'A diverse collection of superb electronic ambient and experimental music. If you like your music both immediately appealing and yet challenging enough for repeated listens, we urge you to check The Monkey out today' - StillStream.com Fantastic ambient internet based radio station

Review of Earth Monkey @ www.eu.socialtext.net/lite/page/spark/monkey_noises

The Creative Commons netlabel provides the latest way for people to share culture, following in the tradition of mail art, tape exchange, and the pre-digital era of folk singers sharing songs. Although no one pigeon-hole defines what is released on netlabels, it often features music which is electronica, avante-garde and sometimes a bit outre'.

Netlabels are a valuable way for people with non-mainstream musical tastes, whether artist or listener, to link up via the internet. Some consider this movement almost the definition of virtual community. But what if the virtual community becomes real?

Earth Monkey productions is a netlabel which operates in the small English Lakes Districts community of Barrow-in-Furness. Its artists tend to be ambient, found-sound, and electronica artists, along with a separate Talking Monkey division which features poets and remixes of poets.

Yet Earth Monkey Productions has not been contented with being an avant-garde label on the 'net "out there". Instead, through the Monkey Noises project, Earth Monkey has become involved in the community. Seminars in music-making and remixing for local kids are sponsored by Earth Monkey. Musique concrete albums featuring found sounds at the local schools result. School-age remixers learn how to use up-to-date software studio devices. Rather than being apart from its community, Earth Monkey is using the new tools of technology to be part of its community.

Shaun Blezard, who records as Clutter, is a primary force behind EMP. He would make a good interview, about a program which defies the stereotype that internet communities are something that happen "out there", rather than being part of the "IRL" community.

Review of :: FALLING :: compilation at headphonenaught’s nanolog

One day I'm going to hook up with "Simian" Shaun Blezard and thank him for Earth Monkey Productions :: the netlabel he has created that houses some of the best ambient, abstract, electronica on the planet. Sure this isn't for everyone... some may think its noise... and some may prefer their funky house... but for those of us who like subtle soundscapes for times when down tempo is just too upbeat then Shaun's your man!

I have pimped EMP many times before... so why the big intro? Well EMP have released their 25th release - a fab compilation of all that’s good on the label. There are tracks from artists I am already diggin' such as 4th Alternative (with the fab track Mote... 1000 Aeroplanes Crashing in the Night... and cousin silas... as well as tracks from other folks such as clutter... adrian carter... and Dawn Salvia.

It is well worth checking out and its free.

Article about net labels in Metonline featuring quotes from Earth Monkey’s Shaun Blezard (used with kind permission)

DIY or die: netlabels liberate music

By Joshua Smith

With the introduction of MP3 technology and peer-to-peer filesharing networks, the world has watched the music industry drop head first into a pool of existential angst as it searches for a new identity in a suddenly unfamiliar world.

Regardless of where you stand on the issue of the digital music trade, everyone can agree that it’s here to stay. However, it’s not all stolen music and sagging record sales, as a new sort of record label has sprung into existence as a result: the netlabel. What usually surprises most people about the netlabel phenomenon is the price you’re asked to pay for the music offered, which is nothing.

“I like the DIY attitude,” says Shaun Blezard, creative director of Earth Monkey Productions, a non profit based in the U.K. “I was a punk rocker back in the day, and this attitude, through cassette labels, etc., still excites me aesthetically and politically. I had some of my own music to put out with no money to spend, so I started Earth Monkey to do that. Then I put out a friend’s E.P. and it sort of grew quite quickly from there.”

This new revolution in music distribution has offered us a world in which all you need to have your sound heard by a global audience is a website and hosting service. Now those with the ambition to run a record label – but not necessarily the means – have an avenue to promote music and artists that they believe in. As a result, netlabels have become a launch pad for many musicians whose work may have otherwise gone unnoticed.

“As far as I know, EMI got interested in Stockfinster’s music after it was released on Sutemos.net,” says Walkman, head of Lithuania’s, Sutemos, which is both a netlabel and a music-focused e-zine. “So I guess the benefits are pretty clear.”

For most people involved in the movement, dollar signs and bottom lines never come into play. The simple act of making music freely available for anyone to hear is the start and end point of their philosophy. As Noah Christopher of Denver’s own Seedsound label said, “My label isn’t generating income, and was never intended to. At one time I thought about ways to cover server costs, but at this point I’ve decided to pay for it out-of-pocket. It’s sort of a gift back into the community that inspired me in the first place.”

