About blocSonic
Your introduction to the world of netaudio…
For the past decade an alternative culture of music has been sprouting up outside the wastelands of the increasingly formulaic and compartmentalized mainstream music business. This world of “Netaudio” is generally released freely, either independently or through Netlabels. As this culture continues to grow, the amount of available music grows exponentially making it increasingly difficult for folks who are new to the culture to filter the good from the bad. Each of our free releases, in one way or another, are an attempt to shine the spotlight on what we think is the best of what this world has to offer.
Consider blocSonic a filter through which you can discover this vibrant, global culture! Currently there are three ways which we spotlight what the netaudio world has to offer:
During our travels through the wide-world of netaudio culture, we find artists who stand out and who we feel would be perfect to spotlight independently in original blocSonic album releases. Each Original features:
- Available in a choice of three high-quality audio formats — Lossless FLAC, 320kbs MP3 and 192kbs MP3.
- Complete album art is available in three formats — EPS, PDF and TIF.
- 40+ page PDF booklet with complete liner-notes, lyrics, photos and album credits.
Each of our Xtended Edition (XE) series is essentially a re-release. A re-release of an album that blocSonic found to be an exceptional example of the quality that the netaudio world is capable of producing. These re-releases contain the original album as well as at least a bonus disc worth of material (remixes, demos, outtakes, new material and/or other unreleased material). They also feature fresh album art and as with all our releases an extensive PDF booklet.
Each Xtended Edition features:
- At least 1 disc worth of bonus material
- Available in a choice of three high-quality audio formats — Lossless FLAC, 320kbs MP3 and 192kbs MP3.
- Complete new album art is available in three formats — EPS, PDF and TIF.
- 40+ page PDF booklet with complete liner-notes, lyrics, photos and album credits.
Each of these eclectic releases shine a spotlight on ten or so international audio gems culled from the Netaudio culture. Each netBloc features:
- Available in a choice of three high-quality audio formats — Lossless FLAC, 320kbs MP3 and 192kbs MP3.
- Complete album art is available in three formats — EPS, PDF and TIF.
- 30+ page PDF booklet with complete liner-notes, track credits and artist photos.
These special collections feature Creative Commons licensed tracks that for one reason or another blocSonic couldn't acquire official permission to use but find them worthy of extra attention. Since no formal permission has been acquired, links to the original files are provided rather than compiling them into a proper release. However, a cover and a tracklisting is provided in order for you to burn them to disc, if you'd like.
Why do we do what we do? We love music, we love netaudio and have found that the quality and variety of what’s coming out of this culture is superior to that of much of what’s coming out of the mainstream music industry. We feel more secure donating to netaudio artists/labels then we do purchasing formulaic music-product from the majors. We’d like you to also feel that way toward the netaudio culture. We realize that most people don’t have the time and/or patience to filter through it all to find the good stuff, so we invest the time to find the gems in the ruff and deliver them to you in our releases.
In between releases, you can also look forward to blog posts about netaudio news or topics relating to DRM and online music.
So subscribe to our feed and discover great new openly-licensed music every month. Be sure to spread the word!
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blocsonic on 08/04/2010 at 12:21AM
New release: Just Plain Ant “Rumble, Young Man, Rumble” with guest appearance by Chuck D!
Just Plain Ant is back with another fresh collection of his unique brand of hip-hop — beats, jazzy samples and a host of guests who each add their own flavor to the mix. Among the guests we’ve got blocSonic regulars such as Joey Ripps, Ohbliv and Sleaze. We’ve also got some new names — Black Liquid, Braintrust, Mic Jordan, Gordy Michael, NOTE, Octavion Xcellence, Photosynthesizers and last but not least… the INCREDIBLE… Chuck D! That’s right… the legendary Public Enemy front man took time out of his busy schedule to drop a verse!
As you’ll read in Ant’s PDF liner-notes, this album was a long time in the making and has undergone a few changes along the way… but in my opinion, it was worth it… Ant turned out another fantastic release! I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.
Thanks in advance for checking it out! Remember… keep the music moving… share it… blog it… podcast it!
macedonia on 06/12/2010 at 01:06PM
With Regards To Richmond...
Those who dig through Creative Commons crates on the regular probably are familiar with blocSonic releases, all of which have been hip-hop or downtempo up until now. However, to get hung up on that fact is to ignore their genre-busting netBloc series, which has consistently schooled us on choice netaudio selections from around the world, no matter what musical category they get filed under. It is this series that sets the stage for blocSonic's latest release, the self-titled debut album from Friends or Whatever.
Clearly something wonderful is happening in Richmond, Virginia. It's from out of this region that producer Just Plain Ant was called upon to deliver blocSonic's first original release, the sensational Dig Deep album. Guitarist/producer Mark Herbkersman is another product of Richmond and the sole member of Friends or Whatever, writing and performing all the songs. Both singles, "The Burns We Earn" and "Stuck In My Soul," have already seen remix support from the likes of Just Plain Ant, Tha Silent Partner, and a host of others.
If you like the rock/electronica hybrid that Phantogram presented us with last year, you're sure to appreciate this album. The abrasive guitars and jaded lyrical contemplations of "Piss Test" and "Shattered" ride alongside the synth-driven hypnosis of "Everybody Stopped Calling Me," its percussive accents sounding like digital cicadas. There's even a brief moment set aside for the futuristic beats of "Smoke Floats" and the ironic lounge of "Richmond Is Killing Us All." It's an auspicious debut that wouldn't sound out of place on Warp Records or Ghostly International.
Respect is due to Mark for sharing his FoW album with the world through Creative Commons means and thanks to blocSonic for making this one available through the Free Music Archive. The attached songs below, "If Everybody Here Knew Me" and "The Terminal Replies," further explore the guitar-driven and keyboard-laden terrain that this release resides within...