We Feel Very Excited About The New Songs
- Category: Artists
- Published on Saturday, 22 October 2011 22:37
- Written by Mario
- Hits: 359
Additional Info
The Black Atlantic, Groningen based folk-pop quartette, are on my current top ten list, definitely. I love their album "Reverence For Fallen Trees" and I'm looking forward to their upcoming EP "Darkling I Listen". I talked to Geert van der Velde about the things to come for the band...
50K MUSIC: You have been touring heavily this year again. Will you get some peace now?
Geert: Haha...Yeah, as a matter of fact I'm writing my answers from the new house me and my family just moved into. I've just been sawing and painting and cleaning and cooking like a real house dad.
It's been a really hectic year for all of us, with almost no break from doing the band whatsoever. If we weren't touring we were writing or rehearsing in our practice space every day. And, then there was the recording of our new EP which we finished about a month ago. We're in the process of mixing it right now. So, once the artwork is done we'll be ready to press. I personally can't wait to get a copy of the vinyl to play in the new house! We have a 3 month break from the band right now. We knew we'd need a break after all the touring but we wanted to take that break together so that everyone could go their way and do their own thing but be able to come together around the same time afterwards. We'll pick things back up again in December with some touring and then more in January.
50K MUSIC: In August you've started the pre-ordering for your upcoming EP. It's quite similar to classical fan funding projects, I think. Please tell us something about this campaign.
Geert: It's really simple. We have a special pre-order website where people can pay in advance to get their copy of the EP in various formats: CD, Vinyl, Download etc. When we release it those people will get a copy sent to them first. There's additional merchandise that can be ordered there as well, like T-shirts, Playbuttons (audio player buttons) and such.
On top, fans who pre-order get access to a members-only part of our website where we do some free give-away auctions for limited items, such as hand silk-screened tourposters, free tickets to shows etc. And, you also get access to exclusive content, such as the tour documentary from our recent tour in China in April of this year.
50K MUSIC: You gave away your debut album "Reverence For Fallen Trees" for free. Why do fans have to pay now?
Geert: It's true that our debut album is digitally available on a pay-what-you-want basis. And, this new EP will be available on a pay-what-you-want basis as well. So, fans are free to decide what they pay for the mp3's.
By pre-ordering a CD, vinyl or paying for the mp3s now, fans support us and help us finance the costs of the release. The extra money we receive through the pre-orders enables us to create a higher quality product because our budget becomes a bit bigger. It's what we wouldn't have had to spend otherwise when we would've really liked to.
For example, we've used some of the pre-order money for artwork and also for studio time (to mix). And, already I can tell you that the quality of the recording and the artwork have benefited from the fact that we've used some of that pre-order money. We've been able to spend more time in the studio and use higher-quality equipment, and work with better professionals to improve the overall quality of our release.
So in the end, pre-ordering is a self-rewarding process for a fan because they're getting a better product. And, it's rewarding for us because we getting to work on it with better tools. It's a win-win situation.
Certainly the songs we wrote for this new release will still, in essence, remain the same songs we did demo's for in the practice space. But, the sound and our attention to detail during the recording process will have a big difference on the listening experience. And, that's a lasting improvement.
Same goes for the album artwork. Because of the support we've received we have the extra money to afford to work with artists to create artwork that adds to the total experience.
50K MUSIC: Would you consider to wholly fan fund an EP or album in the future maybe using one of today's field-tested platforms?
Geert: Yes, we've considered that. From a practical perspective for the future, I believe that bands will rely on fans more and more. Especially since there is such a direct relationship between bands and fans now because of the internet. It feels like we've almost come full circle to a point where it's now about music first and foremost again, and less about the industry. And, that is beautiful. Most of the time, the industry just gets in the way of that, if you ask me.
But, I believe there is a fine line between an artist's independence and his reliance on others for his or her existence. Making and releasing music into the world isn't just about the relationship with the fan. It's certainly one of the most important relationships for a musician who wants to make a living off his music. But, it is also, and more so for us, about self expression and the creative freedom to so.
Too much involvement - from a fan, or a record label or whomever - can be a dangerous thing for musicians, like ourselves, who need that creative freedom to make art. Otherwise, you run the risk to take on too many outside expectations and wanting to cater to that; to want to not disappoint or to want to succeed commercially first instead of wanting to succeed artistically first.
But, part of the fun of being an artist is to surprise yourself. And, part of the fun for the fan, I think, is to be surprised by the artist whom you are a fan of. Most of my personal favorite artists are like that. They don't just do the same thing over and over again. They break with expectations. And, sometimes they take great creative risks and it pays off. So, the surprise factor adds to that experience. At other times I can appreciate the chance an artist took more than the end result itself.
In the end that is why we, as a band, are a little apprehensive about wholly fan-funding a release. We feel that the responsibility (and the risk) for a creative endeavor should always be the artist's. That way writing and releasing music will always stay about creativity and self-expression first, and commercial success second. Which is how it should be to us.
Now, we did look into the various field-tested platforms such as Pledge or Kickstarter but all of those organizations take a minimum 5-10% of the money for themselves to fund their own organizations and that's totally understandable.
But, coming back to what I wrote about the direct relationship between bands and fans: it felt to us that trying to finance the EP via one of those platforms was just another thing getting in the way.
Of course, the extra exposure of working via those platforms could be nice, but it just didn't feel direct enough for us. It changes the game of trying to release music into the world. It changes the question of responsibility again as well, and almost makes it less pure because of that somehow.
50K MUSIC: What are your plans after the EP release?
Geert: We'll be doing a few selective tours around the time of the release of the EP. Most of those dates have already been announced. So, fans in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Switzerland can already buy tickets to the shows. The rest of the world will have to wait a bit longer as we're planning on spreading the touring out across the year a bit. And, we won't tour quite as extensively or as long as we did for "Reverence..." .
Most of 2012 will be spent writing and recording for us, with only a few tours in between to try out more new material. Our main goal is to have a new full-length album ready by 2013.
50K MUSIC: Anything else you want your fans to know?
Geert: Just that we're very grateful for all the support and feel very excited about the new songs!
Pre-order the new EP "Darkling I listen" on www.theblackatlantic.com.
