set after mine and asked if i wanted them to MC for my set too.

my first reaction was like "wow cool" and "wait how does that even work" and "wait does my kind of music even work with an MC"

Show threadLu wilson

and i kinda admitted my ignorance like "oh wow" and "I've never done anything with an MC before" so the organiser asked me what kind of genre i'd be doing and that's another thing i don't know "uhh trancey house or.." and their face told me that might not work.

"ah well, no worries" and i felt the opportunity slipping away so iā€” "but like .. I'm totally up for it!" and i made it clear that the MC was welcome to jump in on my set at any time they wanted but there was also no worries if not

Mar 27 at 7:36amWeb
Show threadLu wilson2d ago
then it was the long setup and sound checks and stuff (though i had already done mine) and there was a lot of time to kill so me and her got talking about it all. the fun part is that i knew basically nothing about MC-ing and she knew basically nothing about live coding so we told each other about what it was.. the kinds of events we go to.. how we got into it.. other music we do outside of it..
Show threadLu wilson2d ago

and there were a few cool moments of realisation like "wait so when you're MC-ing with someone who's live coding.." the live coder can respond to the MC so that means the MC can kinda lead things too. because normally when you're just MC-ing with a DJ the DJ just does their thing and as an MC you gotta follow along.

"yeah!"

Show threadLu wilson2d ago
and especially if you do "from scratch" like me and i explained what that was and why I'm a purist. and we found similarities in making up words on the spot when you're MC-ing and making up code on the spot when you're live coding, and the panic that can sometimes set in when you start to freeze up. it was that Spider-Man pointing at himself meme
Show threadLu wilson2d ago
"but how do you come up with words on the spot anyway????" and it turns out she usually has some go-tos and templates to start with and then sees what happens and dang that's what i do with live coding too šŸ¤Æ
Show threadLu wilson2d ago
and she told me that MC-ing is also about working the crowd and it's fun cos it sounds like the crowd work i [often do](https://youtu.be/MkxIQEmuKNo?si=M_wY8g_Poot5C-Rd) in my sets except much much much cooler
DESTROY ALL SPACE

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Show threadLu wilson2d ago

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either way, i made it clear that i was completely easy and that anything was on the table. if she wanted to join in, that's cool, if not, that's cool. i'm pleased I'm at a point where this is something i can do. i think things like [algoravioli](https://youtu.be/wGPdZg-r0rQ?si=dXuoD5x7EBOELuJF) and [algorhythms](https://youtu.be/oE2IjCFjyaE?si=DGsh99JIJVWrdtxo) and the [park jam](https://youtu.be/6H8oRjvYs2o?si=E7s9gebJYt4hqTHW) have prepared me for. as well as all that #pastagang jamming I've done and also all the [improv](https://www.todepond.com/sky/sudden-poverty-in-nasty-orange-factory-fires/)

jam step @ algoravioli

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Show threadLu wilson2d ago
i think: when collaborating, it's more important to get you and the other person comfortable rather than figuring out any details. i think: when you get the energy right, the details follow on their own. that was my thinking at least!!
Show threadLu wilson2d ago

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when the slot came around, the MC, Zira Flo, asked if i wanted them to start at the start or wait a bit and join in the middle and i said the same thing as before: "I'm easy": whatever you want.

she started at the start and OH BOI i'm so glad she did

Show threadLu wilson2d ago
my entire visuals plan went out the window (good!) and i chucked on something bold and colourful straight away to give it a kind of backdrop. i guess the thing i now realise is: my visuals often try to be the "main character". like with things like [dogspinner](https://youtu.be/XshmvOM6BhM?si=Wljz9VzVDMQ7ohvP) and the recursive stuff i do i want you to be *looking at it*. it is the *subject*. that's always a kind of goal for me.
FOAIM

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Show threadLu wilson2d ago

but this time, it was clear the subject was the MC and that was awesome! but yeah i really didn't know what to do for visuals in this circumstance but I'd love to try again some time :)

thanks to Monz for stepping in to do some visuals towards the end thanks to some cable hopping. again, this kind of cable hopping felt comfortable to me because me and Monz did a bunch of that at algoravioli a few weeks earlier.

Show threadLu wilson2d ago
anyway: the music. shortly after the beginning, she started singing some high notes over the top of my usual bassy opening and OH MY GOD it immediately blew my mind / introduced me to what was about to happen
Show threadLu wilson2d ago
and then she started freestyling! and i loved how it sounded against the 4-to-the-floor plus polymeter(?) / polyrhythm(?) bullshit i always like to do. i love doing really repetitive music and one thing I've learned is i can make repetitive music sound more-ish by taking a super basic beat and combine it with something that doesn't line up with the end of the loop.
Show threadLu wilson2d ago
it sounds like it wants to keep going / repeating, like it'll never stop, u know? like you can't help but keep falling forwards. the [pasta lick](https://codeberg.org/pastagang/pastagang/src/branch/pages/blog/lore/lick) is one of these and i couldn't help by try it out straight away. i think I'd normally wait longer by bringing it in more gradually but i wanted to hear what it sounded like against a freestyle! to be fair i think i brought it in a bit jarringly but it was worth having it in the mix for longer šŸ˜†
pastagang

pastagang

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Show threadLu wilson2d ago
i feel like my entire set was trying out all my usual favourite templates. it was even more generic than usual because i wanted to try out my faves in this new way!!! no regrets
Show threadLu wilson2d ago

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the thing we mentioned happened: the MC did a bit of a rhythm and i imitated it with code, and she noticed and we doubled down on it for a bit. it became a call and response. that was one of my favourite parts

Show threadLu wilson2d ago
one other thing that happened is that she commented out loud that we were doing a key change when i did a key change. and she told me afterwards that she was looking at my code to see what key we were in. i think that's a really cool aspect of collaborative with live coding that i didn't realise! you don't need to understand the code: you just look for the notes / scales
Show threadLu wilson2d ago
i had a few panic moments when i was a bit lost in the flow where i suddenly remembered / realised that the MC was doing a long phrase and basically waiting for me to bring a drop or a break or something. those moments were so cool. i mean, i sometimes get that building feeling when the crowd is waiting for it, but this was another level! but also, the MC was really good at keeping going in creative ways when i inevitably missed my cue šŸ˜†
Show threadLu wilson2d ago
there was one time where she was facing me during a build up and i had a drop ready so i was nodding and smiling at her to try to give a hint of what was coming. i don't know if the message got across but i think at least the energy did because she spun around and started going double speed when it landed. it was amazing!
Show threadLu wilson2d ago
one other thing i realised is: i usually try to keep my drops and things a bit unpredictable because it sets up a fun game / dance between you and the crowd. my favourite is when you do drop, immediately followed by another bigger drop, cos they never expect the second one. its super hard and i may have only done it [once](https://youtu.be/il3gjH3F1rQ?si=GZEA4efVr1W-r7Un) before.
I WANT TO MAKE NOISE

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Show threadLu wilson2d ago
but the thing is, when I'm collaborating with someone doing freestyle, i think it's more important for me to be a bit predictable to them! so that they can get it and get thoughts on how to interact with the sound. so i felt my approach morphing during the set away from surprise towards predictability. even the transitions: i usually try to keep the transitions between different "songs" quite disguised but i bled more into the traditional dj blend sound to signpost when it was happening
Show threadit's B! Cavello šŸ2d ago
@TodePond These are such cool reflections!! Wow, I love it