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becamitchellsbeats · 8 years ago

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DJ For Hire

With this one I was bored and motivated. I typed it awhile ago and just got round to finishing it soo boom. Also on AO3 and Wattpad .

Beca grumbled as the melody from her alarm filled the room for what seemed like the 15th time that morning. She had heard it so many times she was confident she could play it by ear, in fact her active mind was even contemplating how it could work in a mashup, but she was tired, so she swiftly rolled over and tried to hit snooze, almost aggressively as she attempted to slide the bar in the 'off’ direction without actually looking at it.

She suddenly stopped her attempt at murdering her phone upon realizing that the tune was different. Upon realizing it was a call, she fumbled to grab her phone, first dropping it on her face before successfully pulling it in front of her to see who it was. She groaned, squinting her eyes at the harsh screen light that flashed in her face.

[Caller ID Unknown]

she swiped and answered anyway, forcing herself to sound awake, she was oddly good at pulling off that she wasn’t in fact asleep two seconds beforehand. This was a skill that Stacie had taught her, who was often in the middle of sex at least 30% of the time that Beca had called her. It wasn’t quite the same thing, but it certainly helped.

“I would be more than happy to work for you within that price range.” Beca said excitedly into her phone, as she made her way downstairs with her messy bed hair. “Tomorrow? Sure I’ll show you some samples then. You’ll like my unique spin on things. I look forward to it, Beca-Out.”

“Yikes”

[“And who was that?”]

Beca turned her head and directed her attention to her housemate, Fat Amy. “Must be important Beca, you hardly ever come down early in a good mood.” Amy teased. “Especially on your day off” she added.

Beca walked into the kitchen and began pouring a glass of juice. “It was a client of sorts, a bridesmaid, I’ve been asked to DJ at a wedding” she said walking back into the living room. “When?” Fat Amy asked “ Uh, this weekend actually. Its last minute I know, but their DJ canceled and I might be their replacement. I’m going to be showing them some demos tomorrow.”

“Beca that’s amazing!” Fat Amy said sitting forward “You’re finally putting yourself out there. And this time its in a way that won’t get you arrested.” Beca rolled her eyes “That was your fault Amy.” Beca stated recalling the events of the smashed shopping window. “Shhhhh” Fat Amy said as she stood up and approached Beca. “So how much are they paying you?”

“Uhh between $100-200 dollars.” Beca reluctantly admitted. “Beca!” Fat Amy gasped as she abruptly placed both hands on her shoulders. “You’re worth more than that. Given how much you’re going to put into this you should have asked for more.” Amy said whilst slightly shaking her before moving her hands away.

“Yeah but I felt awkward… and this is a big deal for once, It’ll be fine. I’ll handle it okay? Isn’t that cheesecake finished defrosting now?” Beca said trying to change the subject.

“Ooh you’re right!” And with that Fat Amy rushed over to the Kitchen to prepare it.

“I still don’t understand how she can stomach that first thing in the morning” she mumbled to herself.

The next day Beca was up early. She had loaded up five of her best demos on to her USB plus one more that she had prepared last night, it was based off of the songs she was told the client liked.

Before Beca could leave through the door her phone buzzed. She glanced down eagerly to read the text. {Changed our minds. We spoke to your agent. We’ll pay you $1000}

Beca’s eyes widened upon reading the last part. “$1000!? Amy you’ll never guess what.” Beca said as she rushed into the living room. “It’s weird. You know that client I was telling you about? They just text me to say they’re increasing my money to $1000 they said they talked to my agent.” Beca then paused “The thing is. I don’t have an agent…?” She said almost awkwardly as she double checked the text.

“Uh, actually you do have an agent.” Beca squinted in confusion

“I’m your agent,” Fat Amy said somewhat slowly.

“What?”

“Yeah, I may of. Kind of…” She started to mumble “Did actually… call and pretend to be your agent.” she tried to say quietly whilst turning her head away from Beca’s confused stare.

“Fat Amy! you can’t just- what did you say?”

“Well, I told them the truth. That a highly skilled professional DJ such as yourself needs better pay, granted they’re still not giving you professional level pay, but I told them that if they want you they have to pay up cos um we have other suitors. So they increased it” Beca felt herself tense up as her irritation grew.

“That could have backfired Amy! ugh, I’m kinda mad but at the same time too stressed to focus on that. The issue is I am not professional enough. I lack the equipment. Everything. I can’t show up with my current gear…”

Fat Amy placed her hand on Beca’s shoulder. “Beca.” she said sincerely “Why do you think I’ve been borrowing money from you all this time?”

“Wait,” Beca said sharply turning her head towards the blonde. “You’ve still been doing that?” Her irritation grew further as she narrowed her eyes into a glare.

“For 4 years.” Fat Amy answered casually. “What!?”

“But it all had a purpose Beca. Let’s be honest, you’re terrible at saving money, so I saved for you.” Beca looked on curiously. “I saved up $3000 to be exact.” Fat Amy said whilst nodding her head impressed with the amount herself.

“Holy crap what? How did–”

“I did it so you could buy all that expensive DJ stuff. And guess what, you can, you can finally get all that professional equipment.” she said enthusiastically before mumbling “Some of it anyway.” Fat Amy then grabbed Beca’s hands “ You can finally be the BIG BM at the wedding! Beca Effin Mitchell slaying her dues! The killer DJ I knew you always could be!”

Beca didn’t know whether to laugh to smile or cry. Which is something she hated doing. “I don’t even have the words. Thank you? I think? Uh. How much were you stealing from my purse?”

