Post by Klingoncelt on Feb 5, 2011 23:32:39 GMT -5
Life's a Box[set] of Albums...
Life's a box[set] of Albums...
Ive been working deep into the wee-hours finishing what used to be known as "a new album" possibly the most satisfying & fulfilling place to be at this point in the proceedings, even though the concept of the album is becoming somewhat of an anathema, there's really nothing else to use as a template upon which to define your work. Now that the "handbags at dawn" have been checked-in, its good to feel positive about producing music again, you tend to forget that's really about as good as it gets… A dose of adversity unwittingly refreshes your perspective.
Once the blowback [due in-part to the lifestyle you once lead] has driven a truck through life, its only natural that one might consider a period of realignment, when you didn't see something coming, you need to work back to the point where you lost track of things. . .
The health benefits from music as a vocation are somewhat unique - by virtue of it's being, you always have to go back to the beginning and start again, its a sort of living metaphor that keeps on etching a fresh line, from where you can start over from. Making music has such a positive & uplifting influence on the spirit that if they could make a pill to simulate the effect - it would be the "pill of pills" a cure for all ailments, a real wonder-drug.
The most significant change for me [and many others] as an creator of music in 2011 is that the means to find a place for your work to live is no longer solely dependant on "the man"… There was a time when "the man" was the only means & I guess it wasn't all bad, in fact there was enormous kudos in getting a record deal, but the reality is that now there ain't that many deals around & basically they guarantee nothing to both young & old alike. Having a direct route to communicate and publish your works, with a new global means of distribution, has become the core to a whole new music economy… Challenging - of course - yet you can now produce work without the prospect of hitting a brick-wall, and potentially sustain the creation, recording & distribution of as much new material as you can cope with - if only you realised this & it doesn't have to be limited to creating music…
Maybe we are living in a "Truman Show" kind of environment, where an artist exists within "The-Never-Ending-Album" . . . In truth it almost feels that way now, as if we are living through an endless media cycle, there's no gatekeeper, the pace cannot be dictated by the copyright holders, on demand media & social networking have globalised the responses of people to people, creating a constant 24-hour-a-day flow of message & opinion through the "valleys of the telco's," traditional time frames don't really exist as they did, the universal focus on a record release has become diluted to the point of extinction, there's to much useless information…
So, why drawn lines after the release of 10 songs, you can ditch the 2-years hiatus between records and create a constant flow of new material, there's no need to herd you fans into the "take it or leave it option" every 2 years with an overpriced Ticket-master deal… Quit working the label mandate & start doing it for yourself again, because that's probably when you sounded best & people really got what you were all about. Use the plethora of digital toys to improve you creative lot, make more music, make short films, get into digital art, photography, pull all your creative moves together in one place, add depth to your work, make it more interesting for people to discover… Technology has endless potential, but few so called artists use it creatively, the one's that do are what its all about, the majority that need everything doing for them are missing the point…
For sure: With today's technology and a little imagination, artists & their albums could be considerably more interesting, in both their message and formatting. The "album format" was initially & for many years to come considered creatively progressive, it became the cornerstone of contemporary British & US culture, often defining where we were at: It needs to move on, but what else is out there to take its place? The point I am pursuing is for the most part, save Gorillaz or the NIN's of this world, technology is being used by the labels/artist as a means to replicate what has gone before them or to basically compensate for their inadequacies, but not as an inspiration to be original, more relevant or interesting moving forward. The chance to realign the creative experience is being salted away.
Unfortunately labels have made a misguided attempt to define culture when they were actually a commercial response to it, so now their repertoire is a product of their less than fertile imagination and not a response to the emerging trends from the street. I would never dream of working with a record label again, [we don't have steam trains anymore either] the best years of the label system are sadly long-gone, and particularly after the balls-up Sony made. In any event there's simply no point in releasing with a major in 2011 unless all you are doing is what we did 30-years ago, because that's all the labels do now - Top 40, same format, video clip, promo blag all well past their sell-by date and with a fraction of the sales or originality. Video did not kill the radio star although the internet has definitely killed the label Tzar.
Myself & the rest of DD were weaned on a basket of influence from the 60's & 70's that played a key role in our development as young people, it's that deep "album experience" as a kid that has indelibly etched the creative process in my/our psyche, not as a 2 song stocking filler for the next bling purchase, no its a way of life & trust me, albums aren't always a profitable venture, but that shouldn't null the need to express yourself, as I have said, what else is there to replace it - DJ hero - NO NO - you just keep going, which is why I have to tip my hat in respect of Messers: Taylor Taylor Rhodes & Lebon, [note there's only 2 Taylor's - it just don't have the same ring] … Iam not going to indulge you in what I think of the album, forget that, its not my place, but even without the support of a label, they brought in the big-guns to produce, hired a real master of the mix in Spike S & went for what they believed in - kudos man. [probably broke the bank but what the fuck]
I guess what-ever the climate one just has to take the positive from "the here & now" and work with that. Embrace technology, don't run away from it, when things are going well celebrate and when its stinks, stand up and have the courage to be counted - Always follow your gut, your instincts & the passion that drives you from within'…
"To do that which ought not to be done will bring ruin - And not to do that which ought to be done will also bring ruin"…
Do The Right Thing
Happy 30th Birthday Planet Earth.
