RAI will be in Brussels starting March 28 thru April 11. Available to play shows in areas/cities nearby. Please email shaktimusic(at)gmail.com or info(at)irisarri.org (direct) for more infos. Thanks!
When you buy music it sends the right message to the independent label, small distro companies, local record store, independent concert promoter: there is a desire and market (yes, we live in a capitalist system) for my art.This in turn will hopefully guarantee I record another album or play a show in your town.
Physical copies are by far of superior quality. Vinyl is top notch, and unlike Megaupload/Rapidshare/Filesonic/Mediafire files or torrents (not that there’s anything wrong with that once in a while to discover new music), there is no substitute for holding something in your hands, opening a package, putting it on a record player and listening to the real thing. The next best thing is of course, getting a hi-quality digital version (wav/aiff/flac), which are hard to find among the P2P communities or file “locker” sites. Hell, I’ve seen my work file-shared at 128kbs, seriously?? That’s not even suitable for human consumption! After spending so much time/energy/money to craft an album, I believe you and I both deserve better.
Simply put: when you buy music, you appreciate it much more.
We do not need draconian new laws or even outright censorship (as a colleague pointed out, it’s starting to feel like we live in North Korea and not America). All we need as artists creating content is listeners that support what we do by buying our music, going to our shows, and telling their friends/peers to do the same.
To all of you who have bought an album at a gig, at a record store, or directly from my Bandcamp store: Thanks for supporting my lifestyle choice, it is not an easy one, but it is sure fulfilling. Let’s continue on this path, I can’t wait to see what comes next!
Spent the last few days experimenting with different signal and live instrument input routings in Ableton Live and applying the results to composing a new piece. Here’s what it’s sounding like so far. Enjoy!
2011 was a very lovely year, can’t wait to see what 2012 brings! In the meantime, I made a New Year’s Eve mix with artists I enjoyed seen live in 2011.
Lou Reed was standing right in front of me at the security check-in queue on my way to Berlin. When I realized it was him, I blurted out loud: “No way, it’s Lou Fucking Reed!”
He overheard that, turned around and glared at me. I felt really embarrassed.
Shortly afterwards I passed him the tray containing his jacket and Macbook Air.