Artist description An evolving network of musical trade routes between the tiny islands of solo electronic musicians, acting against isolation and in favor of creative cross-pollenation.

Music Style Ambient | Electronic | Microsound | Experimental

Similar Artists Thermal, Freezer, eM, Rhomb, Apiary, Seofon, Ambient Temple of Imagination, Csero, Dean Santomieri, Subspace, Mat Jarvis, Sketch, Kim Cascone, Mark Van Hoen

Artist History Why, one may ask, has an assortment of seemingly unconnected electronic musicians and nanolabels come to refer to itself as an Archipelago? The metaphor evolves from that of the island:electronic musicians tend to work in isolation, carving their pieces out of the solitude of the private studio rather than in the throng of the club, only releasing the results of this work on equallydisconnected and nearly unknown nanolabels. Certainly the current obsession with so-named "electronica" might have been expected to change such a situation, but in fact it has done theopposite: rather than bringing musicians together, an industry-culled formula has ghettoized them into micro-genres to speed the efficient niching of new musical product. Yes, a rigidlypartitioned and colonized mainland exists, but the smaller islands beyond it remain disconnected from it by choice or simply due to distance. At a certain point, however, the islands begin tobecome aware of the presence of other islands, eventually sending out boats (we have only oars) and at last hearing the noises made in neighboring tiny lands. Isolation is fine while chasingrabbits or practicing the traditional arts of paper airplane folding on our various little mounds of earth in the sea, but soon the idea offers itself: to link these unmapped islands into a largernetwork - to say that these are in fact the components of a larger archipelago. Ah, yes, you are grimmacing - I noticed - here is another clique, another crew, another posse, another brandname tobe namedropped, banner-advertized, stickered, flyered, T-shirted, strategically positioned, and leveraged. But it is not so. For what characterizes an archipelago is its decentralized structure, itsscattered geography, its assortment of contrasting local customs, and most of all its evolutionary definition by its islands rather than any active moulding of the islands by the set. As can be heardin even a cursory listen to the Archipelago 3-inch CD sextet "Islands," our lands collect themselves into no fashion posse or DJ crew striving for dominance in a stylistic ghetto, for each of ususes different musical implements and speaks in a different dialect, and rather than an exclusive clique the Archipelago is open to the addition of new islands in our chain. Yes, the Archipelagowebpage resides on the Boxman Studies website, but its territory here is unattached to this or any other of the participating nanolabels; you will notice that its email address is at the site of TheFoundry. And of course there is a logo, but this logo is owned by no entity and is shared by all islands for use on our CDs and our websites, not a brand (remembering the sizzling sound abranding iron makes as a farmer applies it to cattle) but an emblem of our cooperative. As for our numbering system, the Archipelago is making itself known in 2000 by way of its "Islands"sextet, yet the set bears a notation that it is Archipelago #3, for lower numbers have already been ennumerated in our past: Archipelago #1 was assigned to the "Time out of Mind" CD byThermal + Freezer + CUE, while #2 was given to the "A Monument of Chance" CD by Thermal + Seofon. The numbers indicate that these releases are collaborative projects in which thedifferent islands establish creative routes between each other; it is along the edges of these routes that the shape of the Archipelago is mapped and explored. The Archipelago logo then will appearon any release by any artist or nanolabel linked as an island in the chain, while the numbers in the series will be assigned only to collaborative releases between the islands. Along with physicaland virtual musical releases, the Archipelago will also be embodied in performances and other events, including the series of Electronic Salons, in which we hope hitherto uncharted islands willcome to light. Meanwhile, travellers hither will find the water potable and none of the plants poisonous; as for our dialects, no dictionary is available. Please enjoy your visit.

Group Members Joshua Maremont (Thermal) | Michael Bentley (Rhomb, eM) | Seofon | Ian Stokes (Csero) | Dean Santomieri | Peter Becker (BPM/0) | Charles Uzzell-Edwards (CUE) | Subspace (Jonathan Hughes) | Sketch (Tor Jørgensen & Kai Mikalsen) | Mat Jarvis | Kim Cascone | Mark Van Hoen | more yet to be discovered!

Instruments Native circuitry.

Albums Thermal+Freezer+CUE "Time Out of Mind" (Archipelago #1) | Thermal+Seofon "A Monument of Chance" (Archipelago #2) | Rhomb+CSERO+Seofon+Thermal+Santomieri+eM "Islands" (Archipelago #3) | Various Artists "360º" (Archipelago #4, forthcoming)

Press Reviews Archipelago #1: "An interesting and varied collection of music that combines elements ofabstract techno, atmospheric ambient and minimalism for a satisfying mix" (Ujamaa's Ambient Experience). "The three tracks were recorded in 94-96 - but have nonetheless a somewhat timeless feel. A very pleasant driving-ambientalbum" (Ampersand Etcetera). "A fat streak of churning bass that twists through space like a wiggling sonic sandworm, and probing muted trumpet" (The Wire). "It starts with what could be Fiorella Terenzi's recordings of distant stellar emissions smothered by some hysterical Tomita sauce. An analogue synthesiser bubbles like squeak. Finely slicedguitars float in. And the drum machine glides on brittle wings, closely followed by a biomechanical helimoth. Metal drops like rain. [...] Raindrops like metal. Rusty guitars and a hedging basstrickle. Space gets big now. And then there's a long, gracious, gradual descent into the land of pixillation and a final spooky chuckle" (Vital Weekly). Archipelago #2: "It has beauty, motion, depth and heart and you will be spellbound every time you play it" (CD Services). "A fantastic collection of orchestrated experimentation and rhythm.... Thermal & Seofon [have an] inbuilt ability to manipulate sound and explore composition. The results are often intense, sometimes eerie, occasionally graceful, and always exciting, engaging and full of realised potential. Highly recommended" (Wireviews). "Thoughtfully constructed soundscapes..." (Steven Fruitman). "An excellent release of sonic exploration andre-manipulation" (XLR8R Magazine). Archipelago #3: "I can't begin to guesswhere the inspiration comes from most of the selections, or the hiddenmeanings within. But it could be an odd fascination of sorts to spend alifetime trying" (Sequences Magazine). "A conclusion? While the islands may be in an archipelago, the climate across the string is very variable, producing six quite different ecosystems; Thermal and Seofon are probably nearer to each other than Rhomb is to eM (despite their semi-shared creator), while Csero and eM have a basic shared interest in computer sounds, Santomieri's musique concrete is quite distant but interrelating with eM's new interest in the voice. But they all are distinct. Taking fixes between the islands is diverting, but somewhat pointless - rather it is more fun to enjoy the synergy that these artists are gaining from each other and their shared interest in music, and wallow in the pleasure of these six miniatures" (Ampersand Etcetera).

Additional Info Archipelago releases are available from The Foundry, Drum Machine Museum, Rioux's Records, and CD Services.

Location San Francisco, CA - USA

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