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@offwiththeirrecords
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Full Catalogue Listed by Date
!This list is incomplete while we migrate the data from our old website!
Scroll down and click around to browse.
OWT000 - The Vicars of Stiffkey - Live and Uncassocked Artist info / Digibundle album / CD / Bandcamp
Live Events
Upcoming
Past
Started 03/08/19, very much incomplete, will endeavour to add more dates for posterity's sake.
2024
1st June - Shane O'Linski's 'Haemogoblin' album launch - Louis Marchesi Crypt, Norwich
feat. Shane O'Linski's Gowboys n Ninjans, Lassie, The Wash, Cutout Joconde
4th May - Beltane Festival - Klabang Camping, Suffolk
feat. MARLA, Friends of the Pheasant + more
3rd May - Beltane Festival - Klabang Camping, Suffolk
feat. The Vicars of Stiffkey + more
6th April - Protocols @ Louis Marchesi - The Brickmakers, Norwich
feat. Protocols, MARLA, Mices and Mr. Ad. Infinitum
20th March - Vicars of Stiffkey @ Psychedelic Circus - The Brickmakers, Norwich
feat. Vicars of Stiffkey + more
14th March - Tom Conway album launch - Louis Marchesi Bar, Norwich
feat. Tom Conway and Kerry Smith from Young Waters
8th March - Colossal Youth - Louis Marchesi Crypt, Norwich
feat. Rudimentary Paste, Zines, False Etiquette, Toast
1st March - Joey Herzfeld 'Table For One' album launch - Louis Marchesi Bar, Norwich
feat. Joey Herzfeld Band and Cosmic Surf
26th January - Rooted III Magazine launch - Rumsey Wells, Norwich
feat. Santa Rita, Mink and Joe Millett
21st January - MARLA - Katzenjammers, London SE1
feat. MARLA, Noam, Mergita, Melina Blanco, Gary Splaine
2023
22nd December - HowlbackHum Christmas Party - Rumsey Wells, Norwich
Vicars of Stiffkey +tba
FREE ENTRY
16th December - MARLA @ Moor Vaults - Moor Vaults, Bermondsey, London
feat. Lunch, After Breakfast, MARLA
FREE ENTRY
12th November - No Escape/Ideal Surreal - VR Rooms, Norwich
feat. Cosmic Surf, Chlo Atlanta, MARLA, Squat Lobster
£3 entry
21st October - Off with their Records/Ideal Surreal - Karma Kafe, Norwich
feat. Ravenous Hounds, The Display Team, Minus Nothing, Lone Mesa, Yellowhammers (duo)
£7adv
8th October - Shane Olinski 'Every Summer Ever' album launch, VR Room, Norwich
line-up tbc
1st September - Gemma Cullingford EP Launch - Karma Kafe, Norwich
feat. Gemma Cullingford, The People Who Run the Country, Cutout Joconde
£6adv
18th August - The Reindeer, Norwich
Vieira & the Silvers, Waxx!, Odd Creatures
30th July - No Escape #7, VR Rooms, Norwich
Moonrise Trio, TBC, David Ross
21st July - Pennfest, Penn, Buckinghamshire
Waxx!, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Johnny Marr, Gaz Coombs + loads more
Full line-up
16th July - SLAGS (Sunday Lunch Anything Goes Sessions), The Mariners, Gt. Yarmouth
Black Beauties, TBC, The Craft, Joseph Beaney
27th May - Wildfest @ Wildcraft Brewery, Smallburgh, Norfolk
Vieira & the Silvers, Pleasure Inc., Suds, Waxx, Mink, Aphra
14th May - Voodoo Daddy's, Norwich
Guranfoe, Tres Pantalon, Cosmic Surf
30th April - No Escape #7 @ VR Escape Rooms, Norwich
Tristan Burfield, Project Multivitamin, Mink, Bavarien Rocket Groop, Cutout Joconde, Chris Dowding
29th April - 'I'm not from here but it feels like home' book launch, Karma Kafe, Norwich
Book readings from 4pm, live music from 6 feat. Ravenous Hounds, The Fool's Moon, Birds of Hell, Takeda, Mountain Peaks
28th April - Voodoo Daddy's, Norwich
Gemma Cullingford, MARLA, Urk
27th April - The Reindeer, Norwich
Yellowhammers, Wormhole, Lady Di
24th April - Acid Box @ The Green Door, Brighton
Waxx!, Ellis D
1st April - Last Pub Standing, Norwich
Waxx!, Vierra & the Silvers
31st March - The Six Six, Cambridge
Waxx!, Vierra & the Silvers
30th March - Paper Dress, Hackney, London
Waxx!, Vierra & the Silvers
24th March - Blossoms, Stockport
Waxx!
