Perth-based beats duo "Projekt Inertia" announce the release of their new single "Someone like You" through Trans:Com. This EP features 4 very fine leftfield vocal and instrumental dance tracks, and includes bonus remixes for breaks and dub lovers; with mixes by Lo Key Fu, Fridayz, and Victor Xray. The EP is available now on iTunes at http://itunes.com/ProjektInertia - so go and have a listen! -- Trans:Com. Keep an ear out for their upcoming album too

Projekt Inertia's soundcloud page

"Reconstituted" is the third Apell album and sounds like the groovier half of Amon Tobin sampling George Clinton with a jazzy electric bass. The album features a drum n bass version of Neil Young's "Don't Let it Bring You Down" and a chill out reworking of George Harrison's overlooked gem "Long, Long, Long" from The Beatles White Album. Another album highlight is the track "Dubya" featuring lyrics inspired by inane quotes from President George W Bush's speeches and his life story.

For more information about this album, Apell's music and to listen to audio samples visit http://www.apellmusic.com

Bluetech returns with his first new material since 2005. after splitting his musical expression into multiple aliases, Phoenix Rising marks his return to eclectic, ecstatic, and emotional electronic music, and exists as a precursor to an expansive album entitled The Divine Invasion coming early 2009 on aleph zero records.

music incubated in dreams, flows of energy from ancestral sources, the shape of the wind.

grab one while they are here, as they are only available from the somnia website and limited to 777 copies worldwide, soy inks on recycled paper, sewn and sealed in wax with incredible cover art by ray massini

Audio samples, digital files and CD available at: http://www.somniasound.com or visit http://www.bluetechonline.com for more details on Bluetech

For those of you in Auckland over this weekend

As part of the Cross St Carnival
http://www.crossstreetcarnival.com/

The Audio Foundation presents the first AF CD Shop!
complete with badges...

We are selling on behalf and all profits will of course go back to the artists.

In stock we have:

* Lovely Midget
* Sci Hi and Audible 3
* PseudoArcana artists
* Alastair Galbraith
* CMR artists - including Richard Francis latest work
* CLaudia artists
* Nigel Wright
* Rosy Parlane
* Pumice
* Adam Willets
* Crude
* Agitated Radio Pilot
* Spacething stock

"Everything's Broken" is the new CD from Undecisive God. It contains new works from the last 3 years, featuring further exploration of turntable/broken record preparations, extended guitar techniques, field recordings and mixer feedback pieces.

To hear a sample track, go to http://www.myspace.com/undecisivegod

Since 1990, Undecisive God has been pushing the limits of the guitar as an instrument. "Everything's Broken" is the latest step in this strange journey.

Available from http://ShameFileMusic.com for AU$10ppd (US$8ppd), or for a trade of your own music.

Clinton
Shame File Music - specialising in Australian experimental
http://ShameFileMusic.com

I remember reading about Jane Siberry in Mondo 2000 sometime in the mid 90s and bought her albums "When I was a Boy" and "Maria" as well as the soundtrack for "Until the End of the World" which has a track of hers on it. I used to play "When I Was a Boy" on Sunday mornings whilst having brunch when I lived in Auchenflower. when I moved from that apartment my neighbour asked what was the beautiful music that I used to play on sundays, so I put him onto her sounds. around that time also, I was listening to a lot of Brian Eno, David Sylvian, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Laurie Anderson and others.

recently I've just rediscovered Jane Siberry's music online. in 2006, she changed her name to Issa and can be found online at http://www.issalight.com/. she's parted ways with her previous music label and is offering her music purely as an online label now, after running an independant label called Sheeba distributing CDs to music customers. her new business has a new business model called Self Determined Pricing Policy. I 've heard that Radiohead are doing a similar thing for their current album - mp3 release only & customers pay what they like.

