Since we recorded Nicolas Jaar‘s First Take session last summer, the New Yorker (by way of Chile) has continued to challenge common perceptions of electronic dance music, and indeed perceptions of sound, with projects like his MOMA multimedia performance and his ‘Prism’ music box. Even performing in Hive and Yours Truly‘s stripped-down In My Room setting, Jaar can still make a statement, because his vision is embedded in the music itself. “The more cacophony or experimentation you hear, I think the more you are forced to think about the music you are listening to, and for me that is something incredibly important to give someone,” he explains before playing loose, improvised versions of “Variations” and “Why Didn’t You Save Me.” “Improvisation does that in many ways, because with these two songs, we are never going to do them again like that,” he says. “That was our state of mind right now.” Check out these one-of-a-kind performances, with backing members Will Epstein and Dave Harrington.