23rd March - Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham
Waxx!
22nd March - Nice n Sleazy, Glasgow
Waxx!
7th March - Access Creative College
Platform New Noise feat. MARLA +support
6-9pm
FREE ENTRY
4th March - HMV, Chapelfield Mall, Norwich
Waxx! exclusive album pre-launch
26th February - VR Rooms, Norwich
feat. Sefo Kanuteh, Nathan Pickett, David Jones, Citizen Smith, Emma Barber
24th February - Voodoo Daddy's, Norwich
feat. Hutch, Waxx! and Mink
29th January - VR Rooms, Norwich
feat. The Fool's Moon, Jack and the Giants, Cara Knox, The Wash, Ellie Grace
£3entry on the door
2022
23rd December - The Rumsey Wells, Norwich
Monthly free night Xmas special
Line-up tba
18th December - VR Escape Rooms, Norwich
Asinine Corp. Presents: Waxx!, Marigolds, Minty Taylor (from Space is Big) +more
2nd December - Voodoo Daddy's, Norwich
MARLA - A Decade of Delay
with support from Takeda, Painted Heathers, Love Trapezium
Click here for tickets (£5adv/£6otd)
27th November - VR Escape Rooms, Norwich
feat. Tres Pantalon, URK, Jambon Dimanche, Liverface, Genghis Kalm
25th November - The Rumsey Wells, Norwich
Current Undercurrant: Monthly free night feat. Monkiboy (from The Neutrinos), Liverface (from Waxx and MARLA), Tom Conway, Shane O'Linki + more
11th November - Moor Beer Vaults, Bermondsey, London
MARLA
2nd November - New Cross Inn, S.E. London
Eat Your Own Head, MARLA
30th October - VR Rooms, Norwich
The Vicars of Stiffkey, Yellowhammers, All My Youth, Joey Herzfeld Band, Peter Turrell
29th October - Last Pub Standing, Norwich
No Glum zine and Big Fat Art Cart present: The Molee Shakes, Waxx! Vierra and the Silvers
21st October - The Rumsey Wells, Norwich
Monthly free night line-up tba
9th October - VR Rooms, Norwich
Red Mar, MARLA, Chlo Atlanta, Bavarien Rocket Groop, All My Youth, Cosmic Surf
30th September - Deaf Institute, Manchester
Waxx!
23rd September - The Rumsey Wells, Norwich
Monthly free night feat. Wormhole, Yellowhammers and Bavarien Rocket Group, Tom Jordan
9th September - 66 Bar, Cambridge
Waxx
2nd September - Paper Dress, Hackney, London
Waxx
26th August - Vale Earth Fair, Geurnsey
Waxx
20th August - Karma Kafe, Norwich
Ideal Surreal presents: Bag of Cans, Tundra, Emma Kupa Band, MARLA, Vieira and the Silvers, Lady Di, Beanie in the Bath, Huia Fun Club
£8 tickets
16th August - The York, Norwich
Tom Conway Trio album launch, with Danny Whitehouse
4-7th August - Harlequin Fayre, Norfolk
Waxx, The Vicars of Stiffkey, Joey Herzfeld, Jessica Aspinall and many more
15th July - Rumsey Wells, Norwich
Howlback Hum feat. Peter Turrell, Lemongrower, Bloodbath on the Green, Shane Olinski, Marcus Bush, Insigh, Doddie Bees, Taryn Everdeen
8th July - Louis Marchesi, Norwich
Takeda 'Magic Words' album launch w/Pretty Terry, The Ornithologists, Jake Raywood
8th July - Voodoo Daddy's, Norwich
Karma Sheen, The Bomb Fayre Band, Waxx!