I like Issa's philosophy and way of life. she's living out of a backpack - traveling for her tours and has removed most of the 'stuff' in her life. patrons on her site can donate money for studio recording time and pay what they like for the songs. it may not suit everyone though, but I can see the benefits, as for the past few years I've been living out of a suitcase and traveling (albeit usually for longer stints of time & to different countries) and living out of hotels, away from a permanent base. though I still have my 'stuff' back home - it was nice to leave it all though as there was so much of it!

there is the argument that Issa & Radiohead can be successful using this method as they've already become established using the traditional media & music industry methods, and that perhaps upcoming or lesser known artists may not be as successful. but I'm not so sure. if the music is good and you eventually keep at it, I think most people will support you if they can, especially if they appreciate music of quality. and those who pay for music are usually in that category. plus having the music available on the net for 'pay now' at set / user chosen price, 'gift', 'pay later' is good for impulse buyers who can't wait until they visit a record store or for the store to receive their cd. and also, the artist is receiving ALL of the money and paying less costs such as the production of cds & artwork, though these are still nice to have also. (but since I've been traveling, I've been preferring mp3s as posting cds home can be expensive)

here's an extract from an interview with Issa by Alexandra Gill @ http://www.issalight.com/press/press-1006-globemail.html

"It may not be right for everyone, but it feels good for me. It feels more in line with the planet," says Issa, speaking in hushed tones and pausing frequently.

"I do believe the consciousness of the planet is changing, the vibrations are rising a little bit," she adds matter-of-factly.

"Maybe it's because I'm in the public eye and talking about what I've done, but I see signs all around. People come forward and tell me they are getting rid of things and changing their careers or quitting their jobs without a safety net. Instead of going inch by inch, they've decided to take a big leap."

In Issa's case, the choice to simplify life was a creative one. After nearly a decade of running her own label, she had found the day-to-day administrative duties were seriously getting in the way of making music. The mail-order end of the business was particularly burdensome. What with all the CDs, books and clothing items to be shipped, envelopes to be licked and customers whose credit cards had been declined to chase, she found herself with no time to write.

By March of 2005, she had reached her wit's end and decided to shut the label down. Then at the last minute, she had a change of heart and chose to put her entire catalogue on-line so it wouldn't be lost forever. Although she has stopped releasing CDs, fans can now visit Log Cabin, her new all-electronic store at www.sheeba.com and download MP3s of her music and artworks.

Last November, she went one step further with a new pricing policy that she calls "self-determined transactions." Customers can choose to pay the standard rate of 99 cents per song or contribute whatever amount they deem fair. They can pay immediately, download and pay later, or accept "a gift from Jane" and rip off the entire collection for free.

"Like many, I'm restless and impatient with living in a world where people are made to feel like shoplifters rather than intelligent people with a good sense of balance," she writes in the site's Open Letter.

Self-determined transactions, the letter continues, are not donations, pay-what-you-can, guilt trips or tests of your integrity. It's simply a way of treating others the way she would prefer to be treated herself.

"This makes me feel like I'm completely in alignment with the energy of the music. It's pure and honest. The pricing thing is very wrong. It's so far removed from the nature of music as a sacred thing."

---

other artists are working with this Self Determined Pricing Policy also, most recently debated has been Radiohead with the digital release of their latest album "In Rainbows". also Trent Rezner from Nine Inch Nails - who told Australian fans to steal his album as it was priced too high in Australia, Jonathon Coulton, Oasis and Jamiroquai are thinking about it, The Charlatans, and I'm sure there'll be more to follow!

from the telegraph article,
While CD sales are falling dramatically, download sales have grown from zero in 2003, to 26.5 million in 2005 which then doubled last year to 53.0 million. However, according to the British Phonographic Industry, for every track that is paid for, twenty are downloaded illegally for free.

even if 1 in 20 are paid for, that's still a lot of money going directly to the artists. and it'd be interesting to compare if those buying online would actually buy the cd, as buying online is much easier for the impulse buyer and the 'I want it now!' generation who can't wait for the next day to visit their music store or wait for the store to have it delivered.

update 02/09/2009 : via @mpesce - for Classical music, Magnatune also offers a self determined / pay as you go pricing policy.

as does @mpesce's "Share this course" class at MLA : *This is a pay-what-you-like course (simply pay what you can afford, and what you think is fair)

some articles of interest :

