Getting the Hands Dirty

“Getting the hands dirty” refers to an approach in which process and performance are inseparably bound. The “performance” begins on the workbench and is extended onto the “stage” through live bricolage. The idea of “dirt” is seen as a critical ingredient in the process of live electronic music, and the term “dirty electronics” is used to describe an increasing focus in electronic music on shared experiences face-to-face, ritual, gesture, touch, social interaction and the exploration of devised instruments. The author concludes that digital technology has merely reinforced the importance of the human body and the physical in live performance.