livelooping

andy butler

poster

LiveLooping music is a way of extending the musical possibilities of instruments without resorting to the use of pre-recorded material. Sounds can be layered, altered, mixed and edited on the fly as the music is performed. andy butler produces a wide range of sounds from his guitar by use of special techniques, and by electronic modification. Melodies, rhythms and a whole range of distinctive guitar and 'non-guitar' tones.

Download mp3s click here

Forthcoming Events include a Live Looping Extravaganza with Rick Walker at Epic Bar on the 19th June, scroll down for details.

Check out last years Norwich Festival of Live Looping , which has a page dedicated to it here, with links to mp3s and photos.

...and don't forget the Philip Shamino Quartet at Epic Studios on Saturday 7th June.

livelooping cd
now available
livelooping cd

11 tracks of looped guitar, each exploring a different possibility, and each a single unedited performance. Angular melodies, world-beat rhythms, lush chords in classical type harmony, trance sequences, abstract electronica, all woven into a cohesive album of compelling music.

listen to a playlist of excerpts from the album, should work on Windows Media Player, Winamp and i-Tunes.

Find Out More about the CD.

BUY for £6 (GB Pounds Sterling)(+£1 p&p)

Credit card transaction handled by Paypal, or use your paypal account. email me if you'd like to send payment by post.

Now Available, Looper's Delight Compilation Vol3
with an otherwise unavailable andy butler track.
BUY for £4 (GB Pounds Sterling)(+£1p&p)

MP3 Downloads
backwater(3.4M), the first track from the livelooping cd, available free for personal use, and to share with friends.

live recordings and more ....enjoy.

Guitar Player Magazine recommends the livelooping cd
hey, andy's 'livelooping' is top of the list
Guitar Player Magazine has an article on looping in it's April 2006 edition.
download a scan of the article page 88, Higher Education, Looping.Want to be on the cutting edge? Then dig this tutorial...

Gear

For those who like to know. I'm using a stereo pair of Gibson Digital Echoplexes to recycle and re-edit my sound. The guitar sound is DI'ed through an ADA MP1 valve pre-amp equaliser and modified through a Lexicon Vortex (see Vortex database).
I run this rig directly to the pa, which by preference is my pair of JBL Eon15 powered speakers for a fantastically detailed and rich sound.
Currently I'm also using an EH Stereo Memory Man to varispeed loops, and a Lexicon JamMan fed into a MAM RS3 filterbank for extra texturing.
The guitar's a vintage SG copy by Hofner, with my own customisations, which include an onboard distortion with unusual sonic properties. I get those long sustained notes using a device called an Ebow.
Many thanks to inventor Matthias Grob for programming some of my special effect suggestions into the Echoplex.
gear

Events

Epic Studios, Magdalen St. Norwich
19th June 8PM

Live Looping Extravaganza

Rick Walker all the way from sunny California heads an evening of musical mayhem. Rick presents Dayglo Orange Plastic, creating bizarre electronica with brightly colored instruments and his unusual vocal techniques. Jeremy Trantor, looping bassist chills out. Stephen Scott aural tapestries. andy butler guitartronica.

Epic Studios, Magdalen St. Norwich
Aug 8 May 8PM

Philip Shamino Quartet Gig

Post Jazz Electric Instrumental. andy butler features as "the other guitarist" . With the occasional loop and guitartronica exotics. What does this band sound like?

Current Activities

Currently working on studio sessions with Tim Bowness and Alistair Murphy. An album of songs and improvisations with plenty of looping and vintage keyboard sounds. Forthcoming CD release

Current focus is on organising gigs in Norwich.

Burning Shed have released a looping piece for "solo" voice that I looped up (and edited) for Tim Bowness. Available as an mp3 download from their site www.burningshed.com. They also have plans to release a piece that I made with Hugh Hopper.

Graham Halliwells new CD, Recorded Delivery (distributed by Erstwhile), features some looping I did for him of his "saxophone feedback".


Currently in the software department I'm working on some effects for the hexaphonic guitar. This uses the same new pitch shifting methods that are featured in our stereo plugins. Go to www.mathons.com to find out, and to download demos and software (for pc and mac).

Contact info@andybutler.com


Links

  • Philip Shamino Quartet Post Jazz Electric Instrumental, with andy butler as "other guitarist".

  • If you're a musician wanting to find out about looping go to www.loopersdelight.com. Join the mailing list and you could find yourself part of an international community ( or just knowledgable about loops ).

  • Looping Music Forum

  • Burning Shed, an online label that kindly agreed to distribute the livelooping cd. Many excellent artists on the label so well worth a visit.

  • Matthias Grob, inventor of the Echoplex Digital Pro, amazing looping guitarist and we program music software together as Mathons.

  • Bernhard Wagner guitarist, looper, programmer, multi-media artist. Check out his 4th Night cd, which was mostly recorded in my loop studio.

  • Stephen Scott Looping guitarist local to the Norwich area.

  • Rick Walker, live looper, percussionist and, it seems, we're working together on a recording project.

  • Nick Robinson, live looping guitarist from Sheffield, and origami genius.

  • Chopitch, the pitch shifting, beat chopping vst plug-in. A beat remix tool, a 'drum enlarger', or a way to make a regular guitar sound exactly like a bass.

  • Vortex database, not really a database any more, but full of useful info on the Lexicon Vortex. Sorry about the background graphic.

  • Meditation techniques, useful info.

  • Cellular Automata Demo. A javascript page which lets you play with J.H.Conway's simple approximation of living organisms. I think this needs Microsoft Internet Explorer to work at all.

  • Andy Butler's MySpace Profile Can't take this too seriously, music for listening and download as well as a couple of cd tracks. Some good visuals in the 'pics' section.