Battle lineup and outcome TBA as soon as everyone recovers.

 

• News
• The Laptop Battle
• Laptop Battle Rules
• Confirmed Contestants
• How to Enter + Prizes
• FAQ

News

5.14.2004 - The audio files are in Clipping Hell. I don't think I could get Justin to touch them anymore. On another note, I found one of the lineup papers today, smooshed at the bottom of my bag. Will be making an elimination chart shortly.

4.21.2004 - A note from the local promoter.

4.20.2004 - Insider reactions: Kris Moon, Matt Holland, Liz Dizon, and in the laptopbattle.org forum.

4.19.2004 - Thank you, San Francisco, and good night! Give feedback at the laptopbattle.org forum.

Got any good pictures? Send them to sanfrancisco@laptopbattle.org and we'll post them here.

Also, Justin from FLUX.FM has to edit/master the battle recording (can we say sound system integrity? ETA two days. Quote: "I think I can salvage most of it. It will involve massive clip restoration."). The files will be linked from this site when it's ready.

4.16.2004 - Refresh your cache of this page to get the contestant line-up!

4.16.2004 - Vancouver, BC laptopbattle.org laptop battle reviewed.

4.14.2004 - Judges announced:

• Gold Chains, artist (www.gold-chains-worldwide.com)
  
• Ken Taylor, freelance writer (NME, San Francisco Bay Guardian)
  
• Matt Holland, DJ (Cascadian Techno Embassy, SF)
  
• Liz Dizon, persistant musical appreciation (unknown8bit.org)
  
• ???? (?)

4.14.2004 - Call for entrants closed.

4.13.2004 - SF Laptop Battle in flavorpill SF issue #102.

4.08.2004 - laptopbattle.org gets a mention in the SF Bay Guardian!

4.07.2004 - First entrant confirmations received! Scroll down for artist list.

4.06.2004 - Ken Taylor will be writing an article on laptop music to be published in The San Francisco Bay Guardian. Look for mention of the SF Laptop Battle in this free weekly arts and entertainment guide during the week of the battle.

4.06.2004 - FLUX.FM to record the SF Laptop Battle. Audio will be available on the website shortly after the battle on April 18, 2004.

The Laptop Battle

The laptop battle is a competive event for laptop musicians to match their skills against one another. Battles are chosen randomly and conducted in 3 minute rounds. A panel of judges decides which contestant advances to the next round, single elimination style. It's a fusion of sound design, composition and stage performance and a chance for laptop musicians to prove their skills in battle and develop techniques and strategies.

Laptop Battle Rules

1. No external controllers. Input devices such as keyboards and fader/knob boxes are not allowed for 2 reasons.

1. a. they take up too much space in the setup
2. b. no controllers levels the playing field by only allowing 1 laptop.

External soundcards are often necessary for contestants to perform, and are allowed.

2. Battles are chosen randomly.

3. Battles are 3 minutes long. Contestants can choose whether they want a 30 second warning issued by the MC. At 3 minutes the MC will fade out the mix from the contestant.

4. Judges (5) decide the outcome of battles in a single elimination style.

5. Contestants must be at the location of the battle half an hour before the battle.

1. a. minimum amount of set-up time.
2. b. alternates will be onsite to take the place of contestants who fail to show up on time.

Confirmed Contestants

A Note from Liz

we're all new to this touring laptop battle bidness. i'm not making excuses, just a list of things i would have done differently: 1. had backup plans -- or at least backup equipment. 2. expected to take cabs everywhere instead of sharing rides. 3. not been a judge.

i woke up the morning of the battle and my first thought was "i don't think i could judge and run the show at the same time." to be clear, i was appointed a judge by fourthcity when i was already planning a laptop battle for SF on my own and found out they were already planning one. instead of duplicating efforts i decided to help them out with their battle.

i met all the fourthcity kids and they knew what was going on and every one was incredibly chill and appropriately geeky. they are very knowedgeable and talented people. unfortunately we were plaqued with obstacles from the start, from the original venue cancelling on us after having all the flyers printed to equipment stuck in traffic en route to SF. i should have given away my judge slot like i had thought to and helped with the technical difficulties.

so in essence, there are 3 things i learned that are unreliable: 1. equipment. 2. being somewhere at a certain time. 3. ... i guess everything.

thank you everyone for coming out and showing support. we're going to try this again a little later and armed with more knowledge and better everything. we're just some kids with an idea and wanted to take it on the road, but the concept is still in incubation. can you blame us for trying?

love,

liz

 

How to Enter + Prizes

Call for entrants is now closed! Thank you for your interest in the SF laptopbattle.org laptop battle!

There are prizes for contestants including software from Native Instruments and Ableton as well as cash prizes. The winning contestant will be awarded an all-expenses paid trip to compete against other city champs in the first ever laptopbattle.org national laptop battle at Decibel Festival this September in Seattle.

 

FAQ

Q. Is there an age restriction at the venue?

A. Club Six is 21+ only w/ID. We are aware that a 21+ venue excludes a few individuals interested in attending or participating in the battle. This has been noted and considered for future events!

 

Q. Each person gets three minutes to play whatever they can? Is it usually just one song which was composed on a computer for three minutes or a short megamix of material? Are we supposed to start with a blank slate and create a song within those three minutes? How much is live versus pre-sequenced? Could somebody compete with just playing mp3s?

A. There are no limitations as to how you make your music at the battle, aside from the rule that no additional external devices are permitted. Contestants are free to use pre-recorded material, create audio (either real-time or prerecorded) using the variety of softsynth and compositional software available, or even use software of their own device. Ultimately it is up to the judges to decide on the presence, creativity, and originality of each contestant.

 

Q. How do others 'perform' in a laptop battle? Are you just triggering loops at key moments? Are you using interesting plug ins? Without a controller it might be hard to effectivly use plug ins... I'm not trying to take your secrets, just wondering how others perform in a battle situation.

A. "Well to answer your questions, yes many of the contestants do trigger loops, use plug ins, soft effects processing and they find some very creative ways of doing it. We've also had people perform using software that they'd built themselves. Personally, I do a combination of DJing and sound design through Live and/or MixMeister when I play. Somtimes I'll use MixMeister to do some serious remixing before importing my remixed tracks into Live. I also work with Cool Edit Pro. Many of the contestants composed songs and performed them, some were very sample heavy, others were not. But the greatest thing about the laptop battle is how little direction is given to the contestants. It's open season on any genres, sounds or composition types. We feel that this keeps the playing field pretty open for people to try new things and explore. Don't worry about what other people are doing, just do whatever you think it would take to get people movin'. Also, don't be afraid of people talkin' shit about doing something different. The stuff that I did pissed off quite a few people because I was taking recognizable samples and doing something different with them. However, just as many people if not more really dug what I was doing and appreciated it because it made this abstract performance genre more accessable. Though some people were pissed, I still held on round after round. Another thing we've found is that every city is different. Seattle responded very well to jungle while Portland was really into some groovy downtempo. I can't wait to see what SF does! Make it worth our while! One final word of advice, don't just stand still on stage, Thats boring to watch... ROCK OUT!!! Wear a costume, hump your laptop, sing, set your laptop on fire, be unique!" (- Syzygy in the laptopbattle.org forum.)

 

 

 

Visit LAPTOPBATTLE.ORG for more information.

 

sf-laptopbattle.org

unknown8bit.org