[ Hypnos Forum ]

Digital pricing could become an interesting thread.I also tend to mark the $10 range as a limit but will go higher if I really want it.I have noticed that many of my favorite artists prices have been slowly creeping up price wise for downloads.I have little issue paying a fair amount for media I enjoy and I can guess that no artist on BC is making a fortune.

However,as I mentioned a few years ago on this site,as digital prices slowly surpass hard copy prices (CD or books) it becomes difficult to justify.I have seen Kindle versions of books selling for more than the hard copy version,with free delivery on Amazon.That is wrong.I suspect this will continue as the reality is that income for artists is coming more and more from digital.

Where I draw the line is with sites such as Boomkat or Bleep,though they have an amazing selection of digital,up charge you for buying lossless such as FLAC or WAV.That is clearly just a rip off as all files are delivered in the first place in lossless (Itunes as well) Then they down sample to MP3,then if you want it back to FLAC,you pay more.In some cases,way more.That is why Bandcamp is always my first choice.

Current purchases:

Cut Copy-January Tape.Their version of ambient.Some beats but overall,a sort of old school lo-fi thing.
The Orb-Chill Out or COW.44 minutes but could go on for twice that.Ambient except a few minutes of subtle beats.Plenty of samples.I would say this is a companion piece to KLF-Chill Out.
Yello-Toy.Shorter tracks,around 3:30 each but full of classic Yello sounds.Outstanding recording quality.
AOC-Broken by Moonlight.Long tracks with classic sounding drum machines mixed in with their samples and drones.More like Polydeuces.

Looking forward to exploring.Most of us have many of his albums on CD (as he is a master) but BC is always my first stop for lossless.I hope he puts up his live series.

Chris23.

Went to that link.Enjoyed that Remember.Never heard of Vaporwave? I must not be with it.What is it? Much off that label Dream seems pretty generic.

AOC-Broken Apart by Sunlight on BC.5 long form tracks that I much prefer to Polydeuces.Very spacey and FAX like.Excellent.Buy do not stream.

Roger Waters-The Wall live in 2015.Great versions of the album we all know.I saw the live show in Quebec and it is well worth checking out the Blu ray.Not just for the live footage but the story Waters weaves through it.

Joy Division-Closer.Still sounds modern today due to Martin Hannett.I cannot listen to this one very often as it is very dark but a true work of art.

Yes,us Canadians seem to be a moderate bunch !

I do not know the in depth history of this site but been here a long time and I think Mike (as the owner) and new members like Third System provide great insight into what music is out there.

I agree.That Mick Chillage (M)odes is the best thing he has done since Faxology.You can detect a few sounds from his AOC project.That last track sort of ruins the flow for me with the percussion as up until then,it is all ambient but yes,as a concluding track,it fits somehow.

Cocteau Twins-Heaven or Las Vegas.As stunning now as it was in 1990.Robin Guthrie's guitar was always the attraction for me.They never got the recognition they deserved.

Andy Stott-Passed me by/We stay together.Minimal techno even a bit ambient but with a very dark distant feel.Sort of like GAS/Wolfgang Voight.

Found this looking through a local newspaper.

Sinoia Caves (side project of Black Mountain)-The Enchanter Persuaded and Beyond the Black Rainbow.First one is very early TD,Floyd Meddle.Like it.Bought it.Second is a soundtrack to the film of the same name.Not into it.Did not buy it.Like Goblin,John Carpenter. Find it on Boomkat in FLAC.

But the film trailer looks interesting.Early Cronenberg (when he was a decent film maker)

Music,film both from beautiful Canada.

Low-I could live in hope.What they called Slowcore at the time.Lo-fi post rock.

Since I saw David Gilmour last week in Toronto (well worth it,class all the way) listening to Animals.

Substrata for me is my all time favorite ambient album,been nearly 20 years since its release.
Cirque is the next in line.Then Shenzhou.Check out Wireless which is a live disc,sort of a greatest hits.
The two with HIA are excellent.Polar Sequence is my choice from the two.

My two favorite Bowie LPs are Low and Heroes.It was the ambient sides that took me in (and still do) but the other song oriented tracks are equally as good.It has to be said that you cannot underestimate the influence of Eno and Visconti on those two albums.

Heroes is my all time favorite song.I was never into anything pre Station to Station or post Lets Dance though Reality and certainly Blackstar are up there.On Blackstar,I am simple stunned that his voice sounds so good,considering how sick he must have been when they were recorded.

Yeah,I know the name.Newbie on Hypnos judging from the icon.No matter.

