The definition of 'live' in electronic music is genuinely ambiguous — spanning fixed playback to fully improvised hardware performance

In electronic music, ‘live’ does not carry a single agreed meaning. A DJ set is technically a live performance, yet many formally labelled ‘live’ shows play back pre-programmed sequences that recreate tracks note-for-note. The continuum runs from pure clip triggering (Ableton Live with pre-sequenced loops) through hybrid hardware-software rigs to fully improvised all-hardware sets where no song exists before the performance. This ambiguity matters for performers choosing a rig: audience expectations, the spontaneity/reliability trade-off, and the social meaning of ‘live’ all vary by context. The 2013 renaissance of all-hardware techno sets was partly a reaction against what audiences perceived as unconvincing pseudo-live shows.

Examples

Karenn (Blawan & Pariah): all-hardware distorted techno. Exercise One: progressed from PC + synths → Ableton → back to dedicated hardware band setup. Skudge: ‘The set is never the same’ — fully improvised hardware.

Assessment

Place these three rig types on a spontaneity spectrum and explain what each trades off: (a) Ableton clip-launch set, (b) hybrid Ableton + hardware, (c) all-hardware improvisational set.