THOUGHTS
FIERCELY INDIE
“The idea that a physical copy (of an album) can develop its own unique qualities through interaction, use and wear would suggest that […] over its lifetime it develops a story that the original does not have.”
Thoughts
Ghosts
Ghosts are important, the type of ghosts that lurk in the shadows of creativity: The misfits, the b-sides, the outliers. Plenty of bands compile enough of these for a release and that’s exactly what we did with Ghosts. Five tracks from the In Embers sessions that didn’t fit with the album’s sonic aesthetic but still deserved a voice of their own.
Moths to Ashes
Moths to Ashes was born out of my former life, out of the ashes of a mutual friend’s suicide, out of the ashes of darkness, derision and divorce. ‘In Embers’ contains ten guitar-driven songs about addiction, madness, the occult, isolation, longing, inhumanity, lust, anxiety, disfunction .. but ultimately, it’s about dealing with those things, finding the light (again) and embracing it.
Wrapping Your Head Around Analogue Formats.
I have written a few articles recently about my love of analogue formats and yes it’s true that the quality inherent in analogue formats is lacking. However, that is not the crux of my argument for any type of artistic analogue expression. In this article we’ll keep it technical and look objectively at the limitations of various audio delivery formats.
This Magnificent Mess – Celebrating Low Fidelity
As professionals it is easy to believe that all audio should be technically perfect. However, in my experience this is not the case at all. Art is beautifully imperfect, messy and emotional and music should be too. To present it as anything else is to miss the point entirely.
Is Minimalism Incompatible with Collecting?
We inhabit a space where one could consume all things digitally and thus those ‘things’ would have no physical presence in our world. Currently, all you need is a smart device or computer to create, mix and distribute music. If you have been reading my pervious posts you’ll know what I don’t think that is necessarily a good idea for creativity.
Grunge and the Beauty of Decay
The object itself, as important to the experience as the music contained within it. The ‘story’ of where it’s been, who has previously played it means we often anthropomorphise these objects, imbuing them with a life and even, a soul. That connection is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to form with digital music and, in fact, some would argue that music cannot and doesn’t exist digitally.
Oxide & Plastic – Cassette Culture
What makes the format particularly appealing for small labels, is that anyone with a decent cassette recorder and a printer/copier can make a limited edition, small run of cassettes in-house. They are currently, the only viable analogue format that can be created on-demand.
Record Collecting – Why Vinyl Matters (to me)
The idea of a tangible format become less about access to the music and more about having an experience. Interacting with the music. Placing the needle. Turning the record over. Cleaning it when necessary. Storing it. It has become about curating an experience rather than an object.
![Tort Debut Release – Ruminate [digital]](https://fiercelyindie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Tort.png)
Tort Debut Release – Ruminate [digital]
Tort is a collaboration between Tom Singer and Niall Martin. Ruminate was originally intended as an EP but during the writing process rapidly became an 11 track album.
![Ancient Race of Techno-Voyagers [vinyl].](https://fiercelyindie.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/IMG_2516.jpg)
Ancient Race of Techno-Voyagers [vinyl].
Ancient Race of Techno-Voyagers is the second full-length album from collaborators John O’Hara and Brian Wenckebach, following their debut LP This is the Mythology of Modern Death (Saint Marie Records) and their ambient EP Witches’ Jelly (soundinsilence).