Originally using the standard setup of two turntables and a mixer, van Dyk now uses a live setup of two Macbook Pro 17s (one for audio, one for software), an Allen & Heath 4D mixer and a host of synths, triggers and MIDI controllers for Ableton Live and Logic Studio. Paul van Dyk has similarly injected a love of improvisation into his epic DJ performances (he can boast of playing to a million people on Barra Beach in 2008), which have become less DJ sets and more full live performance. They're the lead singer jumping around and pulling faces." It's a fact that physically, two men near some equipment do not match the presence of a live band, but this is compensated by inventive visuals, Hartnoll said: "'The visuals are kind of our lead singer. Of course, Orbital are famed also for their trademark headtorches (originally worn simply to see their equipment) and also for their visuals, a crucial aspect of live electronic music. It gives that kind of recognition that people love, but your drum sounds and analog synths are changed around." They are identical to the record as it was recorded 20 years ago. 'The visuals are kind of our lead singer jumping around and pulling faces.'The use of samples mean that even amongst the improvisation, the audience can hold on to their knowledge of the original tracks: "Samples are the recognizable, main part of the track. They'll love different songs, it's often down to the local and current tastes." Sometimes you just get on a roll with a track and it'll last 10 minutes, the next night it'll be three because it just doesn't work out. "Every night is different often you can't quite get the right sound so you'll play with something else, which inspires you to go off on a tangent. "Our analog synths don't have memories deliberately. Crucially, it's based both on their own perceptions, and also on audience reaction. Their improvisation is based first around structure, using Ableton, and also around sounds via the synths, underpinned by samples. "Ableton is the first bit of software that means it when it says Live." In addition they use two Lemur Touch Pads to manipulate sounds, but the keyboards are analog rather than software synths. "I've been waiting for technology to catch up," explains Hartnoll. Nowadays, the brothers use Macbook Pros and Ableton. However, in more recent years, as it became clear that electronic music was here to stay, and with the demand for people to hear their favorite electronic songs within the communal atmosphere of a live setting, electronic acts have developed several strategies to elevate their performance into something rivaling, and sometimes eclipsing, that of any traditional band. Indeed, some said Top of the Pops' decline through the '90s was a result of too many faceless and uninteresting dance acts being featured, a theory given some credibility by the legendary "performance" of The Orb simply playing chess during their appearance in 1992. Critics' complaints that the music wasn't truly "live" and thus less authentic only gained momentum in the late '80s and early '90s as house and techno, much of it instrumental, exploded and live acts were accused of simply pressing play and standing back. The performance of electronic music in a live environment has been a thorny issue ever since synthesizers and sequencers gained a foothold in the 1970s and widespread popularity in the 1980s.
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