Live PA

Live PA (sometimes written LivePA, meaning Live Personal Appearance or Live Performance Artist) is the act of performing electronic music in a concert setting.

While the term "Live PA" literally means "Live Personal Appearance", a legal term originally used to protect promoters when performances are occasionally prerecorded, in common usage it refers to live performance of electronic music, via synthesizers, samplers, and sequencers.

In a performative context, the term was originally used to refer to live appearances, initially at rave events in the late 1980s, of studio based electronic dance music artists. The concept of the Live PA helped provide a public face for a scene that was criticized as faceless by the mainstream music press. The trend was quickly exploited by a music industry desperate to market dance music to a popular audience.

Execution

Generally Live PA artists use a central sequencer which triggers and controls sound generating devices like synthesizers, drum machines, samplers. The resulting audio outputs of these devices are then mixed and modified with effects using a mixing console. Interconnected drum machines and synthesizers allow the electronic Live PA artist to effectively orchestrate a single-person concert. Hand-played keyboards, hand-triggered audio samples, live vocals, and other live instruments can augment the performance as well. Some artists like Brian Transeau and Jamie Lidell utilize hardware and software tools custom-designed for live expression and improvisation.