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2007/10/fans-to-determi.html
Fans Pay Whatever They Want for Radiohead's Upcoming Album
By Eliot Van Buskirk

http://www.radiohead.com/deadairspace/index.php?c=292
Radiohead's "In Rainbows" page

http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news/2007/10/coulton
Pop Geek Jonathan Coulton Succeeds by Giving Music Away
By Mark Anderson

http://blog.wired.com/music/2007/10/trent-reznor-es.html
Trent Reznor Escapes His Label's Clutches
By Eliot Van Buskirk

http://blog.wired.com/music/2007/09/trent-reznor-te.html
Trent Reznor To Fans: "Steal, Steal and Steal Some More"
By Eliot Van Buskirk

http://blog.wired.com/music/2007/10/established-art.html
Established Artists Plan Post-Label Careers
By Eliot Van Buskirk

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/09/nradiohe...
Oasis, Jamiroquai to follow Radiohead
By Harry Wallop and Lucy Cockcroft

Olam Qatan is a spiritual books and world music store in Emek Refaim St, Jerusalem, Israel. I spoke briefly with it's owner Ya'qub ibn Yusuf, who explained some of the music and books available in his store. Sounds like there's a fusion of East meets West happening in Israel and Turkey, which is really interesting to hear. It's great to speak with Independant store owners - their passion for music & books is contagious and it's great to discover new sounds and genres.

Darren Hayes of Savage Garden fame, has been working on a solo album called "This Delicate Thing We've Made". It's due for release on August 21st. Check out the video clip on his website for "On the verge of something wonderful" - an uplifting tune sure to be heard on dancefloors around the world. Apparently one of the instruments is a Fairlight CMI synth - nice to see he's supporting such a fine & influential Australian musical instrument. He's touring UK/Scotland in September / October and will be back for an Australian tour in mid October, but if you can't wait that long, he'll be in Sydney at HUM (Oxford St) on Saturday 4th August - his myspace page has latest dates and more details.

here's some artists/music I've found (so far) from checking out a
nearby music store Music House (keren ha-yesod 25) (mostly classical & jazz, but a smaller
section on other styles) in Jerusalem. there's a music store on Shamai Street too where I later bought more cds.

dj Markey Funk
Agitpop Records
http://www.agitpoprecords.com

- I bought his "Beats!!! AMN Manifesto Sound! Vol 1" cd
Beats from AMS Manifesto shows 2003-2004
nice collection of beats. sort of ninja tune / turntablism style if
you're into that. he has some other radio shows recorded & available
for download on the site @
http://agitpoprecords.com/go_ask_alice/index.html. just downloading
now to take a listen.

his myspace page is http://myspace.com/markeyfunk - songs there also & info

------------

The Apples
- funk / jazz / beats
http://www.theapplesmusic.com/
http://myspace.com/theapplesmusic

-------------

Radio Trip
http://www.myspace.com/radiotrip

-------------

Album Launch for Muph & Plutonic's new album "Silence The Sirens" @ Bar Broadway

Chaos Maths
Last Credit
Sarm & Nebs
Mind Over Matter

DJ's

GPS
BIG SKEAMO1
Dphy

$20 on the door
tix also available from Soul Clap Records

http://www.myspace.com/muphnplutonic

Firestorm Mixtape launch 30/11 Club 77 FREE ENTRY

FIRESTORM MIXTAPE LAUNCH
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 30TH CLUB 77
77 WILLIAM ST CITY

* PLANET CRUSHERS
* SLEEPING MONK + GUESTS
* THE ARKITEKS
* QUEEN MC TASH
* DJ D*PHY
* GPS

DOORS OPEN 9PM
CHEAP TAP BEERS
ENTRY FREE ALL NIGHT

http://myspace.com/1_productions

today I'm listening to:

http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/kitka-wintersongs/

I heard one of the songs whilst watching a video so checking out the album.
http://cafesiena.blogspot.com/2006/03/bloom.html

I hadn't heard of KITKA before - they're a group of Eastern European women vocalists.
http://magnatune.com/artists/kitka

"Kitka is a professional women's vocal ensemble dedicated to producing concerts, recordings, and educational programs that develop new audiences for music rooted in Eastern European women's vocal traditions. Kitka also strives to expand the boundaries of this music as an expressive art form."