Fat Amy shrugged as she reached for a pack of chips she had stashed under a cushion. “It varied. Sometimes $20 the usual amount. Other times $50 sometimes $100. You’re really bad at keeping track of money.”

“I can … See that”

What Fat Amy didn’t admit was how she had thrown in some money of her own.

Beca glanced up at the clock. “Crap, I’ve got to go and meet them. Uh” Beca fumbled to grab her bag and car keys “Fat Amy, transfer that money to my bank” “Uh it’s in cash?” “Who keeps $3000 in cash? ugh, I can’t talk right now just do something” Beca then flew out the door and rushed down the path to her car.

After an hours drive, Beca finally arrived at the client’s address. She bounced her leg up and down as she eagerly waited at the door, staring at the glass panels to see if she could see someone approaching. Things were already off to an awkward start, when the door opened the lady immediately went in for a hug but Beca responded with a handshake.

Beca could have kicked herself as she followed the lady inside her home. “I am so sorry Becky, the Bride to be just popped out. But don’t worry! I’m happy to listen to the samples, I’m kind of in charge of managing things and a top tier DJ such as yourself must be busy” she said with a light laugh.

“That’s me” Beca smiled whilst instantly murdering Amy in her head. The amount of pressure she was now under was unreal, but at the same time she loved a challenge.

“I’d be more than happy to show you, uh-” Beca paused not knowing the woman’s name “Oh, Kirsty” Beca smiled then loaded up her laptop, she slotted in her USB and opened up her files. Connecting her Beats portable speaker “Okay so I did a mashup with most of the Bride’s favorite songs. So, let me know what you think” she said as she clicked play.

The music filled the room. Beca watched Kirsty cautiously, trying to gauge whether she liked it. She felt a surge of relief come over her as she saw a smile spread across the lady’s face. Kirsty then suddenly turned to Beca “Oh my god!” she said very loudly, as the music continued to play in the background, Beca didn’t have a clue as to why she was suddenly so vocal.

“You even included Titanium in here!” Beca shifted her eyes left and right as she answered wearily “um yeah, it wasn’t on the list you gave me… but it fit- is that a problem?” She winced whist asking, fearing she had screwed up. “No! its the opposite, my niece loves that song!” Beca smiled faintly “It’s a good song” she said with a hint of sadness as a certain someone popped into her head.

“Well, I’ve already decided I want to hire you officially.” “Seriously? that’s- that’s awesome, just after one sample?” Beca questioned her, which she could have kicked herself for again. “That sample blew my mind! Its all I needed. I’ll let the Bride know that we’ve got ourselves a killer DJ! Sorry for using the word Bride so much, I’m just so proud. I won’t get to use it often so I’m making the most of it” Beca smiled ‘Yeah you’ve used it so much I don’t actually know the Bride’s name’ Beca commented internally as she slid her laptop back into her bag.

“So I’ll see you Saturday night then?” Beca said as she slung her bag over her shoulder “Oh um, actually Becky, can you come tomorrow night as well? We’ll pay you extra of course. The thing is my niece has this dance planned and she wants to rehearse it at the actual venue before the wedding. She’s been practicing for months! but needs to get a feel for the actual dance floor so if it’s not too much trouble?” Beca smiled “No problem at all, just message me the song, time and place and I’ll be there” “Oh, it’s not a known song. I’ll give you the USB on the day. Thank you so much Becky!” Beca nodded “Don’t mention it” she said cheerfully then headed out the door, laughing to herself softly “Why can’t people ever get my name right” she said rolling her eyes, finding it amusing that after all these years no one could simply just call her 'Beca’.

As Beca drove off another car pulled into the driveway. Out climbed two redheaded women carrying a lot of shopping bags. “Mom, I think you bought too much stuff y'know” the younger redhead said sounding muffled as she talked with her mouth up against the bags. “Oh, Chloe don’t be silly. Its a big day! we go big in this family” the other woman replied as they headed inside their house.

“Chloe, Sis, you’re back!” Kirsty said greeting them as they came in through the door. “You just missed our DJ, her samples were amazing. So I hired her, and she’s going to come down tomorrow night so you can practice that dance you have planned Chloe” Chloe smiled “Aus! That’s one less thing to stress about”. Chloe’s mom laughed “Its you darling, you’re going to continue to stress either way” Chloe pouted “Mom!” “I know, I know, its only because you want everything to be perfect.”

As Beca turned her key and opened the door Fat Amy was waiting eagerly to greet her, she questioned her about what happened and seemed overjoyed at the fact that they wanted to hire her.

“There’s one problem though.” Beca said with a sigh “They want me there tomorrow, meaning I need to get all my equipment today!” Beca scratched at her head, she wasn’t sure how she was going to manage, she was always juggling too much and it was starting to wear her down. “Relax Beca, I have connections. I’ll ensure you get it today. I promise”

“Like that’ll happen,” Beca said dismissively.

A few hours later Beca found herself staring in amazement. Fat Amy truly was connected. They managed to get most of the things that Beca had wanted. She had only ever dreamed of owning this kind of top tier equipment, never before did she think she’d be thankful that someone was stealing from her, although Fat Amy still insisted that it was 'Borrowing for her own benefit’.

Beca thought she would be able to relax once she purchased the equipment but now she found herself with another dilemma. Transferring it to the venue.

“Yeah, that’s not fitting in my car.” She said as she looked over the pile of tech in their living room. “I still have The Bellas mini bus? I put it into storage. We could use that? I’ll drive you. I don’t think you’d be able to see over the wheel” she mocked and Beca just sharpened her eyes playfully. “Thanks Amy, that’d mean a lot. Who knew you could be so reliable?”

