Live looping is the recording and playback of looped audio

Sound

Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...

 samples

Sampling (music)

In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...

 in real-time, using either hardware (magnetic tape

Tape loop

In music, tape loops are loops of prerecorded magnetic tape used to create repetitive, rhythmic musical patterns or dense layers of sound. Contemporary composers such as Steve Reich and Karlheinz Stockhausen used tape loops to create phase patterns and rhythms...

, dedicated hardware devices) or software. It is a process with numerous sonic directions, open to instrument textures, improvisation

Improvisation

Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...

 and composition techniques. Famous musicians who use this technique include Australian

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 musicians Dub FX

Dub FX

Dub FX is a worldwide street performer and studio recording artist from St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia. After playing and singing in a band called Twitch, he set out solo when he moved to Europe. His trademark is creating rich live music using only his own performance aided by Live looping and...

 and Mr. Woodnote, but also Beardyman and MC Xander.

Information Sources

• Loopers Delight - information for live loopers, gear reviews, techniques etc.
• livelooping.org - collection of info + links to videos

Articles & Interviews

• Solo artists get in the loop - Boston Globe article by Adam Conner-Simons
• Frippertronics - Robert Fripp interview
• The Musical Use of Audio Delay Devices: Some Thoughts for the Future and From the Past - by Ben Denckla
• Enhance Your Solo Performance With Live-Looping - by Arthur Lee Land

Live looping festivals

• Y2K International Live Looping Festival - Santa Cruz and San Francisco, California.
• Norwich Festival of Live Looping
• International Loopfestival Köln, Berlin...
• International Loopfestival Zürich - Zürich, Switzerland.
• Cambridge Festival of Looping - Cambridge, UK.
• Looper's Delight J - Kobe, Japan.
• 1st Swedish Looping Festival 2003 - Sweden.
• First International Live Looping Festival "in Rome" - Rome, Florence, IT
• Antwerp Live Looping Festival - Belgium

Live looping software

• FlyLoops Looping Studio - A richly featured looper and VST/AU host with functions for live loop manipulation and DJ/turntablism.
• Live Loop - A multi-track live looping midi-sequencer.
• Mobius - standalone, VST, Audio Unit freeware (multichannel)
• ELOTTRONIX XL - VST freeware, tape delay emulator
• Ambiloop - standalone freeware(?) (multichannel)
• Loopy Llama VST freeware
• SooperLooper standalone free software
  Free software
  Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
  
   (as JACK client) or as Audio Unit
• Augustus Loop tape delay emulator(and more) plug-in
• "Electrix Virtual Repeater Pro" award winning live loop studio ... unfortunately discontinued (actually never released)

Live looping hardware

• Boss RC-2, RC-20, RC-50, ME-70, GT-10
• Gibson/Oberheim Echoplex
  Echoplex
  The Echoplex is a tape delay effect, first made in 1959. Designed by Mike Battle, the Echoplex set a standard for the effect in the 1960s and was used by some of the most notable guitar players of the era; original Echoplexes are highly sought after....
  
  
• Boomerang
• Akai Headrush e2 pedal
• Lexicon Jam Man
• Electrix Repeater
• Digitech Digidelay, HardWire DL-8, JamMan: Looper; Solo Looper; Stereo Looper; Delay Looper.
• Line 6 DL4, JM4, M9, M13
• Electro Harmonix 2880
• Damage Control TimeLine
• Korg Kaoss Pad
• Looperlative LP1, LP2 pedal
• Backline Engineering RiffBox

External links

• http://youtube.com/livelooping - a growing pool of all different kinds of this art
• http://www.mattstevensguitar.com - live looping guitarist Matt Stevens
• http://www.suzycondrad.com - live looping artist Suzy Condrad
• http://www.toflang.com - live looping artist TofLang