" Now approaching its 25th Anniversary season, Kitka was founded in 1979 as an offshoot of the Westwind International Folk Ensemble. Kitka began as a grassroots group of amateur singers from diverse ethnic and musical backgrounds who met regularly to share their passion for the stunning dissonances, asymmetric rhythms, intricate ornamentation, lush harmonies, and resonant strength of Eastern European women's vocal music. Under the artistic direction of vocalist, composer, and conductor Bon Brown Singer from 1981 to 1996, Kitka blossomed into a refined professional ensemble earning international renown for its artistry, versatility, and mastery of the demanding techniques of Balkan and Slavic vocal styling."

'Over and Over Dub' is the new single from Dsico That No-Talent Hack. Available now through iTunes, 'Over & Over Dub' is the new single from Dsico That No-Talent Hack, taken from the forthcoming compilation Clan Analogue In Version. 'Over & Over Dub' was written using a bassline provided by In Version Executive Producer Scot McPhee. The track is backed with 'Stone's Throw', an exclusive track from Dsico unavailable elsewhere and recorded in the best traditions of 80's 7" single dub mix B-sides! The leading Australian pioneer of mashups and plunderphonics, Luke Collision, aka Dsico, gained a reputation internationally with performances at the seminal Bastard club in London, MFOC (Hamburg), Pop.X (Berlin) an other venues in Moscow, Dublin, Newcastle, Birmingham, NYC, San Francisco and L.A. Now back in Sydney, Dsico has laid the mashups to rest and morphed into a fully-fledged two-piece electronic live band. Dsico's new direction was first heard on the Clan Analogue compilation Doppler Shift: electro selections with the track 'Waiting for You', released under the name of Luke Collision. 2005 has seen several Dsico releases, including the You Fight Like a Girl and Fool albums, combining electronics with guitar, bass and vocals, all through the prism of classic pop. Dsico is now gaining a new wave of fans through gigs at the 'This Is Not Art' festival and various clubs in Sydney.

The Women Take Back the Noise project is a showcase collection of over 40 women artists worldwide who experiment with sound in various ways - ranging from ambient-organic to quirky-glitch-beat to harsh or extreme noise (and other categories yet to be defined...) Brisbane's noise artists Kunt as well as international artists such as Californinan bLevin bLectum and New Zealander Solanas, are featured on the release - keep an eye out for the custom-made circuit bent packaging release due out later this year. visit http://www.ubuibi.org/wtbtn/ for more details on the release. Kunt are also touring with Justice Yeldham and his Dynamic Ribbon Device and Nora Keys through Scandinavia and Italy from 21 October - 6 November, and with Scorpio Scorpio in November. read more for details or visit http://www.kuntnoise.com/

"Beatroot" (the edible root of the beat), Soup's new 14 track album will be released on September 11th on Invada Records. You can catch Soup performing at gigs around Australia on his tour from September - December. read more or visit http://www.sampology.com/ and http://www.invadarecords.com for more details.

This week, Frigid features two quirky local live acts with an ornithological theme and is hosting the launch of Sydney alt-pop outfit Sparrow Hill's debut album. Melbourne post-rock outfit Scissors For Sparrow also plays a live set. read more for details or visit www.cyclicdefrost.com

The self titled debut EP from 'DELILAH'S GOLD' has been released. The four track CD is available to buy from http://www.delilahsgold.com or from the iTunes music store. At 5 GBP including postage and handling, this is a deal you can't miss. The EP has been receiving positive reviews - "The first thing you hear when you put in this CD is the stunning vocals, although this band is not just about vocals, as they play some great guitar harmonys. (sic) . . . I really like this band and if you are looking for something that sounds unique and different then check this band out." -- Musicpress.co.uk

Release Date 1st August 2005 by Deluder Records. According to deluder 'Omniality' is 'the state of combining all things' and his stunning debut is just that: illustrating genres and scenes don't have to be as closely segregated as they often seem. He's a producer who'd love to avoid being pigeonholed, but does he really think it's possible? "People feel the need to categorize music" admits deluder "which I can understand, but sometimes it isn't the most constructive thing you can do for a artist, label, club or scene. I aim to get people saying 'yeah, but deluder makes house, progressive, breaks and chill too, not just trance!', which is true, but realistically most people will probably think of 'Omniality' as a trance album - because it's so damn melodic. I guess that's the one common theme throughout." mp3s and more information are available from http://www.deluder.net

