Live-looping artist Josh Payne to play at Vue

Josh Payne specializes in the art of live-looping โ€” he often covers popular songs, and even takes requests from his audience.

Joseph Cress

A menu for the Vue rooftop bar is seen during a ribbon cutting event for the Hilton Garden Inn on Clinton Street on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017.

Sydney Hurley, Arts Reporter


Live-looping is the art of recording and playing-back of a piece of music in real time.

Josh Payne, a live-looping artist, will bring his take on the specialty to the Vue this Friday, April 28.

Payne said he found a passion for live-looping at around 14 years old. He bought a loop machine, and would sit in his rooms for hours on end to try and teach himself how to live-loop.

โ€œItโ€™s a very kind of organized chaos sort of thing. A lot of times Iโ€™ll just try something out, Iโ€™ll lay down a beat and then start a riff, do some vocals, and then it kind of turns into something bigger, more complex sounding,โ€ Payne said.

Payne said that there can sometimes be difficulties with live-looping, mainly because any mistakes will continue to play after any given section is complete.

โ€œThe problem with it a lot of times is if I mess up one tiny little thing, it gets looped, so then I either got to stop everything or just kind of incorporate that mess-up into the song,โ€ Payne said.

Payne often performs a mashup cover with the songs โ€œNo Diggityโ€ by Blackstreet, โ€œBoyfriendโ€ by Justin Bieber, โ€œThrift Shopโ€ by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, and a few Ed Sheeran songs. This mashup tends to be a crowd favorite, Payne said โ€” the chords blend well together, making the mashup nearly seamless for Payne.

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Although that mashup is a favorite, Payne said he listens to his audience, and tries his best to please.

โ€œA lot of times people will request songs that Iโ€™ve actually never heard of,โ€ Payne said. โ€œSo during my breaks, Iโ€™ll look it up on my phone and listen to it, and kind of get a feel of the melody, and then Iโ€™ll look up the chords on my iPad, and Iโ€™ll just kind of fumble through what I think it sounds like.โ€

Payne does have a few original songs, but tends to stick to covering songs. In ten years Payne hopes to be on tour playing at well-known venues.

โ€œI do a lot of what I call acoustic rap sort of, like really old Jason Mraz, older Ed Sheeran before he moved to the US and got poppy,โ€ Payne said.

Payne performs at the Vue once or twice a year and enjoys coming back everytime.

โ€œThatโ€™s my favorite place every year to play is the Vue, because the people are always really friendly. The people that are coming to see the show are always really interested,โ€ Payne said.

Marissa Dimaranan, the event organizer at the Vue, is eager to ask Payne back after his performances.

โ€œJosh always has friends and family that come up to see him and their enthusiasm always gets the rest of the guests feeling the same,โ€ Dimaranan said. โ€œHe has lots of support around him, and there is a lot of confidence that comes out when he performs.โ€

Payneโ€™s dedication to his art of live-looping is what the Vue and the crowd appreciate the most.

โ€œJosh is very friendly, and always treats our staff well whenever he is here. He takes his music seriously, heโ€™s very creative,โ€ Dimaranan said. โ€œWe almost always set another date for him to come back in the days following his show.โ€


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