What a complete waste of time.Nearly 400 views.For whatever reason,if you do not like it (and I do not) then move on.
Bowie just passed away and there is way less talk about a man who influenced generations and was an icon than this project from some unknown newbie.
Sad.

I am certainly emotional today.

There was always a Bowie track from 1975-1981 on play in my household.

Shell shocked.

Now I know that the track Lazarus was about him.

I have read his books, seen his films and videos, his exhibition,seen him live from 82-2002.
If you were in a band that started in the late 70s, of the type of music we here listen to,it was only because of Bowie and Kraftwerk,maybe as a spark the Pistols.

There will and can never be another David Bowie. He was truly a person from another dimension.

He has been on BC for some time.Nothing new recently.Plenty of archive stuff.Last few LPs were kind of dull.I think all his Touch material reverted back to him.Just put up both Fires of Ork with Namlook.I always enjoyed him.Substrata is still my # 1 ambient LP ever.That says something since it came out late 90s.

I have received several notices from artists websites recently about FAX co-productions be available again.I think the rights are reverting back to the artists or some deal was struck with the Namlook estate.Several of them involved Pete such as the Richie Hawtin or Biosphere or Sultan project.Lets hope more become available but none of that will replace the FAX original CD releases,both in terms of the hard copy value and nostalgia factor.

Anyone see anything new re-issued?

In Canada on Apple Music,all of his projects are available to buy on Itunes but only 4 are available to stream so someone must be still controlling it,his family I imagine.

Yes,shipping costs are all over.I actually find from the UK to USA or Canada is not too bad.Europe is quite expensive.USA to Canada is very high.I have shipped within the USA ( as I am there often) and it is very competitive.You can mail a giant box full of heavy items for $15.That same box to Canada is $70.What is odd is that same box can go to .5 KM of the border for $15,go .7 KM across the border,$70.

One more reason I only do downloads (if I can) is to save on shipping.Then you have currency exchange which no one seems to talk about.So while an artist in the UK charges in pounds or an artist in the USA charges in USD ( which makes sense since they live there) with exchange it becomes way more money depending on where you live.

Biosphere are putting up most if not all of their catalog on BC.All the Touch releases.Plus one really strange one on his Biophon label.Trap/hip hop!

A few decent questions,yes.Interviewer claims he is a huge fan of Sylvian but did not know he had lived in the USA for over 10 years? Common knowledge by anyone who was following him.Sorry,interviewer grated on me.Plus he sounds like he is 17.

Interesting words by Budd.The interviewer is boring and not that thoughtful,like he is reading a script and sounds like a kid..Love his music from the mid seventies to the late nineties.His solo work and with Eno and Guthrie are special.

Great answers.

I see that everyone is mentioning Bandcamp (which is by far my favorite site to buy) as a method of streaming but I do not think Bandcamp was set up as a streaming service in the first place but became that by default.They charge no  monthly fee and some artists block out certain tracks for that very reason.But to my mind,they were the first to offer samples of complete songs and albums.

I cannot speak from the artist side as I am a listener not creator.But I know that is a major issue with artists.Royalty payments.

I went to my local Apple store today to clarify the listening offline thing.Yes,you can listen to as many tracks as will fit on your device offline over and over,as long as you are a member of Apple Music.So if you have a 128G unit,you could listen for weeks never to the same track for $10.In that sense,I think buying is over.I prefer owning my music and for the reasons I mentioned,am not hooked up to the internet all the time.But this offline listening is really something.Plus I only want lossless so that also will greatly limit my serious listening to FLAC or CD.But to sample every option under the sun,Apple is hard to beat.Will have to try Spotify in the future as well.

Maybe I am behind the times but I just subscribed to my first streaming service today with Apple Music.Choose them simply because I use Itunes and Idevices and it was easy.
I have always owned my music with thousands of CDs and hundreds of purchased downloads and will continue to do so but what are your thoughts on streaming as far as the listener,not the artist ?(another subject)
So far,after a day,it would seem to me,why would anyone buy anything ever gain,if they can stream it.I have always been a lossless user so will probably go over to Tidal if I stay with this.
I know it has been many years you can stream for free as well,You tube being a prime example.
My original idea was to have a service where I can sample whole albums (similar to Bandcamp) before buying,including major artists.Then if interested,buy.I listen mostly at home and with my portable device (Astell & Kern AK 240,look it up) where I have no internet access so streaming does not work in that capacity but at work,stream while there.
Does anyone have a preferred service that caters more to ambient and electronic artists that we listen to here on this site,maybe Spotify or Tidal?
So far,on Apple,there have only been a few artists I could not find.