Many electronic producers phone it in for their “performances” by simply creating a pre-mixed selection of songs and pretending to perform them “live” by twisting and punching a bunch of knobs and buttons which do nothing at all. Despite that, electronic music admittedly faces more difficulties than other genres in its translation to a live show. When a producer’s “instruments” amount to music production software and maybe a few MIDI controllers, how the heck does the producer act as a performer?
On Wednesday night at Crowbar, British electronica producer Gold Panda made a welcome pit stop in Florida before hopping to the Hudson Project Music Festival in New York. Local act Spies on Bikes and Gainesville trip-hopper Kodak to Graph providing opening support and offered sneak peaks at how sample-based electronica works in a live setting.
Spies on Bikes, manning a simple set-up with a laptop and controller, showcased his nostalgic, chip-tune originals. The glitchy pulses heard in games like Super Mario Brothers evolve to fit the more modern, wavy distortions heard from the Tampa musician. Kodak to Graph playfully juxtaposed his own chill, mood setting tracks with unexpected bangers from artists like Gucci Mane. He ended the set with an unadulterated dive into ambience that left the audience contemplative and curious to see how the headliner would follow up the unexpectedly good opening sets.
Interestingly Crowbar and Gold Panda’s production crew added very minimal flair to the introverted performer’s set. Panda casually walked up to the desk, plugged in his numerous controllers, and got busy playing his tracks. I’m a HUGE Gold Panda fan (I’ve listened to his two LPs religiously) so I could not help but wonder how he’d bring his complex tracks to life.
He quickly hushed my doubts once a noticeably darker version of “Same Dream China” dug into my ears. Normally a cheery song marked by its use of authentically Chinese-esque synths, the upbeat clanging brought light to the moody droning heard in the background. As the song played, Panda resembled a puppeteer in the way he’d scurry back and forth behind his controllers. One second he’d be looping a vocal on a center controller before reaching over to another controller to ignite a perfectly timed kick. It was magical.
His set focused primarily on tracks from his 2013 album Half of Where You Live. The songs morphed into complex extensions of themselves as Panda broke each track piece by piece in order to fit them all back together in a newly shaped puzzle. The smooth vocals of “Brazil” faded in and out as the producer glided around stage to queue up effects. The crowd clearly appreciated Panda’s commitment, notably seen when a round of applause erupted after Panda shed his bulky jacket; the producer probably burnt more calories moving from controller to controller than going for a run on a treadmill.
While some vocal effects mismatched at points, Panda’s experiment succeeded on nearly every front. Crowbar’s sound system helped me notice the booming intricacies of the bass behind tracks like “An English House.” When he dropped the hypnotic vocals of his most beloved track “You”, the audience couldn’t help but cheer.
After seeing Gold Panda synthesize and manipulate his tracks live, I now understand the potential of live electronic music. It just takes some extra effort on part of the producer. I can’t say I’m completely surprised one of my favorite downtempo artists found a way to make live electronic music work but it felt nice to be able to give some much-needed fuel to my defense of his work to the many naysayers I know. When he yelled his gratitude and bowed after the closing song, I think we all knew how sincerely he felt. His music may not come with catchy hooks or banging drums but the interaction Panda shared with his music elicited respect and adoration. Here’s looking forward to his next show.