Life's a box[set] of Albums...
Ive been working deep into the wee-hours finishing what used to be known as "a new album" possibly the most satisfying & fulfilling place to be at this point in the proceedings, even though the concept of the album is becoming somewhat of an anathema, there's really nothing else to use as a template upon which to define your work. Now that the "handbags at dawn" have been checked-in, its good to feel positive about producing music again, you tend to forget that's really about as good as it gets… A dose of adversity unwittingly refreshes your perspective.
Once the blowback [due in-part to the lifestyle you once lead] has driven a truck through life, its only natural that one might consider a period of realignment, when you didn't see something coming, you need to work back to the point where you lost track of things. . .
The health benefits from music as a vocation are somewhat unique - by virtue of it's being, you always have to go back to the beginning and start again, its a sort of living metaphor that keeps on etching a fresh line, from where you can start over from. Making music has such a positive & uplifting influence on the spirit that if they could make a pill to simulate the effect - it would be the "pill of pills" a cure for all ailments, a real wonder-drug.
The most significant change for me [and many others] as an creator of music in 2011 is that the means to find a place for your work to live is no longer solely dependant on "the man"… There was a time when "the man" was the only means & I guess it wasn't all bad, in fact there was enormous kudos in getting a record deal, but the reality is that now there ain't that many deals around & basically they guarantee nothing to both young & old alike. Having a direct route to communicate and publish your works, with a new global means of distribution, has become the core to a whole new music economy… Challenging - of course - yet you can now produce work without the prospect of hitting a brick-wall, and potentially sustain the creation, recording & distribution of as much new material as you can cope with - if only you realised this & it doesn't have to be limited to creating music…
Maybe we are living in a "Truman Show" kind of environment, where an artist exists within "The-Never-Ending-Album" . . . In truth it almost feels that way now, as if we are living through an endless media cycle, there's no gatekeeper, the pace cannot be dictated by the copyright holders, on demand media & social networking have globalised the responses of people to people, creating a constant 24-hour-a-day flow of message & opinion through the "valleys of the telco's," traditional time frames don't really exist as they did, the universal focus on a record release has become diluted to the point of extinction, there's to much useless information…
So, why drawn lines after the release of 10 songs, you can ditch the 2-years hiatus between records and create a constant flow of new material, there's no need to herd you fans into the "take it or leave it option" every 2 years with an overpriced Ticket-master deal… Quit working the label mandate & start doing it for yourself again, because that's probably when you sounded best & people really got what you were all about. Use the plethora of digital toys to improve you creative lot, make more music, make short films, get into digital art, photography, pull all your creative moves together in one place, add depth to your work, make it more interesting for people to discover… Technology has endless potential, but few so called artists use it creatively, the one's that do are what its all about, the majority that need everything doing for them are missing the point…
For sure: With today's technology and a little imagination, artists & their albums could be considerably more interesting, in both their message and formatting. The "album format" was initially & for many years to come considered creatively progressive, it became the cornerstone of contemporary British & US culture, often defining where we were at: It needs to move on, but what else is out there to take its place? The point I am pursuing is for the most part, save Gorillaz or the NIN's of this world, technology is being used by the labels/artist as a means to replicate what has gone before them or to basically compensate for their inadequacies, but not as an inspiration to be original, more relevant or interesting moving forward. The chance to realign the creative experience is being salted away.
Unfortunately labels have made a misguided attempt to define culture when they were actually a commercial response to it, so now their repertoire is a product of their less than fertile imagination and not a response to the emerging trends from the street. I would never dream of working with a record label again, [we don't have steam trains anymore either] the best years of the label system are sadly long-gone, and particularly after the balls-up Sony made. In any event there's simply no point in releasing with a major in 2011 unless all you are doing is what we did 30-years ago, because that's all the labels do now - Top 40, same format, video clip, promo blag all well past their sell-by date and with a fraction of the sales or originality. Video did not kill the radio star although the internet has definitely killed the label Tzar.
Myself & the rest of DD were weaned on a basket of influence from the 60's & 70's that played a key role in our development as young people, it's that deep "album experience" as a kid that has indelibly etched the creative process in my/our psyche, not as a 2 song stocking filler for the next bling purchase, no its a way of life & trust me, albums aren't always a profitable venture, but that shouldn't null the need to express yourself, as I have said, what else is there to replace it - DJ hero - NO NO - you just keep going, which is why I have to tip my hat in respect of Messers: Taylor Taylor Rhodes & Lebon, [note there's only 2 Taylor's - it just don't have the same ring] … Iam not going to indulge you in what I think of the album, forget that, its not my place, but even without the support of a label, they brought in the big-guns to produce, hired a real master of the mix in Spike S & went for what they believed in - kudos man. [probably broke the bank but what the fuck]
I guess what-ever the climate one just has to take the positive from "the here & now" and work with that. Embrace technology, don't run away from it, when things are going well celebrate and when its stinks, stand up and have the courage to be counted - Always follow your gut, your instincts & the passion that drives you from within'…
"To do that which ought not to be done will bring ruin - And not to do that which ought to be done will also bring ruin"…
Do The Right Thing
Happy 30th Birthday Planet Earth.
