Steve Bingham - Lines and Loops

[Ian Macmillan]

Something different last night.  Steve Bingham, whom I know mainly as the professional Leader of the Cambridge Philharmonic's orchestra, is a very talented violinist and, over recent years, he has developed a real talent in multi-tracking and layering sounds over loops.  His concert in Cambridge last night presented an eclectic mix of pieces for standard, acoustic violin - Bach, Debussy, Piazolla come to mind - and mixed these with pieces from his repertoire using loop and layering techniques with a 5-string, electronic violin.  It was fascinating to watch and hear the loop layers being created - nothing came pre-recorded - with bass, pizzicato, counterpoints all being layered one upon another, and then hearing him play or improvise on top of it all.  In truth, there is something about the essentially repetitive loop technique that means I wouldn't want a whole night of it, but two 40-minute mixed sets gave an enjoyable balance.  I fear that the origins of a number of the loop pieces were unknown to me (Daft Punk?), but they ranged from a Beatles track to 'Tubular Bells' for one.

 

A sample of his current work that ended the first half:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWRNwvJShiU&feature=youtu.be