Fat Amy smiled “I’d do anything for the people I care about. But let’s not get all mushy.” Fat Amy then flopped down on the sofa “So what’s the plan now?” She inquired as she started flicking through the TV channels.

“Slave the night away preparing their set. Its gonna be tight but I can do it.” Beca said as she loaded up her laptop. As Fat Amy glanced over she couldn’t help but notice that Beca couldn’t seem to stop smiling. “Someones happy” she commented, “I’m finally doing a big venue!”

When morning came Beca wasn’t feeling so positive. She groaned as she heard her alarm going off within her dream. Slowly being pulled back into reality. She turned it off and promptly sunk her head back into the pillow.

“Nuh-uh not happening” Fat Amy, who was now standing in her doorway said. She came over and abruptly yanked the sheets off of Beca. “DUDE!” Beca yelled as she suddenly got blasted with the cold air of the room, instantly missing the warmth of her duvet. “You can’t afford to oversleep Beca! This is a big day for you and for someone else.”

“Amy! Its the rehearsal. Not the actual wedding.” Beca whined “And I set my alarm an hour early just so I could snooze!”

“Oh.” Fat Amy said shrugging “Well, my intentions were good. Can you make breakfast?” Beca narrowed her eyes “You didn’t forget. You just wanted me to cook didn’t you.” Beca said squinting her eyes in disapproval.

Fat Amy just laughed “Yeah Beca. I just y'know, fancied some really burnt, crispy charcoal toast and overly dry beans.” Fat Amy said somewhat sarcastically. “By make I meant go and buy us something whilst I get the Bus ready.”

Beca smirked and slowly climbed out of bed. “You made your point” she said with a light chuckle. “I’ll go get us something.”

Time flew by. And before Beca knew it she was at the venue. The workers were already unloading the equipment from the Bus. She watched them like a hawk to ensure they didn’t damage her precious equipment. Once it was safely inside she headed in.

As she walked through the hall she found herself turning upon being tapped on the shoulder. “Beca? That is you isn’t it!” The woman said as she forced Beca into a hug. Beca’s eyes widened upon realizing just who it was. “Chloe never told me you were coming. Silly me. Of course she’d want you here on the big day.”

Beca felt sick.

'Of course she’d want you here on the big day’

Chloe’s mom’s words echoed through her head over and over again. Before Beca could even think of a sentence she was tapped on the shoulder again. She turned, this time more hesitantly. It was Kirsty “Ah Becky good you’re here. Are you okay to set up now?” Beca just nodded and made her way over to where her equipment was placed. Her mind was a mess.

As she looked into the distance she saw her. That long red hair, and toned figure. It was none other than Chloe Beale herself. After a year and a half of not seeing her, Beca couldn’t help but notice how good she looked. But given the circumstances now really wasn’t the time to be checking her out.

Chloe approached her mom “Chloe, I didn’t know you invited your friend?” Chloe looked confused “Mom I thought we discussed this? You said it was fine for Aubrey to come along?” Chloe’s mom shook her head “I’m not talking about Aubrey. I’m talking about Beca. The one with the headphone tattoo?”

“Wait, Becas here?” Chloe couldn’t fight the urge. She immediately found herself looking in all directions to see if she could spot the familiar brunette. “Are you sure it’s Beca, Mom? It’s really important that you’re sure”

Chloe’s mom nodded, looking even more confused “Yes? Why?” Chloe didn’t answer she just recklessly began dodging her way in and out of people in an attempt to spot her. She wasn’t sure why she was acting the way she was, they hadn’t spoken in over a year and yet here she was. Overcome with this form of desperation to make contact with her.

Beca, however, was thinking the opposite. After concluding that it was Chloe’s wedding this was the last place she wanted to be. She noticed the redhead getting closer and promptly dropped to the floor. Her small size had its benefit as she was successfully hidden behind her speakers that were almost as big as her.

Beca reached for her phone as she tried to peer over the top of the speakers. She quickly ducked as she watched Chloe walk by. She then dialed a number and pulled her phone to her ear.

“Beca, wassup?” Fat Amy asked.

“I can’t do this.”

FA: “Beca, what do you mean you can’t do it? Of course, you can. Do you need some more of my confidence? how about I give you my last jam doughnut”

Beca fell silent. It was a long pause that lasted at least 40 seconds.

…

FA: “Alright. You’re on to me. That doughnuts been there for weeks, even I won’t eat it.”

There wasn’t even a slight hint of laughter or a sarcastic comment as a response. Just another 20 second pause.

…

FA: “Um, Beca?”

“Chloe’s here.” Beca said sounding pained as she talked in a quiet voice.

FA: “What? Are you sure maybe someone just– actually. It’s Chloe. She’s ginger. She’s pretty distinctive.”

Another pause.

“It’s her wedding Amy, she’s getting married. And I just feel so–” Beca quickly changed her tone to a more angry one. If she was going to discuss this she didn’t want Amy getting the wrong impression. "I mean we should all be annoyed right? This is a big deal. It’s been over a year and what? she doesn’t call and now she’s getting married! You should tell your friends when you’re getting married!“ Beca’s voice almost cracked as she got more emotional than she intended to.

FA: "Um… Beca I don’t know how to say this.”

“I mean! If you’re getting married you should at least tell one of us. Y'know one of your closest friends even if it has been over a year… How could she not contact a single one of us? How could she not tell m–”

FA: “Beca, hold on a second…” Fat Amy said sounding pained as she interrupted her.

“Chloe uh… She contacts all of us. Frequently actually, even for matters such as not having biscuits in the biscuit tin. The um… The only one she doesn’t contact is you…”

Beca slowly pulled the phone away from her ear. She just froze. Completely numb to everything around her.

