It's been roughly five months since i announced on a few mailing lists and newsgrousp that i intended to start a net-zine about the making of electronic music. And now it's here... just a couple of months behind schedule. I had the interviews done by June, so what kept me?
It was a combination of the final stages of thesis (i'm stille editing it as i type) and no available WWW server. Now, the site has been established, the documents have been formated for HTTP and i've made some small changes about the plans for SoundConstructors.
So here it is, the first (and hopefully not the last) issue of SoundConstructors. And what is it, you may ask? SoundConstructors is a magazine dedicated to exposing artist on and off the net that use electronic means for the production of their music. While this usually means bands using mostly electronic equipment, it could include accoustic bands that mixed their material in a unique way using signal processing.
In addition, i hope to include articles, reviews and tech babble in future issues, as well as columns. SoundConstructors aims to be a source of information about the making of electronic music and their makers.
The focus of SC interviews is on the making of the music. Less of the gossip and the politics and the meaning of this and that, and more of the techniques used, the lessons learned and the toys exploited. That's at least the motto. I hope that the interviews presented fullfill this goal and give you an insight on how some people are making their music. This issue contains interviews with three very different artists. The first is Team Metlay, a true net band with its members all over US as well as a member from the UK. Their current release is called "Bandwidth" and is available on CD from atomic@netcom.com. The second is a signed act from Washington, DC named Chemlab, who has been touring the US off and on for the last year promoting their recent release of "Burn out at the Hydrogen Bar". They are one of the growing number of signed bands that are accessible on the internet. Their email base is chemlink@cyberden.com and they can be found frequenting rec.music.industrial. The last interview is with fEEd, an experimental techno group using a plethora of analog gear that could make any analogue freak jealous. Hopefully there's something interesting for everyone among those three. If not, complain and i'll see what i can do next time :)
I hope that in the future, i might be able to draw on more writers for material, as well as columns. Aside from gaining material for SC this should also adda wider perspective to the material discussed. My personal bias is towards the industrial genre and hence i will go after such artists to be reviewed. But i don't want to limit SC to just one genre. Please feel free to contact me about any material suggestions.
Arne F. Claassen, 9/19/94