Image Courtesy of Glassnote RecordsRobert DeLong will embark on a tour in support of his latest album, In the Cards, tonight, October 28 in Toronto. As an electronic artist, DeLong creates a lot of strange sounds from strange sources, a practice which is on full display during his live show.
"The live setup is pretty unique," DeLong tells ABC Radio. "It's just me on stage with a bunch of toys that are everything from [Nintendo] Wii remotes and joysticks that control the music to drum pads, keyboards, and then I have like a whole drum set, and then a percussion section. I run around and sing and do live looping and play with all these controllers and have this crazy visual show that goes along with it."
"It's kind of a one-man, indie-dance party," he adds.
Perhaps the most unique aspect of DeLong's live show is his use of video game controllers, such as the Nintendo Wii remote. DeLong began using controllers in his show because he already had them lying around his place and he was trying to save money. However, they soon came to signify a personal aspect of his music.
"I grew up playing video games," DeLong says. "I'm way better at Tony Hawk [Pro Skater] than I am at playing Bach on piano. So it made sense, it was like a really natural way I guess to kinda showcase those things. And also I think aesthetically it makes a lot of sense with electronic music and sort of the 8-bit vibes and all that kind of stuff."
As he's busy with touring and his new album, which features the singles "Long Way Down" and "Don't Wait Up," DeLong doesn't have much time to really get into a video game anymore, but when he does have a spare moment, he often goes back to the games of his youth.
"You know, I find myself just playing nostalgia games," DeLong tells ABC Radio. "I think I just beat Super Mario Bros. 2."
DeLong will be joined on tour by fellow electronic artist Coleman Hell.
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.