'The only one she doesn’t contact is you.’

FA: “Beca?? Hello? You still there?”

- End-

I have places I can go with this so if you’d like more of this lemme know! And as always, tell me your thoughts and thanks for reading :)

#dj for hire #bechloe #bechloe mini fic #beca x chloe #chloe x beca #chloe beale #beca mitchell

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sinceileftyoublog · 5 years ago

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Bill MacKay & Katinka Kleijn: Stir and Shatter

Bill MacKay (left) and Katinka Kleijn (right); Photo by Ricardo E. Adame

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Throughout their seven years of collaboration, guitarist Bill MacKay and cellist Katinka Kleijn have toed the line between composition and improvisation. “I felt like we had this strong chemistry right away,” MacKay told me a couple months ago. “Sometimes you go along for a while and you don’t know how it’s gonna build, but it seems like it has splintered into a few things.” Indeed, the duo have played together as part of countless bills, and Kleijn contributed to SpiderBeetleBee, the most recent Ryley Walker-MacKay duo record, back in 2017. What they do continues to be informed by their classical backgrounds and explorations into experimental mediums. “There’s been such a range,” said MacKay. “We’ll play a few songs, some will be compositions, some will be sketches for graphics. It’s fair to say that a lot of them have been free-form, but it feels so song-y to play with her. It feels like we’re drawing out long melodies and a lot of chaos, too, and all kinds of elements of things that are part of ourselves. It all feels like composition to me, but it’s not.” This dichotomy has formalized in STIR, the duo’s first record that came out last month on MacKay’s home, Drag City.

On paper, the album’s story is straightforward: MacKay wrote some themes, and the two played off of them. STIR was recorded at Experimental Sound Studio by Alex Inglizian, with just MacKay and his guitar and amplifier and Kelijn’s cello, with only four microphones, a couple in the room and a couple up high about 10-15 above them, in one pass through. They went through a few complete mixes with Nick Broste at Shape Shoppe to adjust to the album’s loud-quiet-loud dynamic, and then the album went on for mastering by Carl Saff. But like its labyrinthine cover, STIR is a record that rewards beneath the surface. Inspired by Hermann Hesse’s novel Steppenwolf, it shares characteristics of great novels, from its subtle foreshadowing to its callbacks that avoid wink-and-nod obviousness. Of course, the playing is as expert as you’d expect from these two, but it’s the album’s informal, yet strong narrative structure that impresses most, buoyed by MacKay’s writing.

Tonight, MacKay and Kleijn play a release show for STIR at Elastic Arts with visuals by Timothy Breen, and tomorrow at the Old Capitol Museum in Iowa City. (Brett Naucke opens tonight.) Read my conversation with MacKay, edited for length and clarity, below, where he touches on the making of the record, the history of his relationship to Hesse, and the gems in his current musical rotation.

Since I Left You: Was STIR at all informed by your and Katinka’s prior performances? Or were the songs totally new?

Bill MacKay: It was new in the sense that we had the framework and themes that I wrote for the pieces, and we had that going into it, but we also knew there would be a lot of jumping off points and we would glide around and shatter in a lot of different areas. But it was definitely our vocabulary together that was informed by prior performances. I listen to it, and even if it’s not specific thematic parts in the improvisation, it’s the colors of what we do together and this mixture that’s intriguing, of the classical elements and jazz and noise. It transcends the genres to me--it feels like a hybrid of some sorts.

SILY: You definitely have those different worlds in your contexts. Katinka’s in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra but also does noisy, experimental stuff, and you're in the folk and the experimental and jazz worlds.

BM: I [also] studied classical guitar as a kid. It was really brief, but certain things about it were so influential and stayed with me. The way things moved around, and keeping two melodies going. It made me appreciate classical music more. So we come from all these similar worlds, yet quite different at the same time. It feels unique to me. You don’t see electric guitar and cello all the time, either.

SILY: So you had the bases for the themes you had written. Beyond that, was what ended up as the final product mostly improvised?

BM: There’s a lot of improvisation on it. I suppose it would be like a lot of jazz records. You have the themes, some of them are more extended than others, and some are quite brief, but it’s the theme that informs or colorizes what follows. Sometimes we return to the themes, and sometimes we don’t. What sometimes bothered me about playing jazz is I would have a theme or melody I liked that was the head tune, but sometimes, the middle would have no connection to it. People would go off but not return to it or play threads of it. Sometimes, it was this weird sandwich, and everything was separate. On this one, we were cognizant of the melodic parts and the written material, so we came back to it. It threads its way in. Sometimes really subtly. I was listening to the other day and heard some stuff Katinka was playing that was related to the theme that was threaded in. I was happy about how it came out.

SILY: How did you go about deciding where one track ends and another begins?

BM: What we tried to do was follow what the plan of the composition was. I thought of it as the themes being separate ideas or entities that we would run together as much as possible, maybe with brief pauses. Most of it follows that: This is where the idea ends. Maybe we’d recap the idea. A couple times, the choices were definitely multi-variable.

SILY: There are groupings of track names that go together, and groupings of tracks sonically that go together, and they’re a bit different. “Hermine” and “The Hermetic Circle” and “No One Here is a Stranger”. Linguistically, the first two go together, and the idea of the third has to do with the first two. At the same time, “The Hermetic Circle” is where the record gets quieter and more playful.

