{"id":2434,"date":"2012-08-18T00:00:57","date_gmt":"2012-08-18T07:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/josephaleo.com\/blog\/?p=2434"},"modified":"2018-12-18T18:40:10","modified_gmt":"2018-12-19T02:40:10","slug":"2434-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/josephaleo.com\/blog\/2434-2\/","title":{"rendered":"solipsistic NATION No. 289: Herd"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today on solipsistic NATION<\/b> we\u2019re going to listen to an absolutely gorgeous mix from Jason Thomson, AKA, Herd<\/a>. It\u2019s beautiful and it\u2019s haunting and I know you\u2019re going to love it!<\/p>

I was really looking forward to having Jason on the show but he felt it best to let the music do the talking for him.<\/p>

This has always been one of the more frustrating aspects of producing solipsistic NATION<\/b> because there are some people I\u2019d very much love to have on the show like Frank Riggio<\/a> and HC from the Headphone Commute<\/a> blog, but for whatever reasons, they prefer not to be interviewed. But interviewing people from the electronic music community is a big part of what makes solipsistic NATION<\/b>, well, solipsistic NATION<\/b>.<\/p>

Too be perfectly honest, I have reservations about interviews myself. I think we live in a culture that often is more fascinated with the artist then the art they create. But we\u2019re human so were prone to this sort of thing and hopefully I ask a good question once in a while that reveals or re-frames or reaffirms our understanding of what it means to be human.<\/p>

I know that sounds pretentious but isn\u2019t that what it\u2019s all about? Culture is forever asking and answering the questions: who are we, why are we here, what does it all mean? The Internet has merely accelerated culture and we\u2019re all along for the ride. Blogs, YouTube<\/a> videos, podcasts\u2014you get the idea.<\/p>

So we\u2019re fascinated with the artist. When our favorite movies stars and rock stars talk and, in rare moments, reveal their humanity, we recognize ourselves in them. And if we\u2019re lucky, they might share something that makes us look at ourselves and our world differently.<\/p>

All the same, I can respect and appreciate that Jason didn\u2019t want to be interviewed. And to be fair, he did suggest a compromise where he would respond to my questions with answers made up from a myriad of samples. In the end, I didn\u2019t have time to reformulate my questions and as fun as the idea sounds, I don\u2019t think I would have had the conversation I hoping to have.<\/p>

That said, I\u2019m still thrilled to feature Jason\u2019s mix on today\u2019s show. Even though he declined to be interviewed he wanted me to mention the release of Tangents 41 \u2013 47<\/a><\/i> on FSOLdigital<\/a>. Jason\u2019s currently hard at work on a new addition to the Tangents series and hopes to release it sometime next year on a new label called Darkfloor<\/a>. You can learn more and hear more by visiting Jason at soundcloud.com\/herdtangents<\/a>.<\/p>

Today\u2019s show goes out to Guillermo and Space Kat Gal.<\/p>

Guillermo sent me an email a few weeks back letting me know how much he\u2019s enjoyed the show and that he\u2019s particularly fond of the live sets featuring Mobthrow, ZionTrain and Dubmatix. I\u2019m sensing a reggae\/dub thing from you, Guillermo, so I\u2019ll see what I can do on that front.<\/p>

Space Kat Gal is someone I met on App.Net<\/a>. App.Net, as you may have heard, is the paid social media service that came about through crowdsource fundraising in reaction to the advertising route that Twitter is exploring. Anyway, Kat likes EDM, and thought my show is interesting but on the ambient side. I promise you Kat, this show is more than just ambient music, although today\u2019s show is not my best example for that argument.<\/p>

Kat lives in Boston, which is where I hail from, and I\u2019ll be visiting Boston August 25 through September second. While I\u2019m there I plan to interview some local electronic musicians and record labels while I\u2019m visiting friends and family. Email me at solipsisticnation@gmail.com<\/a> or Tweet me @solipsistic<\/a> if you\u2019d like to meet up.<\/p>

Join us again next week. We\u2019ll talk with the good folks from the Museum of Endangered Sounds<\/a> and talk to Malcolm Levy about this years New Forms Festival<\/a> taking place September 13 through September 16th in Vancouver. I\u2019m working on nailing down a third interview but it\u2019s too early to talk about that. So sit tight until next week\u2019s show.<\/p>