it may seem counterintuitive but I removed all my bandcamp and soundcloud, youtube and privately hosted content, removed all downloaded material and for a year have now echewed recording entirely, its been liberating and in a world where everyone is shouting for attention and recognition, I find going the opposite direction is good for my practice. Deliberate iconoclasty perhaps, but the moment I decided not to record but just get out and perform I became a lot more at peace with what I am doing.
Of course people say “but no one will hear your music” and that’s oddly okay with me. Firtsly I give up ownership of the sounds I record and reuse. They are not mine and if someone else appropriates a live recording they have made of me and claims it as their own, then that’s ok by me. I am good with uncredited appropriation. Online wise these soundcloud and bandcamp sites are often full of works that really are not finished… I am not sure I want 1,000 people to casually channel-hop past my tracks. I would rather a half dozen people hear it live in its entirety as it was meant to be heard… The art is made, its is done, that is enough for me. recognition is way way way down the bottom of the list. As is payment in money.
I kept finding myself asking the question “the world is a noisy enough place, do I need to add to it?” And most of the time the answer is “No”… So I don’t contribute except actively, performatively. Its not an approach for everyone, I agree, but its a method I find strangely appealing.
So there you go. No link from me. I like that people release so much and give away freely but one of the things I like about sound art is its fragility and impermanence. recording and releasing seems strangely unsatisfying.