BM: I was thinking about that: If people only hear the first couple tracks, they’ll think, “Oh, this is gonna be of this tenor. And it’s gonna be dark and crazy and I’m gonna be scared and all this stuff.” The phase and the dimension changes a lot with that third one. I don’t think our choices would have been drastically different, but there were parts where we said that the feeling of one went a little further or shorter because there were silences and pauses. That said, we were following a script. There was probably a moment where we would look at each other and think, “Are we plunging into this now, or playing a little more of something?”

SILY: Also, “Door to the Magic Theatre” and “A Series of Doors” go together linguistically.

BM: For something that’s as clear as that, I barely noticed it. Or I did and it went out of my mind or something. To some degree, the titles relate to Hermann Hesse’s Steppenwolf.

SILY: When were you first aware of that book in your life?

BM: I think it was probably as a teenager. I really got into his work so much as a teenager, Beneath the Wheel and Siddhartha and The Glass Bead Game and Steppenwolf and Demian. There was this range of books that I was reading.

SILY: At what point did you decide to make music inspired by Steppenwolf?

BM: I think it was only a little before it, but it had been on my mind for a long time. I wanted to return to Hesse more. It always seemed like his themes resonated with me. There was some kinship with his work. In that way, there was an aesthetic thing I was trying to reach for. I also felt I had already done it with others I felt the same way about. I think it was in the last couple years it really occurred to me and started writing these themes that worked.

SILY: Do you think the record follows a story or narrative?

BM: You know, I like to think that those things do in one sense, but maybe to people it would seem superficial. People often return to words and say, “A story must have words and is told in this way.” But then again, on the other hand, stories of ascension or spiritual discovery have been told so many times, like a story like Steppenwolf, but it’s his particular way of doing it that’s his identity. I hope or think that people get a similar story from what we’re doing. The beginning is like a prologue feel of setting a scene, there are feelings of chaos and struggle to some degree that enter into it, and some elegiac lyrical moments that imply certain states of mind. And there’s a feeling of a conclusion to me, and a drawn out part before that with a return of some of the themes. It feels symphonic to me in that way.

SILY: One cliche that this record avoids is the introduction as an overture. “Here’s my palate, here are all of the colors I’m going to be using throughout this album.”

BM: [laughs] I’m glad you said that. I kind of agree about those things. “Wow, this is weird, I’m getting a taste of these 4-6 themes that will be part of this long thing after.”

SILY: It’s like a rock opera.

BM: Is there a particular reason for that for you? Do you feel like they’re giving away the movie before you’ve seen it?

SILY: Somewhat. I feel like it’s just overdone and it has to be done really well. There are plenty of classic rock albums that do it that are fun and great.

BM: And plenty of symphonic works.

SILY: More than anything, I don’t inherently dislike it, but I like when things defy my expectations, especially in the context of it being a prelude or an intro. If it’s given that name or identity but then ends up not being what I think it’s gonna be, it’s a more fun experience, especially on repeat listens.

BM: That’s true. It’s something that can’t be valued enough. I got turned on to this book of stories by Denis Johnson, Jesus’ Son. It’s only 100 pages, but I got through the whole thing in like a day because I’m just so gripped. There are constant twists and turns and expectations being upended, and not in a blatant way or trying to hard or trying to shock you. It’s these completely natural occurrences. I love that, it’s so great.

SILY: What’s the inspiration behind the album title?

BM: I can’t really figure out why we came to this word, but there was a lot of searching through different things. Sometimes finding titles for records is the most torturous thing. A song can be hard, too, but it’s only a chip. This is a more public, visible, longer-lasting thing. The pressure to get something that feels right is on you more. I’ll just have reams of pages of titles and things, in different combinations, on and on. Katinka and I liked [“stir”] when we thought about it because it had more meanings than we had thought of. When you think of many words, you do so only in the context of where you need it at the moment. With this, there were lots: stirring up trouble, things that stir in the night, stir your imagination, and really pragmatic things like stirring your coffee. It seemed like a good one that way.

SILY: What about the cover art?

BM: The cover art is by this fellow Marko Markovic. He’s an artist who is friends with folks at Drag City. We were looking around at a few different things, and his work was presented to us as an idea. We were looking around at different parts of it, and three felt possible, but we kept coming back to that piece. It feels in one way like it’s simple and very primal and has this square, but there’s so much going on in that woodwork and crazy labyrinth of lattice work. Katinka had a beautiful phrase: It was something that on the surface seemed really simple but as you looked closer had this intensely woven textured narrative. She said it more gracefully than me.

SILY: Is there anything that you’ve been listening to or watching lately that’s caught your attention?

BM: I just picked up this album in Burlington, Vermont at a record store by Syrinx, an band from the early 70′s. Prog rock, lots of Mellotron, a bit of Zombies and King Crimson, but kind of their own things. I’ve been grooving on that; I’m not even through it all, it’s a three-record box set. I’ve also been grooving on the last few Mary Lattimore records. And then Dead Rider. A good chunk of artists on Drag City. Whenever I go there, I often come back with a stack of records.

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cnox · 6 years ago

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Interview for Skaventhrone issue two. Copies on the way to Hollow Myths* soon!

S: You were recently featured on Never Stop the Madness - Black Metal Radio and had an impressive line-up of releases for the coming months. How has the exposure been?

C: Eve Skaventhrone, thanx much for this chance to further spin our web. Hails to NZ AC DS! We are psyched by the response from the NSTM - BM Radio Special and thankful to have been featured. This was a grand opportunity to get more airplay for our artists and tell a bit of what is to come from Hollow Myths*. We look forward to doing it again this winter.

S: A fellow conspirator has added that your release schedule for the year is quite evenly paced, what makes this different from your previous approach?

