After the Top 100 DJs list, Resident Advisor has just dropped their Top 40 Live Acts list.
RA on presenting the list:
“What are the fundamentals of live electronic music performance? Exclusively playing your own music is the obvious one. Unlike lots of their record-spinning, beat-matching counterparts, most live acts would consider themselves producers first and performers second, so much of their craft is deciding how to best present their music to the world. Do you scale back and just use a laptop? Do you bring the studio to the stage? Or do you, like one of the artists in this year’s list, round up an 11-piece ensemble? That’s the beauty of performing live: there are no limits.”
RA on switching from 20 to 40 acts this year:
“We basically thought it was time to open up the field, shining a light on more of your favourites. It means that you’ve now got UK rave icons next to an Icelandic techno duo; a seasoned composer rubbing shoulders with a karate-chopping house-head; a hooded industrialist up against an acid maestro.”
“Risk is at the heart of live electronic performance. DJs have infinite musical options at hand, allowing them to respond to the demands of a dance floor at any given moment. But even the nimblest live act has a limited range of sounds, meaning there’s less to fall back on if things go wrong. And despite advances in the stability of computer programs and modern hardware, technology can still malfunction for mysterious reasons. Whether you’re using a laptop and a controller or a three-page rider’s worth of boutique hardware, playing live pushes you in a way that few DJ sets do. So why do the acts in this poll continue to present their music this way? Because when the stars align, live sets have a sense of immediacy that feels like a chemical reaction taking place in real time. As the saying goes, those who take the greatest risks reap the greatest rewards.”
Below you can see the top 10 with Bulgaria’s KiNK holding onto his top spot at #1.
Recondite maintains his position at #2.
Stephan Bodzin at #3.
4. Âme
5. Fatima Yamaha
6. Moderat
7. Octave One
8. David August
9. Floating Points
10. Vril
Check out the full list on HERE
