In deze wrede tijden waar majors denken al hun problemen op te lossen door de thuisdownloader aan te pakken en Idolen onze hersenpannen willen kraken met vreselijke popmelodietjes zou een mens zowaar durven vergeten dat er nog steeds mensen zijn die hun muziek gewoon willen laten horen, en niet uit zijn op krispende biljetjes. Mensen als Matthew Herbert, een man die creativiteit als hoogste maatstaaf neemt, getuige hiervan zijn P.C.C.O.M.:
PERSONAL CONTRACT FOR THE COMPOSITION OF MUSIC
[INCORPORATING THE MANIFESTO OF MISTAKES]
THIS IS WRITTEN FOR THE PURPOSE, NECESSITY AND DESIRE TO BE ORIGINAL AT ALL TIMES.
1. The use of sounds that exist already is not allowed. Subject to article 2. In particular:
1. No drum machines.
2. All keyboard sounds must be edited in some way: no factory presets or pre-programmed patches are allowed.
2. Only sounds that are generated at the start of the compositional process or taken from the artist's own previously unused archive are available for sampling. The use of, ordering and manipulation of noise-sound is to be held as the highest priority in composition.
3. The sampling of other people's music is strictly forbidden.
4. With the exception of the human voice, no replication of traditional acoustic instruments is allowed where the financial and physical possibility of using the real ones exists.
5. The inclusion, development, propagation, existence, replication, acknowledgement, rights, patterns and beauty of what are commonly known as accidents, is encouraged. Furthermore, they have equal rights within the composition as deliberate, conscious, or premeditated compositional actions or decisions.
6. The mixing desk is not to be reset before the start of a new track. This is for the specific purpose of applying a random eq and fx setting across the new sounds. Once the ordering and recording of the music has begun, the desk may be used as normal.
7. All fx settings must be edited: no factory preset or pre-programmed patches are allowed.
8. Samples themselves are not to be truncated from the rear.
9. A notation of every sound used and its source to be taken and published within one year at magicandaccident.com.
10. A full description of all technical equipment used on each track to be published within one year at magicandaccident.com.
11. All samples will be deleted upon completion of the track.
12. Remixes must be completed using only the sounds provided by the original artist including any packaging the media was provided in.
MATTHEW HERBERT
27-11-00
Het mooiste voorbeeld van deze regeltjes is z'n Radioboy-project, The Mechanics of Destruction, een indrukwekkende én gratis plaat.
Specialleke: alle samples komen van min of meer dagdagelijkse voorwerpen, zoals daar zijn, een hamburger, een film, sigaretten, colablikjes,... Het geeft de nummers een extra dimensie en zegt wat meer over de ware aard van het album: een doelgerichte aanval tegen de consumptiemaatschappij. Misschien cliché, maar het klopt van de eerste tot de laatste seconde...
It's a journey of rubbish, turning shit into music, the temporary into permanence, and the identical into the unique. Whether you actually like the music or not, is an entirely other matter...
This album is profit-free.