Compiled, produced and mixed by Groovescooter in collaboration with the Sonic Arcana label, comes the first ever companion CD for the Sydney Film Festival - now in it's 52nd year. This is unlike any soundtrack compendium you've heard before. A seamless journey through various moods and styles, it's more like the eclectic 'Back To Mine' series, than those heavily orchestrated, emotionally manipulative soundtrack collections of yesteryear. Subtitled 'cults classics curios', the album traverses almost four decades of Australian film music; from the most up-to-date post-rock and electronic producers (Decoder Ring and Severed Heads) to the long overlooked vice-funk of cult-classic 'The Box' alongside masters like the late Brian May ('Mad Max'). As for curios, there are plenty, but how about the soundtrack that was originally commissioned for pioneering gritty Aus-Hellinic film 'Head On' starring Alex Dimitriades and Paul Capsis? The version here wasn't used in the film's final cut after Melbourne shlock-horror filmmaker, composer and author Philip Brophy was replaced by Ollie Olsen (Psy-harmonics / Max Q). read more for further details or visit http://www.groovescooter.com

David Thrussell's BLACK LUNG serves up a dash of global consciousness for the postmodern world via his beat laden electronic/industrial soundscape released on Psy-Harmonics. read more or visit http://www.psy-harmonics.com.au for further details

Terra Australis Incognita is a new series of releases from Shame File Music. The series seeks to document notable Australian experimental artists (both established and lesser known) by commissioning them to produce an EP of material that will then be made available for free downloading online, as well as on CDR. Promotional copies will also be produced and distributed. The series consists of 6 EPs around 20-30 minutes in duration, released approximately 2 months apart. The first EP will be released mid-2005. Shame File will invite some select artists to participate, and unsolicited demos/proposals are also invited at this time. visit http://ShameFile.tripod.com for more details

Coalition self-titled album scheduled for March 2005 release on Nice Mics Records. Featuring DJ Affiks, Lenwun, Raman, Lazy Grey, Robby Balboa, The Fader F*ckers and Kel. visit their website @ http://www.coalition.co.nr/ to preview one of the tracks Sleepless

I just uploaded a mix recorded on 15 October in Phoenix club, Liege Belgium. feel free to go to AUDIO section on www.djmisjah.com and listen to this "ultra-raw-funky-3deck-cdr-loopmachine-mix"!!. if you can not listen to online audio. mail me for a promotion cd. enjoy, misjah

The background. While a lot of experimental music seems to maintain an exclusive approach (stay out you wouldn't understand), the music of Hinterlandt is meant to be an invitation to anybody (come in - join the trip). While pop music gets more and more geared towards the ever-decreasing attention span of young listeners (which has shrunk from 2-minute radio songs to 30-second mp3 snippets), Hinterlandt warmly offers the format of 10-15-minute compositions. read more or visithttp://aliasfrequencies.org/product/af004.html for details

Sabre is a devoted MC from Brisbane Australia. He is a committed freestyle MC as well as an experienced lyricist whenever it comes to his written material. Sabre has been heavily involved in the underground Brisbane Hip Hop movement for over a decade. After collaborating & compromising with other artists in the past Sabre has chosen to follow a solo career. This, his debut EP titled "Defence Vs Aggression" proves his confidence in his own lyrical ability by not calling in any guest MC's for the project. Production & cuts are supplied by DJ KODE RED (Brisbane 2003 ITF Champion), KAUTION & ALAN ROCK. Throughout "Defence Vs Aggression" Sabre runs through various styles with ease, displaying a wide variety of skills, touching on a range of topics including deep and personal tracks like "Dedicated", party-vibe tracks such as "Let's Get Started", and cut-throat in your face tracks such as "Enough Is Enough" and "You Don't Wanna". Read more or email info@shogundist.com for more information