Chapter 108: Live Performance
[Chapter 108: Live Performance]
"Ryan..." Tiesto glanced at the young man beside him.
Ryan snapped back to reality.
"I just thought of something," he said, a bit distracted.
In fact, a moment ago, inspiration had struck him with a new electronic music piece titled Rave After Rave. It had a similar structure and sound profile as his earlier work, Tremor, heavily utilizing sawtooth wave effects.
Clearly, it was another "big room" track. Given his current state, he felt he could even complete the arrangement right there on stage.
Should he try to produce it live during the performance? If it worked, it would surely generate a lot of buzz. After all, even Daft Punk had never attempted something like this.
But what if it flopped?
Ryan fell into deep thought.
...
Meanwhile, his manager, Sean, had arrived backstage and began to introduce the nightclub to Tiesto and his team.
"How much did this nightclub cost?" Ted whispered to Sean.
"Total investment was around ten million," Sean replied, willing to give the rough estimate. If Ted was truly interested, he could easily figure it out.
Ted raised an eyebrow, glancing at Ryan with some curiosity. Where had this kid gotten so much money?
Was he the heir of some wealthy American?
...
Over the next few hours, Dead Mouse, Diplo, and Calvin Harris each took their turns performing. It was now nearly 11 PM, and Ryan stood at the corner of the backstage, watching the packed main hall.
In reality, the attendance was definitely over fifteen hundred. Tonight's tickets had been sold online in collaboration with a ticketing website, and initially, there had been no time constraints. By the time Ryan realized that ticket sales were so hot that they needed to limit entries, nearly four thousand tickets had already sold. This meant that the turnout was probably at least double the planned capacity, making it incredibly crowded.
People were shoulder to shoulder; there was barely room to dance, let alone turn around.
As Ryan pondered this, Calvin Harris's performance ended. He had just wrapped up his set, which included tracks like The Girls, Vegas from his first album I Created Disco and collaborations such as In My Arms with Kylie Minogue. When he met Kylie Minogue, he had to drink two glasses of wine in advance because he was so nervous.
Calvin returned backstage and high-fived Ryan.
...
The moment Ryan stepped on stage, the crowd erupted in a thunderous cheer.
It was evident that most of the attendees were there to see Ryan perform.
Ryan didn't start immediately; instead, he took the mic to express his apologies to the audience for a bit of a delay. Then he shifted gears, saying, "But before I kick off tonight's show, I want to try something different. This might be the first time anyone has attempted something like this live..."
He walked back to the DJ booth. Meanwhile, the large screen displayed 3D geometric animations produced by professional VJs, syncing perfectly with the audio, showcasing highs and lows in real time.
Ryan adjusted the sampler, setting it to C major, and played a main melody, tapping out the tune like it was a piano.
5 - 6 - 5 - 3 - 5 - 3 - 2 - 1
5 - 6 - 5 - 3 - 5 - 6 - 8 - 7
Then, he twisted a dial, looping the main melody from Rave After Rave.
Next came the beat -- a four-on-the-floor kick at the customary big room tempo of 128 BPM, layered with snare hits and claps.
Then the bass came in; Ryan used both Sub Bass and Mid Bass...
Within minutes, the framework of an electronic music track was nearly complete, and it dawned on everyone in the audience what Ryan was about to do.
...
"Is he making music live?" Taylor Swift exclaimed from her VIP booth, leaning over the railing of the second-floor area. The booth was semi-open and had been impeccably designed, specially set up for Ryan's close friends. Present were Taylor, Abigail, Trey, and Paris Hilton.
Beside Paris stood another young woman, blonde and blue-eyed, with a similar style to Paris. This was Paris Hilton's younger sister, Nicky Hilton.
Despite growing up together, their personalities were completely different; while Paris was outgoing and rebellious, Nicky was quieter and didn't often seek the limelight. She fit the traditional image of a high-society heiress much more closely, and her future husband would later turn out to be a Rothschild.
"Live production? It's just like playing the piano live. He's quite creative; he knows how to put on a show," Paris thought to herself. As a party girl, not only did she enjoy electronic music, but she was also curious about it. Otherwise, she would not have extended such an invitation to Ryan at the party. Of course, her desire for Ryan's body was more important.
In the next split second, Taylor turned her head, her eyes narrowing. "Can't I just compliment my boyfriend?"
"Your boyfriend, huh? I won't dare mess with him," Paris smiled back.
Even if she wanted to, it would be when Taylor wasn't around. She had heard about the incident where Taylor hit Miley Cyrus on the face at a party, leaving her face blue. Recently, during the VMA awards, both had been set to co-host an outdoor event, but in the end, they both turned it down.
Taylor redirected her attention, patiently explaining, "This isn't just playing; this track has never been performed before. He's improvising."
Once she said that, it caught the attention of almost everyone present.
"Really?" Nicky said, somewhat incredulous.
"If it's Ryan, I believe he can do it," Taylor nodded, glancing at Ryan in the distance with adoration.
...
Meanwhile, Ryan continued with his impromptu creation, or rather, showcase.
He started tweaking effects for the lead sound, adding reverb, delay distortion, and some softer Pluck sounds for the secondary melody line. Although the volume was low, it was like that final pinch of seasoning that elevates a dish.
And of course, he couldn't leave out the crucial sound effects; this song featured plenty of white noise, impact sounds, and sweep effects. These elements were essential -- like hanging decorations on bare walls after the renovation was done.
Finally, he layered in ambient sounds and transition tracks. Within five minutes, he had crafted the piece into something substantial, all under the watchful eyes of thousands of attendees, documented by at least a hundred cameras and mobile phones.
...
In the backstage area, Dead Mouse, Calvin, and Diplo exchanged knowing glances.
Who knew Ryan would take such a bold approach? This certainly didn't leave any breathing room for anyone else; how would they perform after him?
They then looked at Tiesto, whose expression was as stern as his name suggested.
He still had to follow Ryan on stage, closing out the show.
Wasn't young generation supposed to show some respect? How would he save dignity as a seasoned artist? Ted shook his head, bemused, and reluctantly nodded.
The contracts were signed; there was no backing out now.
*****
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