Messages

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FIELD RECORDING / Re: World Listening Day - 18th July

« on: July 18, 2010, 11:58:46 am »

Did I understand correctly - that I could now send a field recording from this day to that address (un@aporee.org)? I could do that, but I'm not sure if I understood correctly, bad knowledge of English you see.

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OTHER MUSIC / Re: Best way to share art

« on: July 18, 2010, 11:52:17 am »

Ok, I do it myself:

http://www.myspace.com/vainokurki

http://www.12k.com/forum/index.php?topic=330.0

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SELF PROMOTION / Field recording centered work: Stories & Stuff

« on: July 18, 2010, 11:50:22 am »

Hi

I finally managed to somehow publish my works, so they're now in MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/vainokurki

The six tracks there form a 60 minute concept album that I call "Stories & Stuff". They're mostly field recordings with some other sounds and elements. Dynamic stuff, be careful with volume. I have utilized field recordings' special features as well as I can: these tracks reflect everyday events - and something else too, I guess. Have nice experiences and please leave a comment

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OTHER MUSIC / Re: Best way to share art

« on: July 16, 2010, 01:56:20 pm »

So in general, what I should do is to just simply start to share my music instead of designing some better ways to do it? I guess that's right, there is no better way than just the simple myspace etc.

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OTHER MUSIC / Re: Best way to share art

« on: July 16, 2010, 09:41:36 am »

E: asd

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OTHER MUSIC / Re: Best way to share art

« on: July 14, 2010, 05:28:59 pm »

One thing that selling your art does, I've found, is it connects you with more a loyal and responsive audience. The people who have bought one of the three albums I have for sale have generally bought all of them. The music that I've given away for free has gotten a lot more listens and downloads over the years, but I have no idea who most of them are or what they thought of the music (and no doubt many of the downloaders are those weird MP3/spam bot sites). The people who tend to give me feedback on anything I do are also the people who tend to buy the commercial works.

I agree with the DIY approach rather than waiting on someone else to take up the cause for you. My experience with working with others is that the most successful endeavours are with people I've developed a relationship with over time. Cold contacting various labels, radio services, blogs or promoters seems to pan out for some folk, but for me it rarely has, and the few times it has, the relationship kind of went nowhere.

Doubtful you'll get rich going DIY, but it's also doubtful that you'll go broke or get ripped off. Just based on what people have said around here over the years, it strikes me that Taylor has most successfully turned music and art into a career (makes sense since he is also our benevolent host) but I gather that he has multiple sources of revenue to get by, that it's a tough slog, and that he's been building the necessary reputation and relationships for a good 15 years.

Hmm, interesting, I haven't thought it that way, but it sounds very reasonable. I mean, it's so common - people buy the cd's that they like the most, otherwise they just download them. That is a good point. I think I'll be now more hard-working with record labels, maybe the traditional way - releasing physical commercial CDs via a record labels - is the best way. I just had to check all the possibilities.

But hey, can someone clear this to me: I'm not sure what do you mean with DIY here. I know DIY is Do It Yourself but I'm not sure what it means here - do you mean I shouldn't ask anything and just do something? I mean: "Stop relying on others and DIY". I don't understand - how have I relied on others? This may be just language thing.

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OTHER MUSIC / Re: Best way to share art

« on: July 14, 2010, 11:49:38 am »

been following this thread and i think people have been spot on with recommendations.

as for the below.. yes, it is indeed complicated. if you want to make art your life and career (like i try to) then, yes, you have to make money at it.. if you have another job and career and art is a side thing, then it's great because you don't need to make money at it. i guess it really comes down to what you want to do with your life!

But got to say that even if I could make money with art, I'm not sure if I'd want to do it - if I ask money from people for listening to my material, it lessens the amount of listeners. So it's complicated.

I agree. But what I want to do with my life - heh, it's funny. I want to make money with popular music - in addition to art I compose a lot of pop and electronic music and another question in addition this spreading art thing is that how I will use my compositions to make money. So I'm not looking for money with art.

But today I have once again sent some e-mails around the world and I guess the time will tell what happens. Maybe I'm too stressed: other artists just find a suitable label, publish their works and that's it. I think I should do the same. If my works touch many people, the works will automatically become popular. God, I make this too difficult!

E: What does that "people have been spot on with recommendations" mean? I don't understand it, not good knowledge of English enough.

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OTHER MUSIC / Re: Best way to share art

« on: July 14, 2010, 07:16:33 am »

Thanks for replies!

