This week I've been getting on my soap box Derbyshire because 'Retrophonica' is now bleeping and blooping out in the world - you can listen to the full release below.
Enjoy a review of my "swirling synths" and "strong architecture" via ANTI Music here, in addition to a track-by-track listen on Yeah I Know It Sucks, where I may well have been betrayed by my gothic past. Additionally, here's an article about Wendy Carlos I found really interesting prior to contributing, which beautifully articulates some of the misgivings that I've seen or experienced around electronic music. There is also some crossover with this excellent Tara Rodgers essay, which I very much enjoyed reading, about synthesizer politics and a largely unheard area of electronic music history.
Speaking of unheard histories, the vinyl copies of BLACK ARROW have now arrived and they look incredible! You can order a copy from the website or via Bandcamp now (limited to only 300 copies). On that note, I'll conclude by linking to some thoughts about Bandcamp; some mine but mostly other, more eloquent explanations. Perhaps it's idealistic or naive, but I'd like to think that the confusion or anger around how much larger companies have operated and treated their listeners/makers in such a fragile environment could be channelled into something more conscientious and useful longer term. I am also trying not to imbue my own nostalgia or present opinion into any of this, but the places and eras I associate with active music listening and participation have felt the most joyous to me and I know my own world would be a lot more grim had I not received tape mixes made by friends, or read blog articles which enthuse over insanely niche or place-specific details, or had my tracks played in a dark forest to a few radio enthusiasts. I hope it doesn't alienate anyone to talk about why I feel let down by streaming platforms, why I no longer give a shit about monthly listeners and highlight where I think people are offering better alternatives or making positive suggestions (even if there are no definitive answers), I just want to support ideas which encourage creativity, sociability, mutual support and the excitement of building your weird project out of nothing, without competitive metrics and where it can return to some form of sustainability.
Okay, time to step off the soap box.