It was alleged today in the press that Soundcloud – a site whose basic conceit, “Social Media For Musicians”, is integral to the modern music world – has only 50 days of cash left to keep themselves afloat.  While it’s failure to monetize is understandable (once you get used to something being free, paying for it is a turn-off for most) it is problematic in that it has become a key player in getting new talent in front of audiences, particularly in the hip hop community.

Something else you may not know, since I don’t advertise it much, is that I’m an amateur electronic music producer.  I produce electronic music amateurishly.  I have a lot of these amateurishly produced electronic recordings.  As a clearinghouse, of sorts, I’m going to celebrate the impending (likely non-) demise of Soundcloud by releasing fifty favourite tracks of mine over the next fifty days.  Sound like fun?  Well, I’m doing it anyway.

First up, from 2003’s Gig Brother Is Watching (all credit on that title to Ms. Sarah Zar), the penultimate track “Unite”, in which the Glorious Machines Revolution begins.  I’ve always liked the wide-open oscillating synth on this track, and it was inspired in part by sounds on The Faint’s Blank Wave Arcade.  The breaks were mashed up in Hammerhead, which alone should date this piece.

Yes, by the way, that date of 2003 is accurate.  My wife (then girlfriend) and I were living on top of a travel agency in Brantford, ON when our cat knocked my guitar over and broke it.  Stuck for musical output, I discovered that DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) were a thing, and I quickly pirated my first copy of FL, which was then still known as Fruity Loops.  That was fourteen years ago, and here I am still plinking away at this, although somewhat better, now, I think.  I hope.