17th June - Rumsey Wells, Norwich
Liverface, Shane O'Linski, Jess Aspinall and Chas Rigby
11th June - Beak Brewery, Lewes
An evening with MARLA
2nd June - Blondies, Clapton, London
Waxx + Karma Sheen
20th May - Rumsey Wells, Norwich
Ben Winn, All My Youth, Dandelion, Tiny Little Robots
FREE ENTRY
14th May - The Gladstone, Brighton
Waxx, Pleasure Inc., Ellis D, Dreamwave, Kid Hyena + many more
5th May - Voodoo Daddy's, Norwich
Mega Emotion album launch with support TBA
15th April - Rumsey Wells, Norwich
The Ornithologists, Amy French (Blisster), Pete Murdoch (Birds of Hell)
FREE ENTRY
7th April - Voodoo Daddy's, Norwich
Waxx 'Rearrange' single launch
+support from Ghosts of Men and Rave on the Dole
26th March - Brew By Numbers, Greenwich, London
MARLA
18th March - Rumsey Wells, Norwich
Shane O'Linski's 'The Ornithologists' EP launch with support from Takeda and Joey Herzfeld
FREE ENTRY
25th February - Voodoo Daddy's, Norwich
Featuring Headshrinkers, Waxx and Damp Matches
15th February - The Waterfront, Norwich
Tilting Sky presents Bath of Milk, Waxx and Hemingway
Tickets £7 available from Off with their Records. Email: [email protected]
10th February - The Waterfront, Norwich
Ideal Surreal presents Gaffa Tape Sandy with support from Damp Matches and Anna's Bones
Tickets £10adv. £12otd
2021
17th December, 2021 - Rumsey Wells
Ideal Surreal/Off with their Records Christmas do
feat. Shane Olinski and more
FREE
11th December, 2021 - The Shoe Factory
feat. Pleasure Inc. Waxx, Bath of Milk, Floral Image, Aphra, Kyle Dann
£7adv (inc. afterparty)
25th November, 2021 - Voodoo Daddy's
Bag of Cans, The Acharis, Yellowhammers, MARLA
£5adv
19th November, 2021 - B2 venue
Wonk Unit, Yur Mum, I Said Goodbye
£10adv/£12otd
5th November, 2021 - Voodoo Daddy's
Eat Your Own Head, Aphra, Waxx
£7adv
23rd October, 2021 - Heartfest at Heartsease Pub
Yellowhammers and many more...
21st/22nd October - Gringos
We Bless This Mess double show
10th September - Karma Kafe 3-floor Takedown
Ideal Surreal + Off with their Records present...
3 floors of music including: Damp Matches,Kulk, Ohmic, The May, Lucille and the Seals and more - £5 entry
3rd September - Louis Marchesi
Space is Big EP launch with support from Eluders, Hyperfox and Foreign Bier
£3
18th August - Paper Dress, Hackney
Pleasure inc., Aphra, Waxx
7th August - Harlequin Fayre, Nomad Stage
MARLA
2020
April 24th - Ideal Surreal/Off with their Records present - Space Studios, Swan Ln, Norwich
feat. Dr. Clyde, Galli, TBA
CANCELED DUE TO CORONA PANDEMIC
March 27th - Ideal Surreal/Off with their Records present - Space is Big Album Launch - Space Studios, Swan Ln, Norwich
feat. Space is Big, HyperFox, Tundra, Eluders
£3 entry OTD
CANCELED DUE TO CORONA PANDEMIC
February 28th - Ideal Surreal/Off with their Records present - Space Studios, Swan Ln, Norwich
feat. Mammoth Penguins, Aphra, Our Quiet Friends, Huia Fun Club
£5 entry in advance (click here for tickets) (£7 otd)
February 14th - The Music House Acoustic(ish) Sessions - Jurnets Bar, Norwich
Off with their Records joins Howlback Hum to present a joint show at Norwich's long-running weekly Music House night in the historic Jurnets Bar. Free entry. Feat. Niamh, Andy McFadyen, Silver, Yellowhammers
January 31st - Ideal Surreal/Off with their Records present - Space Studios, Swan Ln, Norwich
feat. Bavarien Rocket Groop (album launch), Lucille and the Seals, Joey Herzfeld Band, Hydra Lerna + alt DJs till 3am
FREE ENTRY
2019
December 6th - Off with their Records hosts Music House Sessions - Jurnet's Bar, Norwich
feat. Jessica Aspinall, Joe Quinn, David JR Jones, Takeda
November 15th Ideal Surreal/Off with their Records 3-floor shebang - Karma Kafe, Norwich
feat. 12 bands across 3 floors including Damp Matches, Ravenous Hounds, Bug Teeth + many more
November 1st - Lucky Mojo's 'Stranger Things' Halloween Party - Karma Kafe, Norwich
Lucky Mojo's Manic City Vibes presents another themed gig for Halloween featuring performances from MARLA, The Renadeans and Leatherback.
