Because I love music and play music, I wanted to cover the topic of DIY musicians and why I find them inspirational in my artist statement. These are some artists that are covered in my icon piece.
Ariel Pink:
The main icon I am focusing on and discuss throughout my artist statement is musician Ariel Pink. The ideas related to this icon that I plan on "pushing" focus on his growing popularity due to the internet, the way I feel inspired by how he records everything by himself, and why I think people like Ariel Pink are important to music today.
I think he is important to music today because I feel he paved the way for a lot of other home-recording artists to grow in popularity, and has influenced other people (like myself) to record music on their own and be creative.
1. Ariel Pink when asked how many songs he has recorded:
"Too many to count. And what exactly is a song anyway? I've got hundreds of recordings, varying in quality and content, not all songs, and not all accounted (there just isn't enough time to sift through every instant recording session I've made on the fly), and I also have many songs that I haven't yet recorded, but could call to mind if needed."
In this interview Ariel goes in depth about his process of recording, why he records by himself, and what he gets from making music.
This interview is a great piece of evidence, not only because Ariel Pink is interviewed, but home-recording artist R Stevie Moore is also interviewed. R Stevie Moore is another home recording artist who is further up in the "continuum" of home recording artists. If Ariel Pink were to write an artist statement like this, he probably would choose R Stevie Moore
Wavves:
Although not a major focus, I mention San Diego musician Nathan Williams and his recordings as Wavves. He is brought up when I mention local San Diego musicians who record by themselves that have gained notoriety, however there are many other artists from San Diego I could discuss in my artist statement.
The ideas related to this icon that I would want to "push" would be about him and other artists being from San Diego, giving me a sense of pride and hope for San Diego. Another idea would be him recording by himself without any producer or other musicians, making the music sound the way he wants it to. Also possibly discussing how somebody recording songs about "human" subjects (like being bored, hating where you live, and feeling negatively about yourself) is inspiring and easier to relate to than a lot of other popular music.
1. Excerpts from Prefix Magazine interview:
Prefix: You and a whole slew of up-and-coming artists utilize a no-fi sound that the Smell and Baltimore’s Wham City champion. Do you think this movement is just a continuation of earlier iterations, or does it stem from a particular reaction against modern over-production?
Nathan: Probably both. Personally, I had no money to go to a studio, so I did it myself with the stuff I had.
Prefix: How old is your equipment? What do you use besides Garage Band?
Nathan: I use Garage Band. The Tascam I used as well was from the ‘80s.
2. Excerpts from Fur and Loathing interview:
F&L: So what prompted you to start Wavves?
Nathan: I quit my job at the time. I dropped out of college. I wasn’t really doing anything else.
F&L: You were “so bored”?
Nathan: Pretty much. So I decided to start recording.
Although brief, Nathan Williams discusses why he records music by himself and the impact it has had on his life
Other Resources:
Art Fag Recordings
A San Diego record label, consisting of many artists who record on their own.
Fader has written many pieces on Ariel Pink and Wavves, but they have also covered many other DIY artists that could be included in my artist statement.
If I cover local music more in my artist statement, I could mention Crocodiles, who I am very inspired by. Their blog also has links to many other musicians blogs.
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