The question arises, though: does the fact that music will be released with little or no chance of monetary gain drive away musicians who might wish to make their living on their art?

“Not so far, though I’ve only been doing it for 8 months or so,” said Adrian of Sydney, Australia’s 4-4-2 Music. “But I don’t imagine the well will dry up too quickly when you take into consideration the fact that the globe is opened up to connect with. I have noticed that it’s electronic-based producers who seem more willing to release music for free though, probably due to low production costs while maintaining high production standards.”

While it is true that the bulk of the music offered through netlabels is from electronic musicians, the bedroom producer nature of the genre has allowed a wide range of experimental music to be offered to a vast audience. The ready availability of this music to anyone with an Internet connection gives curious listeners the chance to explore music they may have never heard otherwise.

So while the birth of MP3 culture and online music trading is sometimes thought to be damaging the music industry as a whole, the existence and growing popularity of netlabels shows that a new ethic in music distribution is emerging in tandem with the advances in technology available.

August 31, 2006

Copyright © 2006, Metropolitan State College of Denver

Feature in Island Eye - Barrow Island’s Community newspaper - May 2006

Island monkey business promotes arts

Interview by Neil Thomason

Want Free Music? Great I’ve got your attention, now read on.

Earth Monkey Productions is a net-based music label which has begun releasing free music via their website; the emphasis being on experimental, electronic, sound art and spoken word. The label, based on Barrow Island has its official launch at the Nest, Rawlinson Street on the 19th of May, finishing on the 21st. The weekend will pretty much be an all encompassing artistic experience involving live music, live visual work, and spoken word performances - promoting and giving a taste of all the things Earth Monkey Productions and its offshoot, Talking Monkey does.

The company was started by Shaun Blezard, a community based audio/visual artist with a list of works so well-rounded in the artistic field that he makes me and you seem pretty much lazy in comparison. I had a chance to talk to Shaun a bit about the upcoming launch, the label and everything else recently:

Are you nervous about the upcoming 'official' launch on the 19th or just can't wait or a little bit of both?

Just looking forward to it really, I'm a bit long in the tooth to get nervous. I've been playing and promoting music in the Morecambe Bay area for over 20 years now so the nerves are fairly settled. If I'm nervous about anything it's the live web streaming we are hoping to have - new technology can be frightening.

What other performers/artists etc will be playing at the show?

At the moment the line up is (with hopefully more added soon) on the Friday night I'm playing as Clutter, my alter ego. It will be an improvised set of IDM and sound art. Also Ann Wilson will be doing some poetry. We are also hoping that a sonic artist called Andrew Deakin will be playing. On Saturday me and Ann Wilson will be launching our sound/poetry/photograhpy exhibition with a live set. The exhibition will be on at The Nest for a month and is about Barrow Island where myself and Ann live and work. There will be a poetry afternoon as well featuring some of the areas finest contemporary poets. On the Sunday afternoon Mike Willoughby and Jimmy Eccles will be performing a music/poetry gig. All weekend you can hear music available from Earth Monkey, see the website and watch some Earth Monkey related experimental films. Absent Cinema will hopefully be supplying live visuals over the weekend The weekend is a co-promotion with Fledgling Media (the local media/film making organisation that run The Nest)

What are you doing to promote the show?

The usual local press and flyers stuff but also through the website and through things like myspace. The internet is just so good for networking and getting work out to new audiences.

What influences your work?

Myself? Artists like Scanner, Colin Potter, Four Tet & Stephen Vitiello. Also I work with recordings of my environment. Shopping in a Shipyard Town, my last album, features sounds from Barrow Island, Heron Corn Mill, Dalton and Barrow Town center, all manipulated in my computer to make new sounds and rhythms. I also like to work with other musicians and singers/poets who add so many extra textures, again then messed about and edited by myself.

What prompted you into wanting to start the site?

I'd been listening to loads of stuff from net labels like Comfort Stand, Thinner and You Are Not Stealing Records - all places where you can get free music of high quality and the whole concept appealed to my DIY punk rock roots so I thought why not? After many late night conversations with John Hall aka The Cardboard Lung, Ann Wilson and Steve Wharton of Fledgling Media we were all getting to a point where we wanted to move things along, create and get our art out to the world without having to spend loads of money we didn't have. Also the face of the industry is changing so fast and I thought this is such a good way of getting music heard, especially from artists from Cumbria which is outside the mainstream channels. Now we have fans all over the world in just a couple of months, with over 500 album downloads.

