Without a doubt, computers have made our lives easier, more efficient, and more productive. The hours and effort saved by technological advances when quantified and totaled would surely yield staggering numbers. But does this efficiency arrive with unavoidable drawbacks? What happens to the art of cooking if we can push a button to immediately manifest any meal a la The Jetsons? Will self-driving cars corrupt the romance of the American road-trip? If we were lost, could we find our way home without turn-by-turn directions?
Once a dance-pop group, electronic band The Blow has shifted into new terrain. Working within a completely fresh paradigm, Khaela Maricich, one half of the duo, describes the “thesis” of their new set like this: “How do you make electronic music without a laptop?” Onstage, Maricich and her partner Melissa Dyne stand behind tables loaded down with analog gear–synths, PA heads, mixing boards, pedals, and more. To create sonic textures they rely on one another. The sounds achieved by Maricich’s synths depend upon which configuration of the endless tangle of cords and cables Dyne has chosen. It should be said that neither has a complete grasp of what they’re doing; at a few points one of the two realizes something’s amiss and makes an abrupt change. In this exploration lies unparalleled value.
Working in “inefficient” mediums and with methods that require deliberation fosters thought and reflection. In this way, these mediums and methods are efficient, invaluably so, in terms of stimulating the brain. During those painfully frustrating and slow moments of discovery and understanding patience and investment develop. With beat-sequencing programs and software that practically writes music itself, how much time remains to evaluate, savor, and internalize the process? Missteps and imperfections allow for two important developments: first and most obviously, they show us where and how we can improve; second and more importantly, they provide an opportunity to alter our conceptions of norms and consider once-mistakes as potential virtues. All those little imperfections create texture, something to which minds and hearts can adhere. Experiences like this possess traction and grip our consciousness.
As the duo figures it out, the audience watches through a rare window–we get to witness process. Sounds derive from effort, and the experience is memorable for performer and audience member. Rather than fleeting party moments slick with production that slide like water off a featureless surface, this mud and grit embeds itself in the crevices of raw stone. Or, to look at it through the lens of music formats itself, a performance such as this avoids the modern format of digital files of zeroes and ones that might disappear in an instant. Instead, this is akin to the textured cuts and grooves of vinyl. With their new set, The Blow has refused to just push play and let algorithms sort out the setlist. Metaphorically, they deliberately select an album from a shelf, place it on the turntable, and lower the needle. The experience is active rather than passive.
The Blow has always embraced performance art, and this is no exception. The show exists to make a point, to comment. In the past, Maricich played the part of someone dancing unabashedly in their room alone, the audience felt like they’d stumbled upon their mom singing loudly over the vacuum cleaner. Now, the audience watches as Maricich and Dyne operate equipment like pre-historic humans who’ve found strange tools. Absolutely, technology has advantages that can’t be ignored, and to suggest it should be marginalized makes no sense. However, technology should be utilized as a tool. We need both efficiency and the ability to explore processes without the pressure of efficiency. More dangerous than the loss of memories, skills, or human abilities is the feeling that we can’t slow down, can’t be inefficient. We must ask ourselves who’s driving this thing? Who’s shaping this culture? What parts of of ourselves have we sold and what have we gained in turn?
All photographs © Bryan C. Parker & Pop Press International. Click any image to open set in slideshow viewer.
