[ Hypnos Forum ]

Regarding this Bar-code fee business, when Cd Baby was a CD selling outfit you didn't need a bar-code, it's for the digital distribution thing. My earlier releases had bar-codes ascribed to them by the company who made the discs, so I didn't really notice it. I don't know if they're being disingenuous about it or not, but it seems you need one, one way or another.

As regards how much of a cut iTunes and the like takes, I would image that they decide how much that will be , not the likes of CD Baby and yes, its a pain and contrary to the interests of the artist. 

Even though I'm not a Hypnos artist, I've got some thoughts on this one:

It's good and bad in my experience, good in that I continue to sell my music in download format long after the discs have sold out. It's bad, in that I very much like the 'Art Object' idea, but it's popularity has waned, certainly for 'Independent' artists.

I should point out that the situation is probably more preferable these days from that artist's point of view - anyone can now release pretty much anything they desire and if they sign up to CD Baby (for example), $59 gets their album up on iTunes, Amazon, emusic etc. in a few days. That's pretty amazing I think.

I know this isn't directly relevant to the world of ambient, but interesting nonetheless, in terms of an artist endeavouring to release their work in a different format. I'm quite a fan of Beck and it's cool to see his imagination at work and the enduring legacy of 'sheet music' even today.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/youll-need-something-to-play-the-new-beck-album-on-and-a-stereo-wont-do-the-trick-8027276.html

I've just uploaded a free montage of 30 second clips from each of the tracks on the album on my Soundcloud page:

http://soundcloud.com/igneous-flame/pandora-montage

I have to say I founds IRIS's sounds a tad underwhelming - a very interesting concept and GUI, but it didn't really do it for me, sonically.

Just come across a free / Beta modular vst synth, which is pretty good in my view:
'Sonigen Modular'
http://sonigen.com/

Mike,

I didn't mean to say that Omnisphere is an 'ambient synth', as I said, I've never tried it. However, they are a number of synths out there that are termed as such and an awful lot of libraries, loops etc. that are described as 'ambient'. My point was that I choose to make my own sounds and I find it to be one of the most stimulating elements of ambient. When I was studying, I was exposed to electroacoustic music techniques and a big part of that is the sound design element, it's an 'anti-preset' music if there ever was one. I took this from the genre as it was probably the only thing that resonated with me in the whole 'eam' thing.

On the tools point, I flippantly referred to the Strat as only having three sounds - but it has a massive potential to use all manner of playing techniques to create anew these basic 'presets'. Saying that though, I've heard some synth presets that do sound great, but you know that because they have such instant appeal, they may well be used considerably - unmodified.

No problem with the 'venting', it's good to see more discussion hereabouts !

I deleted a lot of the Wusikstation presets as they just seemed to be pre-made sounds in their own right, with no real means of manipulating them. I don't work that way, so they were of no interest to me.
I've never tried Omnisphere, but I find it bizarre when a synth is marketed as an 'ambient synth', as if we musicians don't have the imaginations to make ambient sounds from anything and everything (within reason) ! 

Time to revisit the ACE demo, methinks.

Mike, You'd hardly expect a 'regular gal' be the bass player in Pixies, of course she's a 'wierdo'
Kim is a rockin' bass player and vocalist. 'Cannonball' is such a great track.

I would imagine people will have heard this :

the dandy warhols cool as kim deal

'As cool as Kim Deal'

Am liking 'Prism' and 'Early Rain' very much, Forrest.

Sheer Genius:

Wiggy - End of thumbs