September 21st - Joey Herzfeld - Louis Marchesi, Norwich
with support from Robyn Astrid, Stromm, Bridget Holmes
FREE ENTRY
September 6th - Ideal Surreal + PMVpodcast 3-floor shebang - Karma Kafe, Norwich
£7otd, £5 from Ideal Surreal, 12 bands over 3 floors including
Space is Big, Tom Conway Trio, Maximalist Banquet, Discharge Lounge, Project Mork, Aphra, Zaharie Lambert's Underjoy, and more...
August 25th - Bavarien Rocket Groop pre-launch party - The Playhouse, Norwich
Free entry. With support from Fresh Flowers, Bug Teeth and Niamh
August 3rd 8.30pm, Yellowhammers - Harlequin Fayre, Nomad Stage
SOLD OUT
2018
...
...
...
...
June 1st, Norms@Bedford's Crypt
MARLA, Lounge, Hugo Z
April 8th, Cactus Cafe (moved from The Reindeer), Norwich
MARLA, Renadeans, Lucille
February 15th, The Owl Sanctuary, Norwich
Painted Heathers, Blisster, YNB, Captain Teather and the Space Cadets
January 10th, Norwich Arts Centre
Vicars of Stiffkey, MARLA, Painted Heathers
2017
December 7th, Joe Quinn 'I see icy eyes' album launch, The Owl Sanctuary, Norwich
Feat. Joe Quinn, The Familiars, Of the Clay
Novermber 11th, Jurnet's Bar, Norwich
Current Undercurrant compilation #1 was recorded live on this date. Available now from our store
October 22nd, Tom Conway 'Idle Birdie' album launch, Cactus Cafe, Norwich
Tom Conway
July 1st, Soyuz Rats EP launch - The Owl Sanctuary, Norwich
Feat. Soyuz Rats, Bald Wife, Algae Bloom
June 17th, The Owl Sanctuary, Norwich
Painted Heathers 'Perennial' album launch
6-7 - Free copies of the album available for the early birds
8.00 - Aseasita
8.45 - Blisster
9.30 - Blank Lines
10.15 - Painted Heathers
11-2 - DJ sets from Sink ya Teeth and Steve Clarke
April 13th, First Official 'Off with their Records' live event - The Mash Tun, St. Benedicts St, Norwich
Vicars of Stiffkey - 'live and uncassocked' album launch
Defrocked. Disgraced. Deceased? This Easter weekend there will be a resurrection as the Vicars of Stiffkey return to save our souls. They lived for their art, they died for your entertainment, now they're live again at the Mash Tun in Norwich on Thursday 13th April to launch their debut 7-track EP.
The CD release party runs from 8-12 and is free entry featuring performances from Blank Lines, Painted Heathers and the Vicars themselves as well as various other shenanigans such as free CDs to be won, a merch table whereat you may show your devotion to the Vicars through the purchase of icons, a live video shoot for the forthcoming single from Painted Heathers and Blank Lines will be giving away limited edition CDs of their first EP.
