Peter Van Hoesen will release an album for Tresor called Life Performance.
The album documents a single 60-minute performance that was recorded live at a Time To Express label night at Tresor in Berlin on July 19th. Van Hoesen told RA that his hardware-focused setup—"three synths on stage, a drum machine, two iPads and some outboards effects"—is inspired by live acts like Atom TM, Pink Elln, Exercise One and Mathew Jonson, with a focus on improvisation.
"Right now the laptop is much less important [to me] than say three or four years ago," he said. "The main thing is the increased freedom to improvise, that's really the core of the show." The album arrives roughly a year on from the Belgian's last LP, Perceiver, which came out through Time To Express. We spoke with Van Hoesen via email this week to discuss the album and his plans for the rest of 2013:
Why did you decide to make a live album?
Earlier this year I played four live gigs with a new setup, the first real change in over three years. I was very happy with the reaction of the crowd, and since all of the tracks were new I decided that it could be interesting to put this out as a live album. The other big reason was that Tresor offered Time To Express to host a label night last July, suggesting that I perform the new live set during that event. It seemed appropriate to record this and then to collaborate with Tresor to make the release happen. The Tresor people were very supportive from the start, and I'm very happy with the outcome.
How has your live show evolved over the past couple of years? And can you tell us a bit about your present live set-up?
I've seen several live acts over the years who've impressed me with the live use of hardware: Atom TM, Pink Elln, Exercise One, Mathew Jonson, to name but a few. They inspired me to try out a similar approach. My live show has been gradually evolving from a nearly 100 percent laptop-based set towards a more hardware-based scenario. Right now the laptop is much less important than say three or four years ago. There are three synths on stage, a drum machine, two iPads and some outboards effects. Depending on where I play I decide which machines to bring along, so it's rather flexible. The main thing is the increased freedom to improvise, that's really the core of the show.
Can you describe what the club and crowd was like on the night of recording?
Sweaty. Intense. I must admit I was pretty nervous since you've only got one take if you record live but it did not take long to tune into the audience's mad energy. It was a great night.
What else have you got on the cards for 2013?
Right now, Yves De Mey and myself are mixing down the new Sendai album. We will be launching a new label later this year which will become the new home for our more experimental ventures. And in two weeks I'll be heading to Japan to play Labyrinth. Later this year I'll be playing in Australia and the US, and playing some live shows in Europe as well. There are also new releases planned on Time To Express, so it's going to be a nice second half of 2013.
Tresor will release Life Performance on October 14th, 2013.