A Low Hum

Excerpts from Live Performances (2013)

This is an album that has no reason to exist. Nobody asked for it. Nobody wants it. It’s simply part of an exercise in documenting my various art and musical projects over the years.

Since 2007 I’ve been testing people’s patience and questioning their music taste with these performances in various guises, manipulating songs and re-crafting them.

In 2009 I started an art project called ‘Bono’, where I took U2 mp3s and then using multiple effects in an live environment, all on-the-fly with no preparation I endeavoured to create soundscapes and dance tracks using primarily just the instrumental parts and as little of Bono’s voice as possible.

In 2013 I did a little tour of New Zealand (AKL, WLG, DUD and CHC) and took a similar approach, but to songs and hooks by New Zealand artists. Manipulating underground artists as well as mainstream classics. 

These excerpts are pretty loose, lots of mistakes and the mixing isn’t very tight - but keep in mind, this was all done on-the-fly in a live environment with no preparation beyond loading an mp3 or two into my laptop.

I used Traktor software and a Hercules RMX controller to manipulate the mp3s. I also then ran the controller into a DJ mixer where I further manipulated the tracks using the mixers built in effects - however, these recordings come from the laptop and don’t include the final step of processing. 


Some video of me doing a "Bono" performance is to the right. This was the same set-up to what I did on this tour (you can see how I also do a further step in the process on the DJ mixer), except I didn't do any live improv drums as I didn't want to travel around with a drum kit. Please excuse the embarrassingly awful hand gestures, lol, and the terrible drumming - i guess you had to be there :). (hanging head in shame)


Some anecdotes of my ridiculous "DJ" sets are documented in the second half of my 2014 book "The problem with music and how to fix it..."


Poster for the 2013 tour below (Poster by Matt Scheurich)

None of these tracks have been cleared or have the artists permission. They are all live recordings made manipulating the original recordings. If any of the artists have a problem, :) it's art - and read this. This album is not for sale or available for download, it's streaming only via this page, as an online exhibition. 


When only one song is mentioned, just the single MP3 file of that track is being manipulated. When two songs are mentioned, its only those two tracks. No other samples or material is included, its all rough-as-guts, on-the-fly.

To give you an idea of how I was doing these shows, I toured the same set-up as I used in the video below (except for the drum-kit)