Rough stage times; Blank Lines - 8.30pm Painted Heathers - 9.30 The Vicars of Stiffkey - 10.30
Downstairs at The Mash Tun, Thursday 13th April
Off with their Records moves to Bandcamp
Off with their Records has always had a DIALECTICAL MATERIALIST ideology at its heart. The Digital Revolution was a disruptive innovation that redirected power into the hands of the people, allowing anyone to produce and distribute music practically for free. But, according to the theory of dialectical materialism, these innovations occur regularly throughout history and the reaction of the establishment is always the same, they use all their power to cripple and seize these innovations to cling on to what they've got. This is why the established industry threw all its weight behind streaming, which benefits them at the expense of the people and has been a catastrophic move, strangling new music, benefiting only the established giants with their monolithic back catalogues of legacy music. These corporate giants, who fund technology and decide how we can release and distribute music, have no interest in new music. They are happy to sit back on their decades of back catalogue and exploit that for as long as they can, to the detriment of everyone else.
From the start, Off with their Records fought back, pioneering peer-to-peer digibundle downloads and you can still purchase downloads directly from us via our website but current technology doesn’t properly support it. Technology companies in partnership with the old music industry have thrown everything behind streaming, making peer-to-peer downloads tricky and unfamiliar to consumers. So you can download our digibundles onto your phone, it’s just not straightforward to access and experience them how they should be experienced. Bandcamp is better than Spotify, no doubt about it. It allows people to stream music conveniently through the app as well as discover and buy new music with 85% of the money going to the artists. So rather than spending £12 a month on Spotify with barely a penny of it going to the artists you're actually listening to, you could be discovering exciting new music, streaming it for free and spending that £12 a month buying music that directly supports the artists you're listening to.
Off with their Records shunned Bandcamp for a long time because the fees are still a barrier, they're still a profiteering middle-man. But over the years, streaming has deepened its hold and downloads have become harder and harder for people to accept. Thus, it is with some reluctance that, after 7 years fighting against the establishment, I bow to Bandcamp. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty good and currently the best option. Over the course of this year I will be rereleasing our back catalogue for Bandcamp alongside all the new releases we have lined up. Please follow us on the platform and buy a little something whenever you see fit because what we’re doing is genuinely exciting and the artists we work with are all 100% legit.
Ryan Williamson, Off with their Records
All our downloads are mobile friendly. If there is any problem whatsoever with your download contact [email protected] for immediate resolution
A tangled web
A while ago we relocated our website to tumblr because it’s free but turns out tumblr is quite glitchy, particularly on phones. Bear with us while we search once again for a new home.
MARLA EP (2019)
Cat # OWT004 / OWTcd191
Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, this EP represents MARLA’s transition from dirty garage rock gurus into experimental post-rock astronauts.
Watch
official video for track 01, ‘Ashes to Context’
Download
digibundle includes link to exclusive video content - £3.99
Buy CD
CD £3.99 + £1 p+p
Upwardly Mobile
As a digital record label, mobile and smart devices are important to what we do so we are currently going through all our products and making sure they are compatible with all devices. So if your phone or tablet is your main method of listening to music then stay tuned to Off with their Records because we'll be taking it to the next level...
UPGRADE IN PROGRESS
This website is still under construction after we moved it a few months ago. We have some big news which means that 2019 is going to be a huge year for Off with their Records so we are currently building up to a big announcement and a big promo drive which is when we will relaunch this website properly as part of the much higher-functioning Off with their Records. Stay tuned...
Space is Big - Five More Minutes - EP launch event
On 21st September 2018 (that’s this very Friday) SPACE IS BIG are releasing their new EP on CD with a digibundle to follow later in the year. The launch event takes place at The Mash Tun, Norwich, UK and features live music from Lounge, Bag of Cans and Space is Big. Entry is free and so is our sweet love (limited sweet love available, get there early to avoid disappointment).
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/296076854502594/
Space is Big - Five More Minutes - EP - CD
Cat # OWTcd180
Innovative and exciting pop-punk band characterised by their idiosyncratic dual vocals and progressive song structures, Space is Big are comparable to bands like The Clash, The Get Up Kids and Green Day, serving up cosmic-sized slices of pure rock.
