A question I get asked at so many of my shows is “how on earth do you do that?”, so I thought I’d take a moment to reveal some of the ingredients to the secret sauce (but not all of them!) to hopefully give you more of an idea of how it all comes together.

What is live looping and how is it utilised in Ultimatum?

Live looping is a relatively new performance technique which, over the past ten years or so, has pioneered how artists from every corner of the world deliver their live show. Following Ed Sheeran’s well-known usage of the technique in the late noughties, live looping quickly caught on, helping solo performers create shows they otherwise simply didn’t have the hands for themselves! In a wonderfully serendipitous twist, Ben Scott also features behind the drums on Ed Sheeran’s debut album.

As artists, what does Live Looping allow us to do?

Live Looping has come such a long way since the early days, allowing shows such as The Ultimatum Experience to be born. In the show, one technique Ben Scott uses a software called Ableton Live, which captures pre-determined moments from his live instrumental performance, and then loops those moments whilst Ben adds other elements over the top, layer by layer. Alongside the looping, he also performs using a range of samples, which are assigned to the electronic drum pads you see in the set up above.

Weigh it Up!

Think of the show as a very finely balanced set of scales! There are so many components to consider, that each must be carefully weighed before being added to the scales, in order to ensure they don’t tip too far one way.

Thank you for reading

So, everyone, that is how Ultimatum works in a nutshell! I’m all-ears for any further questions, so feel free to drop me a line personally anytime over on ben@benscottlondon.com.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Ben