What criteria do you look for in featured artists or is it currently an open door policy?

I've got to find something interesting in the music submitted, also the same with Ann at Talking Monkey for the writing. We want to build trust with our audience, that anything we put out is of a certain quality. It all has a feel of experimentation and we are looking for people who like to collaborate and push boundaries. If anyone thinks they have something to contribute it's best to check the website - www.earthmp.com - and see if you think you fit, then get in touch with us.

How did the collaboration with d/a73 come about? (a fellow indie-net label based in Knoxville, Tennessee) come about

Wright who runs d/a73 records as 1000 Aeroplanes Crashing In The Night and is based in Knoxville, Tennessee in the US. We met via myspace and really loved each others stuff and just started talking by email and IM and realised we are very similar. d/a73 have now co-released the Clutter album and I'm currently working on the new 1000 Aeroplanes ep and will be working on Wright's next exhibition that will be touring galleries in the US in Autumn.

What works have you got in progress at the moment? and will any be ready to be debuted at the opening?

The Clutter set will be live remixes of stuff I've done so far but the collaboration with Ann Wilson will be all new and it will be the world premiere of this. We are also on the bill at Solfest, doing selected highlights as part of Ann's poetry set. Outside of this I'm just about to start working at Barrow Island school again - working on a soundscape piece with the pupils and teachers there, working on a performance piece with John Hall called Tin Hut, running some more projects in Cumbria for The Sonic Arts Network's Sonic Postcards project, and possibly flying out to Germany to make a documentary for photographer Stuart Clarke during the World Cup with Steve Wharton.

Earth Money Productions can be accessed at www.earthmp.com where you will find a plethora of downloadable albums as well as links to other local artists and a variety of indie-net labels around the globe.

The Earth Monkey Productions launch begins on Friday May 19 at The Nest, Rawlinson Street, Barrow-in-Furness

Review of Earth Monkey on ccMixterblog

Earth Monkey Productions, a netlabel, is headquartered on Barrow Island in Cumbria, and releases ambient music (and its related cousins in the chill and downtempo arena) on a Creative Commons BY NC SA license basis.

I stumbled upon them through one of mixter Alex Young's Milieu reviews, where he rightly praised 4th Alternative's melodic ambient album "New Dawn". Other artists range from the mildly experimental to the smoother electronica.

The sharealike license makes this a fertile field for potential remixes, for those who seek out a little pleasant electronica to serve as the pool upon which to skim the beats.

It's a great gift to the Creative Commons--and it's from Cumbria!

Myspace comments:

'I love visiting your page. Truly inspiring on every level. Our hats are off to you' - Kingdom Kong

'5 am in the morning or 5 pm in the evening, it all sounds so...yeeaaaah...love it' - The Black Lung Orchestra

‘I was taking one of my periodic tours of the Earth Monkey site the other day. I am so impressed with what you are doing. Live performances, workshops in creation and remixing for teens, and a stable of interesting releases. Today, Barrow! Tomorrow, Barrow! The world should come to you’ - Gurdonark

'wow i like what you guys are doing with the record label. cool stuff. you guys keep it up and going! world needs many organisations like yourself’ - Dream Land Scheme

‘hey this is fantastic! great to see some top stuff coming from barra! say hi to cumbria for me, i miss the place :o)’ - Granstudio

‘The musical universe you created is awesome, BIG UP !’ - Johann

‘Nice to see that you appreciate the world of experimentation and unconventional music!’ - aeop

‘Great, great stuff...and to cap it off a fellow Barrovian too!!!.....Love what your doing’ - Bro ToeK

‘You're making the music i've always wanted to hear. It's incredible. Please keep it up. For Mom's sake. Love you xxxxxxxx’ - Emvelope Nine

‘Excellent site. I must find out more about 'the monkey'.’ - The Lava Experiment

‘Right on! Very cool...’ - LSD and the Search for God

‘You've got really great productions! Love them!’ - GriG

‘What a fantastic idea! Love it.’ - Sadie Hawkins Dance

‘Brilliant stuff, You are definitely on the doctors prescription list.’ - Dr Echo

‘Oh mighty Earth Monkies ... PMFf smiles whilst your sounds play’ - PMFf