BUY CD
Five More Minutes 5-track CD - £4 inc. p&p
DOWNLOAD
Five More Minutes 5-track mp3 download - £3
Blisster - How to Clean Everything About the House mini-album download
Cat # OWT1700
Hailing from the Sancho Panza of seaside towns, Gt. Yarmouth, UK, Blisster’s grunge infused surf-punk is raw and real. With 16th ornamented drums, 3-part vocal harmonies, pop song structures and lo-fi rock aesthetic this is a band that feels as classic and immediate as the early rock legends.
Ostensibly a demo album, this collection of songs shows Blisster in their nascent glory.
LISTEN
to Blisster live in session on PMVpodcast. Recorded June 2016.
BUY
How to Clean Everything About the House - 7 mp3 tracks + cover art - £3
10/08/18 - New Website
As of August 2018 we are closing down our old website and relocating to tumblr. Why? Because tumblr can do the job we need it to do and it can do it for free and that is what our DIY ethos is all about. The digital revolution has given us so many amazing tools that there are no excuses not to make something, do something, build something. We could pay £100 a year and build our website around what iPage offers or we could pay nothing and build it around what tumblr offers. One of our aims as a record label is to show people that anything is possible in these extraordinary times; even if you have no money you can make something of value. So get on it.
It’s going to take us some time to migrate all our information over so bear with us, we hope to have this all up and running by September.
Current Undercurrant Compilation #1 Cat # OWT003
Recorded live one night at Jurnets Bar 29/11/17, this compilation captures the Norwich independent music scene in all its glory.
Listen
to some of the tracks on PMVpodcast
Download
includes 15 tracks from 6 bands/artists + pics and info on all the players - £Free/Pay what you like
The digital revolution cannot be staunched
The biggest revolutions in art have often come from non-artistic places. It is technical and cultural innovations which change the way we conceive and produce art. The phonograph, vinyl records, tape cassettes, CDs, the digital revolution, these weren't created by musicians but they are the inventions that changed not just the way music is listened to but more significantly the whole conception of how music is created by the artists. From the hour-long symphony to the 3-minute pop song to the 12-track concept album, it is technology which brings about these changes. The LP era can be considered something of a high point in the history of music. The LP era came about when the 12" vinyl melded with the artistic vision of ambitious musicians. We went from tin pan alley, individual disposable popular songs, to Dark Side of the Moon, over 40 minutes of music, side A and side B, with big, striking cover art and interrelated musical and lyrical themes. The LP era was not just one of the most exciting musical eras, bringing significantly more substance to popular music, it was also a time when the recording industry became bigger than Hollywood.
The most recent technical innovation in music is the digital revolution. It happened more than 10 years ago but to this date it has failed to be grasped on the whole by both the music industry and artists themselves. The potential for digital releases to expand and enhance the way we conceive and create music is exponentially greater than LPs. A digital release can contain not only an ordered, interrelated collection of songs, but also the nature of the supporting artwork, which was so essential in creating the substance and allure that made the LP so great, is vastly expanded. Supporting artwork can include videos, apps, images, text, links, anything that can be digitised. Yet I have seen very few artists truly take advantage of it. Instead we see many artists harking back to days gone by, to a time even before CDs, glorifying vinyl and cassette. While I love these physical forms and I hope they never disappear, there is a tendency to set these forms off against digital and that is one of the things that has impeded the progress of the digital revolution. But make no mistake about it, digital is here and it's not going anywhere. And it's not just the artists that are failing to realise the enormous potential of the digital form, the industry too has dropped the ball. They too have gone backwards, selling music as individual mp3s, taking us back to a time when music was detached and alienated, largely lacking the substance and cultural significance it gains from context. And part of the reason the big industry has failed to grasp the digital revolution is because it's not for them. Revolutions are for the people. The digital revolution favours individual artists and small indie labels, allowing anyone to create and distribute music, ushering in a more myriad culture, creating greater diversity of music and a music industry, dare I say it, for the many not the few.
