Comments on: Steve In one of your recent posts you w…

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:33:58 +0000

I think the field is wide open for experimentation. I also think that it’s futile for artists to get upset when people play their works out of sequence. I use the sequencing/grouping idea to make better music, but once it’s out in the wild, all control is lost. I can make my initial intention clear, but I can’t force people to listen in a certain way…

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:33:42 +0000

“What will be interesting is to see whether the audience want to listen to song cycles & collections or whether they’ll just pick & choose ignoring the artist’s vision.” or whether the artist can engage with the listener in the co-creation of that vision…. what about a collection of works designed to be listened together the way the listener chooses to sequence them? In classical terms, right down to specific passages and movements…

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:30:10 +0000

I think issues surrounding accountability in creativity – especially when the big labels and publishers used to provide some kind of filter for artists – are fascinating. I wonder if we’re going to see little collectives forming, artists moderating eachother’s work… co-operative ‘labels’ that co-promote, support and network together…

Mr MKS – time to write a post about it

By: chuck

chuck — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:27:38 +0000

“Or is a release just a collection of tunes you’ve been working on recently?”

But perhaps the fact that you were working on a particular set of songs around the same time is enough of a theme. After all, things like the events of your life, the particular musicians in your band at the time, and so on, influence the songs. I even think that songs that you work on around the same time end up influencing each other, even if they aren’t technically about a particular subject.

By: MKS21471

MKS21471 — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:09:16 +0000

Is it just me or is accountability the new black?

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:43:34 +0000

The key shift here is in the affordability of low-volume, short-form releases. Doing singles was never a particularly profitable enterprise. In fact, 7″ vinyl is probably more of a money spinner now than at any time since the 60s. For a lot of ‘indie’ bands, pre-web, they’d end up doing split singles – two bands on the same disc.

What’s great now is the room for speculation, experimentation and risk. Loads of room to try out all kinds of whacky stuff, and not have to press up bits of plastic, hoping that you don’t end up with a wardrobe full at the end.

What then needs considering is where the creative checks and balances that cost previously provided will come from. If I’m spending £2000 releasing a record, I REALLY have to believe in it. If it’s ‘free’ to put out, how do I build structures into my life that encourage that kind of self reflection as to the cultural and creative merit of my endeavours?

Great stuff, gentlemen!

By: Dancing Monk

Dancing Monk — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:52:40 +0000

Looking back to the classical tradition (again) you can see composers writing whole song cycles e.g. Schubert – Schone Mullerin & Wintereisse or Handel’s Messiah but they were also releasing individual songs & pieces, sometimes as a commission or as part of a collective with other musicians but often just for the sake of it. Sometimes these individual works would later be collected together & published.

Over the last few decades the public’s main access to paying for music has been governed by the convenience of the LP & we’ve forgotten that prior to that things were far more fluid. The simple-to-sell package is driven by marketing & sales & not by the composer or artist but as Steve points out, maybe, just maybe both the record buying public & the musicians can take control again & determine how much music they want or what it means.

Of course that will mean changing the listeners’ perceptions & the way the large record companies work. It should be possible, after all if iTunes & Amazon can sell individual tracks then presumably the public are already demanding a more flexible approach.

What will be interesting is to see whether the audience want to listen to song cycles & collections or whether they’ll just pick & choose ignoring the artist’s vision.

By: MKS21471

MKS21471 — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:33:34 +0000

Surely it depends on what you’re trying to achieve. Do you want to make an “album” (as in picture album) where the tracks are related in theme, related to events around a given point in time, inspired or driven by certain influences etc.? Or is a release just a collection of tunes you’ve been working on recently? If it’s the former then an “old school” release where those tracks are brought together, sequenced and mixed as one entity is probably what you’re after. If it’s the latter, there’s no real compulsion to wait until you’ve got 70 minutes (or 30 or 40 or 10) of audio to share. Miriam Jones’ Solitary Songs is a good example of somebody releasing output one track at a time. Will they be mastered onto one release? Maybe eventually. But that’s not really the point. But if you’re thinking about taking that tack though, why not release on vinyl 7″ single or flexi-disk?

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 09:51:42 +0000

I think the important distinction here is that it can be both/and, not just either/or – there’s no reason why people can’t still do thematic collections of music across 30/40/50/60 mins, but they can also do 3 songs, or one 8 hour piece of music if that’s what inspires them…

the broadening of options if what excites me, but also makes me think a lot harder about what it is I’m trying to do!

By: Wulf

Wulf — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 09:40:13 +0000

I have to admit that I’m one of those who still tends to pick an album to listen to even though most of my listening is now done via digital media systems where I could equally well select a playlist based on artist, genre or even every song in my collection that is about 3 minutes long (so, not many of Steve’s in that one ).

One quality that some albums have is bringing together a related set of music. For example, “Kind of Blue” is such a milestone that my guess is most people will know what I’m talking about, understand it’s importance and perhaps catch an echo of its beauty without me having to name the musicians involved. I can’t escape the feeling that the musical world would be poorer without such artifacts.

Of course, that doesn’t apply to compilation albums, which are essentially pre-defined playlists chosen by somebody else. Most classical albums – certainly those featuring the music of composers who lived long before vinyl and CD – are essentially compilations even if not crassly marketed as “Mozart’s greatest hits”.

Perhaps one of the ways forward might be artists suggesting particular sets of songs that fit together and offering discounts on purchasing the tracks as a package – ie. albums without the compulsion?