Two big projects are in the works.
1) We will soon see the birth of a new monthly theme for a local (kickass) independant magazine that will remain nameless for the time being until things are set in stone. Looks like TWX is gonna get some monthly ink rather then just pixels for once. I will be giving updates as details get ironed out.
2) So, I am curious to see if there are artists out there that would be interested in a “The Witness Exchange” netlabel spin-off possibly to be named “Exchange” (not used from what I can tell). I have been toying with this idea for awhile and thought I would finally propose the idea to the world and see what happens. If you do not make music, please pass this along to anyone you know that does.
The idea for this was spawned from a project that I cooked up and have going w/ my friend Ryan where I make him a disc of sounds that he then manipulates and adds to while making his own disc of sounds, sends both discs back to me and I then repeat the process and so on.
Here are my thoughts so far:
This netlabel would obviously follow the good ol’ Creative Commons License and be in mp3 format. Its to be a constantly evolving community project as well as a chance for an individual to display one’s creativity.
All work will ONLY use a member-submitted sound source or “pool”, 100% through and through. This “pool” will be made entrirely of member created and submitted sounds - synth/drum/perc hits, field recordings, arpeggios, ANYTHING that wouldn’t make the RIAA, MPA or any other copyright bully take notice. Once it is decided that a “pool” is big enough then all members are to reuse, remix, destroy and weave these sounds into music in anyway. Limiting? Not at all… anyone who has spent 30 minutes with a decent sampler and some effects knows how easy it is to transform a speech loop into a percussive track and then use that same sound to make a synth pad. ANY sound may be used but must also be uploaded into the “pool” for everyone else - so in all reality there is no limit to the sounds used or with how far you can twist a sound, use just one sound or use them all.
Releases would mainly be compilations of member-submitted material but not exclusively compilations. Netlabel members can decide on themes, concepts, whatever. When a “pool” gets exhausted it will be archived (perhaps for later use) and the process will start over. Depending on the size of a pool, any resulting release(s) would be the volume(s) for each “pool”. Content resulting from the source itself is open to ANY genre unless a theme says otherwise. The length of each release would be determined by the amount of work submitted, organized to “flow” and to fit onto CD’s for burning by those who care to do so - multiple discs per release if needed. (maybe a limited edition of cdrs w/ handmade artwork for each release?). Of course, each release will be different and have different guidelines but if you really invest some thought into it you should see that it could become a very interesting mega-collaboration (and sample source for those involved) that will continuously change. Call it a novelty, a schtick… but I see potential for some interesting results.
You are guaranteed to be heard on whatever project you take part in, nobody decides what is “good enough” other then the artist. A very positive place. abuse will not be tolerated. You are only an active member for as long as you like.
The individual shines with what they do with this source and with what original sounds they submit to the pool. The core idea that we all use/have access to the same sounds to make music will be the key to this netlabel… kind of like a series of remix albums of songs that never existed, not a competition but a collective thought.
This may all seem almost too vague but that is intentional. I have left certain ideas out to see if this sparks any interest for discussing the possibilities. If there is enough interest I will setup an email group to for the involved and we can go from there.
A central location for uploading to and downloading from the “pool” is essential as is a place for the netlabel to call home, be it a blog of everyones self-hosted clips or a big site to host said files. If there is interest and need, I will do everything to make sure we have a place w/ plenty of space and bandwidth and throw down my own money to get this into motion. Again, I have more ideas with this as well. This will be a large project but I am prepared to make it work.
There may be other projects like this going on but I don’t know of any. If there are, then this will be one to add to the list. Please let me know if you are aware of any such places online as it would be interesting to eventually get some interaction and cross-pollination with other groups of artists.
Please, only serious interest only. You must at very least have a software or hardware sampler as you will be dealing with audio files and not “patches”. You must have prior knowledge of music software and most everything else related to a typical home studio as this should not be a place for beginer-level learning.
If you made it this far and are interested, have any questions then please email me and DO NOT simply post a comment to The Witness Exchange. PLEASE refer anybody that you think might be interested.
This is in pre-birth stage, seeds of a plan that may or may not see the light in the next month or two, feeling the interest… keep this in mind.
Thanks for reading, this will be re-posted as needed.
Dakota
mp3: muslimgauze - "mosul"