C: That may be a bit of misinformation because we will be like a bat out of hell yet again. Our upcoming releases have been stirring in the pot for some time, so we have had many moons to plot and plan. There will be unexpected surprises as we don’t tend to spell things out nor give away too much. So, please do keep watch. We have also put a new CD-R series into action in which we will be offering even more outsider music. And introducing new artists and their first works. We have a grip of sick releases in our trick bag already for this venture.

S: To talk about the name 'Hollow Myths'; A cynical person could read this as being lacking in substance, what are your feelings towards this?

C: When we say hollow, we mean a dark valley in the forest or hole in an old tree. Our workings should be considered as mythology or folklore that seeps and creeps out of the fog and cries out from the blackest of nights. We bring forth new legends and modern myths. “The Hollow Myth” is also a book I wrote long ago. We have shared some of this story and will be telling this tale over the years to come. The introduction came with the Bestiary Vol. One Compilation and Issue 1 of our zine is first in a series of character guides. Our antics are always subversive, so it should be obvious there is a hidden double meaning to our moniker, one-part existentialism and one-part absurdism.

S: Going back to releases; Your output last year was quite prolific and featured a wide gamut within the established DS scene; What do you look for in an artist?

C: Thank you for the fine words. We shall do the same this time around and then some. For us, it must be unique, sad and true. Unabashed, sinister and the synthesizer is key. We like to work with artists whom are free, patient and have a grasp on the big picture. Loyalty and trust is something we also look for in our creative working relationships.

S: Similarly, each of these releases has a very personalized approach. Is this something you find important to differentiate from other labels or distros?

C: We appreciate you taking notice and set out to do our own thing indeed. The music of our artists is so very personal, as it is to us, so we try and convey this with the presentation. The artwork, packaging and magical extras are all part of the experience we try to give. Sight, sound, smell and even touch. From the vintage cassettes, cases, paper, fabric and tie, to the natural accoutrements, candles, incense and wood - we want our releases to be something to have, hold and cherish. Nearly everything we create has been made by hand. There is art to hang on your wall, jewellery and badges to wear, talismans to take with you about your travels. In this, the music and ideas carry on with the you even when not listening but still in one’s heart and mind's eye.

S: I understand that yourself and your partner also have a project together. It's been described as a cutting of recording errors and artefacts from analog or older technologies.

C: Cristahel and I are Rowen. We make mythical electronic music and use analogue equipment. We record live with synths, drum machines, percussion as well as capture field recordings. We plug in, press record and play, do some mixing and then share these aural documents on our Plexus Station the evening of. We were lucky to have been picked up by Personnel Records, a division of the Black Metal label, Seedstock just after a couple of songs. They released our first demo “Ashen Spirit” on pro-tape and we are now composing a new album. An east coast wing of shows are in the talks for this summer and we are aiming on touring Europa this fall.

S: There seems to be a shift in the scene from those maintaining the traditional nostalgic approach to Dungeon Synth and those moving towards what could be considered a 'Ritual Ambience' in some cases with a stronger focus on minimalism and natural sounds; What are your thoughts to this?

C: We see it in three ways: originators, innovators and imitators. We lean more towards innovation. With experimentation comes inspiration and for us is the most interesting. Of course, we hail the founding fathers and tradition is to be respected. But, we want to hear something different and new. The ritual and ambient approach draws from magic which can manifest at the same time be happenstance. This is pure and exciting.

S: It certainly is, and it's great to see you're encouraging and creating a space for artists to do so.

C: We surely try.

S: In our search through the more historic artists on Hollow Myths, such as Apeiron, Depressive Silence, and Arthur, we get a feeling you've probably had an earlier connection with these composers. When did you first get involved with this area of the black metal underground, and these projects? And how did these interactions eventually lead to the creation of Hollow Myths?

C: In the 80's I was steeped in Heavy Metal music, having gone to countless stadium concerts for legendary acts such as Dio, W.A.S.P., etc., later to shows; Cro-Mags, Suicidal Tendencies, I could ramble on. In the early 90’s I went to a boarding school in the woods of New Hampshire and was cut off from T.V. and the goings on of counter culture. So, we made our own. Being up there, I sort of missed out on the first wave of Black Metal and The X-Files. In turn we took drugs, listened to a lot of Black Sabbath and N.W.O.B.H.M. and spent all our time in the trees. Though already a fan of Celtic Frost and much early Death Metal, it wasn’t until I came off that mountain and ended up back in the cities, did I discover some of what I had been missing. I was given a promo copy of the Gummo soundtrack and that crystalized things for me. Ever since then, I was hooked and dug as far as I could into the Black Metal and Dark Ambient Underground. I used to make a UG BM zine which led to many contacts with bands, labels, distros and made tons trades and orders along the way. Some mail correspondence comrades I have had for two decades now. I also had a dark electronic band and toured the world a few times which broadened my knowledge and network. One day it dawned on me to turn my passions and obsessions into my trade.

S: Dungeon Synth, and its surrounding genres, has a huge online presence through bandcamp, social media, and a large facebook group with over 3000 members, of which you're one of the admins. How has the online world affected the artists 'mystery' or even integrity, in your opinion? And is the responsibility of maintaining civility on the forums a burden at times?

