You could call him a music programmer. Seriously. A lot of electronic musicians program, more than play music physically.. Sequencers, MIDI, Etc. It’s no less ‘music’ when it comes out of the boxes, but it is a whole different method of getting there.
I’m always amazed at these concerts where these crowds go nuts for some guy pushing a button, as if they are pulling off some kind of epic guitar solo.
Yeah, and it doesn't involve playing an instrument. Step sequencing is just a bunch of static button clicking...when you're done clicking, you let it run to see what it sounds like.
Then there's "loops"....basically stolen or borrowed off-the-shelf "music".
Musicians can tell when a music programmer is being a music programmer. It sounds like rehearsals sounded back in junior high when we were learning to be musicians. It’s complexity is infantile and lacks discipline.