We see all kinds of novel controllers and input devices for music on CDM, but don’t always get the chance to see how these are used in actual music making. Uraguay-based Gustavo Bravetti is a master of live laptop performance with alternative controllers. (See previous video of him from Colombia.) He talks to Liz (aka Quantazelle, a laptop virtuoso herself) about the scene on the other side of the Americas and how he’s able to fire up crowds with unusual performance techniques, via three-axis light control and the P5 interactive glove. And, really, we didn’t put him up to all the plugs for this site — I’m much more excited to find out how people are able to use some of these resources in front of an audience! So, Gustavo, we’re thrilled to learn about what you’re doing. Take it away, Liz. -PK

What’s the scene like in Montevideo / Uruguay? How does it compare to other locations? Is it conducive for you to work?

Uruguay is a very small country, we have just 4 million people, and the electronic scene is growing and getting smarter. I think that thanks to the internet, we are updated in what concerns to music and technology, we also are well informed on the global scene, that wouldn’t be possible without the invaluable tool that is the internet. Anyway, the Internet is a double sided weapon, and must be handled with care.

I’m a very positive person. I think that any scene is conductive for my work, especially in “your own city’s scene.” I mean, if they know you from the neighborhood, they will be harder to impress, and therefore will be more people that will criticize you, but if you take the good part of this, it would be positive for your work.

Promoting yourself with a demo can mean all kinds things, from selecting a couple of tracks to help connect with a collaborator to getting yourself a composing gig or record deal. Producer/musician Quantazelle herself has seen plenty of demo discs and has assembled some tips for how to make them work. If you’ve got ideas or questions of your own, be sure to sound off in comments. But the best idea of all may be getting people together for an in-person event to share music and visual reels. -Ed.

A demo is short for “demonstration,” and its purpose is to show others what you can do, musically. In the past, a band with major-label aspirations would scrape together a bit of cash for a few hours in a studio and crank out a few copies of their best songs on a tape or a record and then send it off to various A&R departments, hoping for a record deal and a contract with a fat advance. These days, technology has made the concept of a demo and its applications somewhat different, but we’ll always need to share what we’re capable of with others.

If you’re in Chicago this Tuesday… During my time at Modsquare a few years back, I organized a Demo Swap at a club in Chicago, where guests would get in free if they showed up with a stack of 10 or more or their demos on CDR. Not only did I discover talented local acts who I featured on our free online compilations, I met artists that I would later book at events, and learned that fellow attendees who had met at the night ended up collaborating on projects. Since I had so many people asking me to do another one, we’ve reincarnated the night at Ramp Chicago. So if you’re close to Chicago, show up at Sonotheque on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 at 9pm with a stack of demos or promotional material, get in for a reduced cover, and start meeting your fellow musicians and industry types (Peter Kirn of CDM will be there!). Read more about it here: Demo Swap July 17 at Ramp Chicago.

Where’s it going?

Figure out your intentions with the demo. Is it to get signed to a label? To book gigs? To find like-minded potential collaborators? To get work scoring a film? Similarly, determine the audience. Is it the A & R people at a label? The talent buyer at a club? Other musicians? Each of these requires a different approach.

I’m excited to be hosting a new event at Macworld Expo called the Music and Technology Symposium. It’s a day-long intensive event during which top Mac musicians will share their creative secrets and talk about all areas and all levels of music production. The confirmed lineup includes a broad range of people, from producer COUNT (DJ Shadow, Radiohead, Halou) to guitarist Joe Gore (Tom Waits, PJ Harvey), producer/composer Walt Szalva of Planet-3 Studios (Neil Young, Paul McCartney), and musician, circuit bender, and writer Chachi Jones (Robotspeak, TapeOp). We’ll cover the basics of setting up music production techniques that work, for beginners and advanced users alike, and also talk about musical issues and how to unstop your creative process and work in a way that’s personally satisfying. Most of the panel (myself included) write about technology as well as use it in our music, and the day will be filled with demos and mini-performances. (Yes, I am on vacation, but this was too important not to share … more on the artists soon, as it’s getting to be an interesting lineup!)

The event runs all day (9-4) Friday, January 12, 2007 at Macworld in San Francisco:

Musicians and Technology Market Symposium [Macworld Conference & Expo Site]
Registration Details (Use code D-CDM; details below)

If you’re in the San Francisco area or thinking about Macworld, we have a special discount which you can apply to the symposium a la carte or to a whole exposition registration (several of which also include the music symposium). In addition to the symposium, Berklee College of Music and MusicPlayer network (Keyboard, GuitarPlayer, EQ, and so on) will be staging workshops on the show floor, I’ll be chatting about my book at the Peachpit Press booth and presenting a workshop on interactive visuals, and there will be the usual workshops on Logic, GarageBand, and more. It should be a fantastic show for musicians.

You do need to register soon, though, to take advantage of the discount: