Electronic Music 411 - n e w s # 2

a month or so ago i was checking my blogs to find a tracklist of a mix of mine that i had posted and then lost. i found this blog "n e w s !" and i thought i'd write another one with updates on the things i had posted back then and a few new ones.

1. release: that's how i started the other blog as well. i'm preparing memoryformat's 8th release right now, it will be released in December 20th, it's an album by a greek artist called Big Fat Lips and in my opinion it's great. if you'd like to listen to it see 2 below (see pic1 for artwork).

2. netlabel: a year ago i decided to put some effort in "upgrading" memoryformat. since then i've made a few steps (professional mastering & design, events, promoting memoryformat artists etc.). i also started sending emails to zines about memoryformat but i only got replies like "send us cds" or "yeah, i'm interested" and then nothing. since i don't want to make memoryformat a regular label and send promo cds to every zine for every release, i came up with the idea to make a sampler cd from memoryformat releases, send it only to people that might actually be interested and ask them if they'd like to receive the releases for review electronically. i've started giving away the first sampler mini-cd (see pic2 for artwork) and i'd like to send one to anyone who's interested. if you write for a zine/blog/whatever, know someone who does or if you know anyone who might be interested in this let me know (should someone want only the promo material and not the cd that's also ok).

3. city: i still have the same feelings about living in the city. i have managed to avoid it as much as possible. i spend most of my day in the uni campus which is green and has a view to the mountain. the view has a very strange impact in my thoughts / feelings. nothing else has calmed me down so much the last few years. it's as if the view of the mountain leaves me empty and i can finally relax. however, until a couple of weeks ago i would either stay at my place or go to the campus and nowhere else. that led to problems with my relationships with people, problems that i couldn't see and eventually exploded in my face.

4. gear / studio: i rearranged my studio in order to make it more compact and versatile (see pic3). it took me several months to complete the whole change because i didn't have all the money needed at once, there was an exam period and because i had to mod some of the support equipment myself (i had to cut the legs of an ikea table and a laptop stand). it's much much better now but still i haven't started writing music as much as i'd like. i realized that in 2008 i only made 2 tracks. i think it's because making music is an emotionally exhausting experience for me and when i've been working all day long i don't have the courage to make music. any suggestions on this would be nice, although i'm sure this is going to change in 2009. also, i modded my emu e5000 ultra sampler. i replaced the internal hd with an ssd and the fan with a silent one (the noise was driving me crazy), i removed the floppy drive and made the front panel detachable (i always envied the akais for that feature). you can see the front panel sitting on the ASR10 and the ribbon cables going to the sampler under the ASR10 in pic3.

5. life: i've been studying full-time almost every day. i have 3 exam periods each year during which i study 12 hrs a day and they usually last 2 months. however, i'll be getting my master's degree in september. then i'll probably start my phd. the plan is very clear now and although it means that i'll have to be in the city, having a goal to achieve makes it a little easier. i'll start working again soon, so that will be a challenge but i think i can manage.

6. depression: sometimes i find it very hard to accept reality and i don't mean only in the present, but also things that happened in the past. i keep stressing about stuff i did wrong and am embarassed about and feel shit. that's a really bad trip but it can get worse: stressing about things someone else did or has done in the past. i've had clues before that i have depression (almost everyone in my family has it and there have been a couple of incidents with me) but after 2 horrible weeks i had some time ago, i am now sure. i always thought that drugs (lexotanil) would be a safety net but it turns out they do nothing. so the only way i've found to fight this is to keep myself busy and do things that switch my brain off when i'm not. i know that lots of people spend their lifes like this, so i'm not so worried.

7. music: i can absorb music only in very slow rates. i'd post in the other blog about top tens, but honestly i haven't even listened to 10 albums that were released in 2008. i'll take some space here (as if this blog wasn't long enough) to write some titles i love right now (not only 2008 material):

+ Spark - Science Fiction : i guess you know this bloke. this is a great album. the last track is exactly my mindphase right now (Are we happy people?)
+ Winnie the Shit - Sons Grave : that's right, another one by the same artist. some people are fucking talented.
+ Pridon - Apnea Eina : the sound quality of this is stunning. really great.
+ Ohler - Hello Mr Ohler : the combination of this and the mountain (see 3) has kept me calm and sane
+ Cheer - Cluny to the Sea : helped me concentrate
+ Red Box Recorder - Fallow Duusk! : raw, powerful, melodic, awesome

that's it. if you reached this point you're a hero. thanks for reading all my ramblings. i hope you are doing well.