TheGreenKingdom and Theowlbox: I guess you're right. I will publish my material in some way and just see what happens. But got to say that even if I could make money with art, I'm not sure if I'd want to do it - if I ask money from people for listening to my material, it lessens the amount of listeners. So it's complicated. It is like Wixel said, simple, but if you yourself aren't simple, then it's maybe not... well I'll just publish it in some way. Let's see what happens. I'll post something here or the self promotion -subforum when that happens.

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OTHER MUSIC / Re: Best way to share art

« on: July 12, 2010, 07:43:34 am »

First of all, you've got to be confident about what you do, i guess....

Better to be realistic.

well, if it's better to be realistic and I see that you are already realistic that your ideas suck, why bother presenting it to anybody. why ponder how to market it if you consider it rubbish? imo, you are saying straightforwardly that you are aware of the fact that what we are going to listen is not worth a broken penny. it looks like you are doing some terrible marketing form the very beginning.

not to mention that you if don't find confidence in your work/art, and be stone cold realistic all the time you might not find satisfaction in your art, no matter how many people listen to it. i totally agree with Rutger - you need to be confident.

and does it really matter how many will listen?

Oh, I a huge misunderstanding. I just ment that with marketing I often realize my ideas suck - like with this web site thing. With my art I'm confident. When I listened to my album I couldn't believe I had made it, it was so... powerful! So I'm definitely confident with my art. I'm unconfident with marketing, and that's why I'm asking help Just misunderstanding. Sorry for illegible writing.

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OTHER MUSIC / Re: Best way to share art

« on: July 12, 2010, 07:01:18 am »

First of all, you've got to be confident about what you do, i guess....

Better to be realistic.

This could be a good idea I guess, but what about trying to get your album released by a net-label?

Otherwise a good option, but the thing is, that is there use for official release at all? I mean, why to make an official release if the money is not what you're looking for? I don't think that the fact that an album has been released as a CD or via some record label's website makes it very popular - don't get me wrong, I don't think that any experimental stuff - in othwr words art - can be popular among big audiences, but even among the artist circles -  I think the record labels are better for those who are popular among the big audiences, all the entertainers. I don't feel like an artist can really benefit from them, what do you think guys? These are just my observations.

In all honesty, the phrases 'field recordings' and '60 minute concept album' isn't exactly going to make many peoples ears prick up...

Maybe you should be more realistic about your goals.  I can't imagine that 10,000 people actively listen to many of the artists who post on this forum.  This isn't because what music/art they create is bad, it's because its fairly specialised and only caters towards a niche (and for the want of a better word) 'market'...

Of course, of course. But how to market art? You see, it's easy to share art among the people that are familiar with it - if I'll release my album via Gruenrekorder, some field recording artists will listen to it. But how to share it to other people too? Not for just random normal people, it won't work, but for other kind of sound artists, not just field recordists, to every kind of minimalists and totalists etc. I mean, isn't this what art is about - spreading it? Giving ideas to other people and receiving them from those people.

Maybe I could get your attention if I would describe my album here. But like I said, there are like 20 active members here, so would I make new connections by that way? That's not likely. I know my goals are very ambitious, but I don't think hthey will come true just like that, so I'm not unrealistic - well, a bit maybe, but not too much.

Paintings, movies, literature - those have been making art in quite a popular way for a loooooong time - music never. Music has been just entertainment, which is IMO great and very valuable, but still it would be nice also to spread this art side of music. When comes the time when some sound artist will be respected just as much as Picasso, Hitchcock or Dostojevski? I guess it will come, but yeh, when, that's the question... how about speeding it up a little?

I don't want to let my art be forgotten, I mean, if people will forget it, it would have been the same if I wouldn't have released it. How to break the wall between music and the popular world of art? That's what I'm looking for. Yes, ambitious, but otherwise it would be fucking boring! Ideas?

E: What the hell. I need to gather some information about people's feelings considering my works so here's a link to the album: http://www.mikseri.net/artists/demoversion.127409.php

If you just bother to listen to it I would appreciate it very much. Some tips: download them to your computer and then listen to at one go, because of you can't know when a track ends or starts so you can't press play after the previous has ended unless you watch the meters all the time. Adjust the volume carefully because those are very dynamic tracks, especially the track Elements is extremely dynamic. And then, I suggest you to eliminate all the disturbances and just listen to it in peace, you know, field recordings don't really work if you hear bird songs or cars from surroundings at the same time. Lights off, no need to pee, just music.

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OTHER MUSIC / Best way to share art

« on: July 11, 2010, 05:02:12 pm »

Hello

As someones may remember, some months ago I asked here about record labels' procedures. That has caused good, I have been in contact to some of them, learned a lot about uncommercial music "industry", found out who shares the same view as me etc. Thank you very much who helped me

But now the situation is that I have realized that maybe the record label isn't a good thing for me. I mean, you always should check your goals before acting. What I'm trying to achieve? First I had this little dream of earning couple of euros, but now I have realized that I can't get even five cents with experimental stuff - art doesn't make money (expect the painting business that I can't understand!). Anyway. My goal now is just to share my art. To reach people with the same ideas and views, to get friends around the same interests, to give ideas for other artists so that they can develop my ideas so that I can improve my own art. That's what I'm looking for. How to do it?

