New Technologies, Old Behaviours: Electronic media and electronic music improvisors in Europe at the turn of the millennium

Two improvisation scenes emerged in the late 1990s – Echtzeitmusik in Berlin, and in London the New London Silence – with similarities in aesthetic and approach. Among these is a tendency towards a more silent and less responsive style of improvising often referred to as reductionism, and the inclusion of electronic resources, with a complex interaction between the two. This article introduces these two scenes and their respective approaches, and uses interviews with key improvisors in each to interrogate the performers’ approaches to electronics, and whether this plays a role in determining and developing their aesthetic and performance style.