Off with their Records was founded with the intention of advancing these concepts. I sometimes adopt a combative stance, deriding physical releases, it's right there in the label name and logo, but this is actually tongue-in-cheek posturing, making a point. In practice I actually produce a fair amount of CDs. 'Off with their Records' is here to innovate and advance a particular set of ideas. My buzz terms are 'digital revolution' and 'DIY industry'. These concepts rely on a plethora of labels, not just one. I want to sow seeds, inspire others, to innovate and share my ideas and experiences so that we can all do it ourselves, work together, make art, be fairly remunerated for it, without shelling out thousands of pounds on production, manufacturing and distribution. Any musicians, producers, aspiring label owners, artists of all kinds or anyone interested in what I'm doing at all is welcome to get in contact. But above all keep an open mind and keep an eye out for our digital releases, we have some big ones coming up.
Ryan Williamson 19/06/17 [email protected] offwiththeirrecords.co.uk
Digibundles are the future of media production and distribution
It was in 2013 that I began to develop the idea of the Digibundle. This was not so much an invention as a prescient intuition. It was and still is clear to me that the Digibundle will be integral to, if not the dominant mode of media production and distribution in the digital age.
The Digibundle is simply a file containing multiple digital artifacts (pics, vids, sound files, docs, apps etc.) which can be compiled by the producer and downloaded by the consumer. There are a number of factors which make this so important. A Digibundle can mimic and in fact enhance any current form of media product. An album, for example, is not just a collection of twelve songs. A proper album (as opposed to a songbook of compiled recordings) is a unified whole. The artwork, the physical product, the thematic content and context of the music is a psychological whole that evolved in opposition to the practice of merely collecting songs. In modern times the downloading and playlisting of individual tracks has bypassed the album but the Digibundle allows the album to be reborn in the digital age. A Digibundle can contain not only an ordered collection of sound files but pictures, videos, documents, even apps which can elevate the music from a mere collection of songs to a substantial artistic product. This applies to any form of media that can be digitised – film, animation, graphic design, the written word, etc. If DVDs were exciting because they allowed film-makers to include extras then Digibundles are exponentially more exciting because the nature of these extras can be greatly expanded upon. But that doesn't begin to explain why I think Digibundles will be so ubiquitous in the future. The important factor is that Digibundles eliminate the enormous cost of material production and distribution - the cost of which has always required that an artist make a deal with a major company if they want their work to be seen. The problem with big companies and big costs is that they will screen their investments to make sure that they are getting a return. And the problem there is that commercial value has little relation to artistic value. A song which lends itself well to remix, for example, has far more commercial value than one which does not. With Digibundles an artist can sell their product direct to the consumer, no material production or distribution costs, no middle-man, no screening process, all money straight to the artist. This also means that the cost of the product falls more in line with the expectations of a new generation who have grown up with downloading and stopped buying albums and DVDs as a consequence of the ease of piracy. A Digibundle mimics and in fact competes with piracy: A couple of clicks and the product is yours, and all for a price that is affordable and fair and which goes straight to the artist. As I said, this idea was not so much an invention of mine as a prescient vision. In September 2013, the peer-to-peer downloading company BitTorrent launched a service that allowed people to publish BitTorrent Bundles. The idea, even the name, is virtually identical to mine (except that theirs is branded). In September 2014, Thom Yorke released his solo album, 'Tomorrow's Modern Boxes', as the first paid Bundle. The press releases by Thom Yorke and BitTorrent exhibit the same vision and enthusiasm for Digibundles that I have had for years.
Tom Conway - Idle Birdie - digibundle
Cat # OWT002
Inspired by folk guitar legends such as Davey Graham, Bert Jansch and John Renbourn this epic 31-track album of solo guitar instrumentals showcases Tom’s virtuosity in arranging and performing a wide range of pieces dating from as far back as the 12th Century to modern times. Perfect for relaxation and musical appreciation.
Listen
to Tom Conway on PMVpodcast
Buy
Idle Birdie digibundle - 31 tracks + cover art + extensive notes on the pieces - £5