Thank God we have internet. I would have killed myself 30 years ago. But it's still not so easy... let me explain. I have been working with field recordings and I have now completed a sixty minute concept album, that is quite a unconventional. It contains just pure field recordings but also some other sounds and the entirety is not just some traffic noise. If I would just give you a link to my stuff at this site's "Self promotion" -subforum, what do you think, would it work? Hell no. There are like 10 active users on this forum and if I'm like, maybe two or three of them don't immediately puke when they heard field recordings - I just mean that not many share the same interests when it's about experimental art that is very strange and difficult to absorb. I'm not the one you should play track that contains just white noise - I could find it somewhat interesting, but I wouldn't really get excited, I guess.

I think and think and think all the time this thing. How to share my art? I want to be a part of the community of art music. How have you progressed? I know it's common to release albums via such labels as 12k, but does it really help me to reach my goal - I mean, how many people actually listen to these recordings? So few... it's not very popular if twenty copies are sold! I want to share my stuff for as meny persons as I can. My brother has released many (~30) songs for free in internet on a Finnish music sharing site, and they have been listened to hundreds of times, but guess what - all the listeners are some normal people, his drinking buddies, that listen to his songs with one earphone while talking to friends, and then describe the music as "fucking weird shit" and advise him to consult a doctor. Can you recognize this situation?

We have Youtube, we have Myspace, we have Facebook, we have many things that help us to be in contact. But I've seen so many times how someone releases something via Youtube, and the video will be watched 100 times - it sucks! 10 000 would be ok. I want to do that. And now to the practice:

How about hosting a personal web site where the music would be released and then advertising that site in every place that might have some people who would be interested in same kind of stuff? It sounds like a good idea to me, but I often realize that in the end my ideas suck, so let me know if this is a bad idea too. I just don't really know any other way. The idea of going through complicated arrangements, spending a lot of money, flattering some quarters, and as a result getting a CD that will be bought by five collectors that won't even listent to it, doesn't attract me. It won't give me any publicity among the artist circles.

Help me guys. How to get your attention?

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FIELD RECORDING / Re: The "what portable recording device should I buy?" thread

« on: July 07, 2010, 06:38:27 am »

Hi Vurki

My experience with the preamps on the Fostex FR2 is that they're not as quiet as the ones on the Zoom H4n.
I haven't done hundreds of tests, but that's my experience so far.
The built in mics on the Zoom are ok too (though you'll need windshields to use them outdoors)

Good luck!

Ps. That Zoom H1 looks futuristic.

Thanks for the advice, though it took too long so I have bought Fostex ages ago. And got to say... it's amazingly quiet. Would fit for Bruce Swedien. I have to say that there's no way Zoom would be quieter! All people say Zoom is very noisy and that Fostex is very quiet, I've read tests and reviews and they agree with that. I have recorded quiet summerdays etc. and the noise is absolutely inaudible. I have recorded extremely quiet sounds in nature with maximum gain and the noise is still not intrusive, it's audible only if you pay attention to it.

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FIELD RECORDING / Re: sound maps

« on: May 31, 2010, 05:07:44 pm »

Fucking amazing! I absolutely have to go to sleep now but I will familiarize with this tomorrow and... after I make another windscreen my great field recording set is ready and I will take part on that thing too!

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OTHER MUSIC / Re: Mastering? ..

« on: May 25, 2010, 03:09:41 am »

in my opinion.. this is what mastering is about, and it applies to any music, really...:

http://www.12kmastering.com/whatismastering.html

Thanks for the link, it's really useful.

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OTHER MUSIC / Re: What are you listening to?

« on: May 22, 2010, 07:15:32 am »

About that guitar music: I'll maybe try again later, now I can't get... into it, you know. Maybe I will never, maybe someday.

But that Plastikman is great, got to get some albums.

Yesterday: Aphex Twin - Hangable Auto Bulb. Total madness, I suggest that to everyone who wants to get crazy.

Today: Sergei Prokofjev (by Vadim Repin) - Violin Sonata No. 2 in D Major Op.94a. Great modern classical. I was yesterday at a classical concert for the first time in my life and I'm really impressed, it was very nice though the world of classical music is still very unfamiliar to me. Very interesting melodies and tricks. I want to make electronic arrangements of those! Got to listen to Wendy Carlos' Switched-on Bach.