C: I dislike speaking of the internet in printed zine interviews but understand this question cannot be ignored. There was rift a year or so ago that drove a wedge in the Dungeon Synth scene and I was made an admin of the main group to keep the peace as it were. And to save it from an impending doom that it is was facing as some sought to destroy the fortress wall that we had been building for so long. I have been manning it for the past couple of years and worked very hard to instill an ethic of friendship, honor and support. Drama, memes and off topic materials are not tolerated in the attempts to keep it focused and Dungeon - not a trash heap or place of trolls. I never intended to have this role, but it became a necessary evil. Our lands were being raided so, I stormed the castle and seized the kingdom for the preservation of all things DS. This being not unlike the mid-era BM scene where things got ugly, full of posers and rip-offs. But that’s another story. DS is now an entity of its own and I try to promote an atmosphere that is welcoming, and nurturing opposed to jaded sorts dictating how other artists and musicians should create. We are grateful to have a tight knit cast of active members with new folks everyday - things seem to carry on without any trouble. Any problems are just simply removed without much thought - forward march. As far as artists wanting to be anonymous, to each their own, I don’t see the need to hide.

S: As a collector, I'm sure you have many boxes of rarities hidden away from the public eye, what are some of your most prized and cherished?

C: This is true. Some things, I just don’t share and like to keep very close. All my collection is prized. I don’t do filler or bad condition. I obsess over the most obscure and often the overlooked and discarded. Not as much rare and pricey, rather merely special to me. Some of my favourites are looked down upon by most so, I won’t bother mentioning them here. I’m a stickler for collectability and keep it all mint. From limited 7”’s to etched and coloured LP’s, cult Cassettes to OOP CD’s. I also collect shirts, patches, badges, zines and have an extensive VHS library - mostly horror and sleaze. I am constantly buying, selling and trading. Out with the old in with the new. I only hold onto things I listen to, read, wear and watch over and over.

S: You mentioned a possible Europe tour, are there any particular destinations you're hoping to visit? Any artists you are planning to perform alongside?

C: We want to get back to Germany, then go to places we have yet to; the Scandinavian countries, all Eastern Europe and of course, New Zealand and Australia. We will play anywhere and everywhere though we will focus on night clubs, art galleries and uncommon venues. We also plan to do DJ sets, show our artwork, clothing line and spread our wings as Hollow Myths*. We hope to perform alongside old and new friends and intend to drag out some of our artists for these occasions.

S: We thank you for your time, and we're looking forward to the upcoming releases! Any parting words for our readers?

C: Art, music, nature, magic. Don't take any wooden nickels, don't play second fiddle, and don't roll over and play dead for anybody. Walk the endless corridor and shatter the Hollow Myth.

Thanx yet again. Dehails! - Canrith Knox of Rowen from Hollow Myths*

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ellahmacdermott · 6 years ago

Text

Jeff Garzik on His Newest Venture and Keeping Time With an Evolving Space

Jeff Garzik first tuned the world into his latest venture in the fall of 2017. The Bloq co-founder unveiled Metronome (MET), a cryptocurrency he founded alongside Matthew Roszak, at the Las Vegas Money 20/20 conference in late October, and the project caught the attention of Bloomberg and Fortune at the time.

What makes Metronome interesting is that it promises its users cross-chain portability. It also purports to offer a consistent rate of inflation and “no undue influence from founders after launch.” These three promises — Metronome’s mantra of self-governance, reliability and portability — set lofty expectations for the new company; anyone acquainted with Bitcoin and blockchain technology is likely to watch and see if it can deliver.

Garzik has stated in past interviews that he created Metronome as a new beginning, a project that embodies what he would do differently after building on Bitcoin for a number of years. Metronome’s differences seem to suggest that the search for hyper-decentralization was Garzik’s touchstone for starting over. Imagine a coin being so intrinsically opposed to centralization, for instance, that it isn’t beholden to a single blockchain.

Of course, as an ERC20 token, it is fundamentally tied to Ethereum; but the team claims that via smart contracts, users can swap the coin from chain to chain. From the get-go, this transferability will only be open to Ethereum Classic, Rootstock and QTUM. From there, it will be up to community coders to free up avenues to other chains. Keeping with the team’s commitment to zero-to-no influence, Metronome will rely on the volunteer work of disparate developers to expand its offerings and improve its protocol.

As for the rest, there’s little about the coin that speaks to convention. Instead of launching an initial coin offering (ICO), the project is holding a week-long descending-price auction. Unlike the more popular English-style auction, in a descending-price auction, price action descends as the auction progresses. For Metronome’s, the price of 1 MET will start at 2 ether (ETH) and decrease each minute until all of the auction’s 8,000,000 MET are sold or the sale ends.

Since the coin doesn’t have — or, in the future, will separate from — a native chain, it offers no mining rewards. To circulate supply, then, Metronome will feature daily descending-price auctions after its initial token sale. According to the project’s FAQ, “MET is added to MET’s Daily Supply Lots (‘DSL’) every 24 hours, at the rate that is the greater of (i) 2,880 MET per day, or (ii) an annual rate equal to 2.0000%.”

Besides the MET to be sold in the initial and daily auctions, 20 percent will be allocated to what the project calls “authors” — its team and advisors. Of these coins, 25 percent will be available immediately upon release, while the other 75 percent will be unlocked incrementally throughout a 12-quarter period.

Smart contracts control coin supply and issuance, as well as coin migration between chains, and the team has pledged to keep its hands free from directing development or swaying governance. “After its launch,” one Metronome FAQ answer reads, “authors will have no more control over MET than any other member of the MET community.”

We had the opportunity to interview Jeff Garzik to learn more about his latest project.

Bitcoin Magazine: The first thing that stands out is the cross-blockchain portability. Namely, how will this be accomplished, and does it really mean that I’ll be able to swap my MET from Ethereum’s chain to, say, QTUM’s or Stellar’s?

