Research into the technical and social theories of netlabels

Have come across a very interesting article on netlabels from Bram Timmers of the University of Utrecht (via Hungary), who is performing ‘academic research into the netlabel scene and its social and technical consequences for our reality and putting it in perspective with the open content movement.’ The PDF below provides a nice introduction to the netlabel scene, it’s history and some of the motives associated with the community.

http://www.c3.hu/~bram/Netlabels_and_Open_Content.pdf

I Am The Architect : 11

I AM THE ARCHITECT found their place in student-town Muenster (Germany) in autumn 2007. Having a diverse musical background the four members focussed on a certain goal: Finding a unique musical style that relies on Post-Rock, early ninetees Shoegaze and classical music.

Out of this mixture occur songs that are able to combine contrasts. Complexe structures meet catchy melodies, a melancholic atmosphere opens the door for brute soundwalls. No song sounds like the other but nevertheless an intense closeness emerges, especially live!

The music of I AM THE ARCHITECT is not limited by musical boundaries in order to develop a diverse sound which is enriched by instruments like violin, cello or transverse flute. Together with a distinctive basement of keyboards and synthesizers you’ll hear an impressive musical broadness.

In a relatively short period of time the band became an important part in the music scene of their hometown and the area around it. The discrete songs and the passionate live-shows met with high approval by audiences and critics. A highlight has been the support show for THIS WILL DESTROY YOU in April 2008.

Press Reactions:

“I AM THE ARCHITECT from Muenster captivate with their interpretation of Post-Rock with melody and melancholy, but also with outbursts of fury.”
(www.gleis22.de)

“..how I AM THE ARCHITECT manage to balance their masterpiece between noise and an adorable melody, that is smart, that is classy, that is style.”
(www.muensterbandnetz.de)

“…the intent of attaining the lyrical fragility and naive aggression of formations like Aereogramme and Sigur Ros with purely instrumental means and without the pull of their nasal and heavenly vocal pull respectively is much more than just harking back to days of glory, but a mission statement worthy of widespread attention.”
(www.tokafi.com)

Tracklisting :
1. Quit
2. Remote Control
3. Silence, Silence
4. Solitude

Download from here.

Radius system : Escape / Restart

We’ve been working on this record for almost 3 years. We recorded & mixed it ourselves,
in our Feels Like Home Studio (http://www.myspace.com/flhrecords). For us, this record
is a way to start over as a band, and set new standards to our name. We chose to release
it for free as digital release, because we want the whole world to be able to listen & see it.
So yeah, share it with your friends, through the download link in every place you can, put it
on P2P programs etc… This is an adventure for us, and we’d like everyone to be a part of it !

Each track of the album is associated with an artwork, pointing to a specific moment of the song.
We wanted to give something more than just sounds, and create a whole universe around the album. This is step 1. Step 2 will come in the more distant future (say 2009 ?), as we plan to release a DVD presenting an animated video clip for each track : 46 minutes of film built around the music, plus a few other things probably…

One final thing : because we are very, very happy with this album, we’d like to see it live outside internet & hard drives. If you’re like us, and you still like holding a REAL record in your hands,
taste the REAL uncompressed sound of it in your headphones, feel the printed paper on your fingers…

IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN SEEING A CD or VINYL RELEASE OF “ESCAPE / RESTART”, PLEASE CONTACT US at : greg@radius-system.net // axel@radius-system.net

You never know what might happen next…

Thank you for reading this, we hope you’ll enjoy the ride !

——————————————————————-

Nous avons travaillé sur cet album pendant presque 3 ans. Nous l’avons enregistré & mixé nous même, dans notre petit “Feels Like Home” Studio (http://www.myspace.com/flhrecords). Pour nous, cet album est une manière de recommencer à 0, et d’établir un nouveaux standard pour notre son. Nous avons choisi de sortir cet album sous forme digitale, et de le mettre en téléchargement gratuit, car nous voulons qu’il soit vécu par le plus grand nombre de personnes possible. L’idée est donc qu’il circule le plus librement possible, et pour cela nous avons besoin de vous… Faites tourner le lien partout où vous pouvez, parlez-en à vos amis, placez-le sur des programmes de téléchargement P2P etc… C’est une aventure pour nous, et nous aimerions que vous en fassiez partie.

Chaque piste de l’album est associée à un artwork, faisant référence à une moment précis du morceau concerné. Nous voulons essayer d’aller au delà de la musique, et créer un univers autour de cet album. Ca, c’est l’étape n°1. L’étape n°2 viendra dans un futur plus lointain (disons 2009 ?), puisque nous projetons de sortir un DVD qui présentera un clip d’animation pour chaque morceau de l’album : au total un film de 46 minutes construit autour de la musique de “Escape / Restart”, et probablement d’autres choses…

Une dernière chose : comme nous sommes vraiment très fiers de cet album, nous aimerions le voir vivre en dehors du virtuel. Si vous êtes comme nous, et que vous aimez tenir un VRAI disque dans vos mains, entendre le VRAI son non-compressé dans votre casque, sentir le papier cartonné sous vos doigts…

SI VOUS ETES INTERESSE PAR UNE SORTIE CD ou VINYL DE “ESCAPE / RESTART”, CONTACTEZ-NOUS à : greg@radius-system.net // axel@radius-system.net

On ne sait jamais ce qui pourrait se passer…

Merci d’avoir lu, et bonne écoute !

Tracklisting :
1. Release Chemicals
2. Bestsellers
3. Monochrome
4. Mental Guides
5. Impulsion Pt.1
6. Into Orbit
7. Impulsion Pt.2
8. Not Coming back

Download from here.