Life Performance

Almost a year after the release of Peter Van Hoesen’s highly acclaimed album ‘Perceiver’ on his Time to Express imprint in 2012, the Belgian producer returned with ‘Life Performance’ – a brand new live recording which was captured into a single, long- form listening experience during a specially curated Time to Express label night at Tresor on July 19, 2013.

This live album represents an important step forward for the producer. Since 2006, Peter has played live in a variety of different settings and situations, from festival circuits and dark, sweaty venues to working with dance and theater companies on stage. Each live performance brought with it a necessary evolution in approach, which led to a varying sense of real ‘live’ interaction. At first, with a setup centered around a laptop, a drum machine was added, then slowly more and more machines entered into proceedings. Ultimately though, it was the computer that was to hold central guard in the coordination of each disparate sonic element.

Now, the laptop is being pushed aside, making way for the hardware to be brought fully to the fore, allowing for greater artistic freedom and expression. The focus is to be placed upon live improvisation in the creation of something wholly unique and ever-evolving. Sculpting this sound in real-time, allowing for the exploration of a multitude of possibilities and contorting parameters, in essence, a child-like approach to the idea of ‘playing’, of not being limited by the world around, is what drove this project forward.

As Peter explains, “Making the tracks with the setup in mind as opposed to transposing tracks made in the studio into a live setting is much easier, and much more fun. You can improvise with it freely – and for me that [improvisation] was most important – then decide, in that specific moment, about its tonality and its synthesis. I’m a big fan of synthesis. I don’t work with samples often. If you use samples, there’s no way to really sculpt them – not just from a technical perspective, but also from an artist viewpoint. There’s a freshness and directness you get from being able to interact with the music and audience on a much deeper level than normal.”

Over the course of sixty minutes, the listener is exposed to a broad palette of sounds and patterns. Textural shifts, gentle rhythmic blends, dynamic synths, hooks and arpeggios coagulate into an exceptional aural experience, exemplifying an approach to music production in a live context that is both personal and unique.