Jeff Garzik: Exporting one’s MET to another blockchain is a process where the owner chooses a target blockchain when initiating the export, and then receives a Merkle root receipt proving they have the MET that they are exporting. The process “burns” or destroys the MET on Blockchain A, and when the owner provides that receipt to the contracts on Blockchain B, they will have the same amount of MET minted for them on that blockchain. The burning of Blockchain A’s MET is to ensure that global supply remains constant.

So, we are careful to not describe it as a “swap,” per se, because it’s actually the opposite of a swap — the asset itself is moving, just as if you were moving gold from one safe to another.

BM: Metronome’s FAQ states, “As the community continues developing MET, it may be compatible with even more blockchains.” Does this mean that community developers will be able to build on the protocol to make it interoperable with other chains?

JG: Regarding ongoing development, Metronome is completely open source, and there is no foundation deciding its trajectory — that responsibility is with the community. Consider Bitcoin: there was no “foundation” in the beginning. Similarly, we don’t want to create enshrined leaders of Metronome, which is what a foundation does. Creating a Metronome author-run foundation at the outset bakes in community dependence on that foundation, which is a centralizing force we wish to avoid.

The community can choose a chain they wish to develop compatibility for and work toward that. In the very near term, you’ll be able to transfer from the Ethereum chain to Ethereum Classic, QTUM or another chain using the Ethereum Virtual Machine. From there? Time will tell.

BM: Is coin migration done automatically through the smart contract? Or does some miner/intermediary manually execute this function for a user?

JG: The answer is key to governance. The user holds and controls that “receipt” received when MET is exported from one blockchain. The user chooses when to export/import and must manually initiate that action.

BM: How is the team ensuring that Metronome’s smart contracts and wallets are going to be stable? There have been so many hacks of wallets and bugs in contracts, especially with ERC20 tokens and Ethereum-based smart contracts.

JG: As to the stability of Metronome’s contracts, they have been rigorously reviewed by four independent auditors. The team has gone the extra mile to ensure that those contracts will be as rock-solid as humanly possible at launch. As to the wallet, being standards-compliant with ERC20 of course means that you inherit all of that standard’s characteristics — mostly favorable in terms of compatibility and interoperability — as well as its limitations and those of the cryptocurrency category in general.

BM: Where did the idea for Metronome come from? What compelled you and Matthew Roszak to migrate to new projects from your current projects?

JG: Two answers: first, I have been in the cryptocurrency space for a long time as one of the first to start contributing to Bitcoin. The ensuing years have given me enough perspective to ask, “Knowing what I now know about cryptocurrencies and how the communities around them operate, how would I redesign a cryptocurrency from scratch that would be enduring and satisfy the most use cases?” With Metronome, we have built a cryptocurrency intended to serve as a store of value, method of exchange, machine-to-machine payment medium and other applications.

The second answer, though, is a bit more philosophical. I’m a big fan of ideas like the Long Now Foundation, which aims to encourage civilizations to think in terms of generational scale rather than months, quarters and years. That kind of spirit inspired the cross-blockchain idea. For a currency to be truly multi-generational in scale, it cannot be tied to a single, native ledger.

BM: Governance and reliability are key to the project, it seems. How will Metronome’s governance protect itself from the control of its authors/founding members?

JG: Once launched, Metronome is completely autonomous. There is no foundation where the proceeds from auctions are hidden away for founders, and there is no centralized group defining Metronome post-launch. Even if the founders wanted to manipulate and control Metronome (we don’t), we simply would not be able to.

Additionally, by rewarding the founding team with tokens (rather than proceeds) and slowly disbursing them according to a mechanical rule, we assure the community that the founding team is properly motivated in Metronome’s early years.

BM: For issuance, what will it do differently to ensure a steady, unmanipulated inflation rate?

JG: Metronome’s issuance is locked in at launch, and any new contracts must accept the issuance logic. (The rate is the greater of 2,880 MET per day or whatever amount necessary to achieve a steady 2 percent annual rate.) Issuance is based on time, not on hash or staking power, since both are subject to fluctuations that create variability over time for circulating supply.

BM: It seems as if Metronome’s modus operandi is its commitment to community control. Is Metronome trying to “fix” decentralization and reintroduce it into a space that continues to grapple with centralizing forces?

JG: Greater decentralization is something we have been fixated on since we started this journey in spring of 2017. The current cryptocurrency landscape (especially when considering new cryptocurrencies) is not all that decentralized. Small groups of developers and foundations largely define the course, scope and goals of a cryptocurrency.

Metronome is looking to return to the original promises of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Litecoin, where updates and goals are community driven without too much customary deference to a small group. Metronome does this through a unique take on community governance through self-governance.

BM: In a Medium post, Metronome’s team says that the coin is “being built to last.” What features do you think make this a coin for the long run?

JG: We believe that every aspect of Metronome makes it more durable. Self-governance allows the community to define and build Metronome, not a far-off foundation. A reliable and a highly predictable issuance allows owners and purchasers to calculate supply at any point in the future with high confidence. Portability allows Metronome owners to move their MET to any compatible blockchain for whatever reason they see fit, rather than locking themselves into a set of rules and chain permanence. These characteristics make Metronome both flexible and resilient — two necessary attributes for the long haul.

In sum: we are introducing a wholly new concept — a token that is not tied to a blockchain. Other tokens are tied to a single network, a single technology and a single blockchain. Metronome is something new. We’re very proud of the results and are looking forward to seeing where the crypto and fintech ecosystem takes it.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

from InvestmentOpportunityInCryptocurrencies via Ella Macdermott on Inoreader https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/jeff-garzik-his-newest-venture-and-keeping-time-evolving-space/

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