Audio Archive

Today, a small thought on free downloads in general. While I specifically stated in my introduction that I will share music that has "expressedly published under a license that will allow" anyone "to legally copy and distribute the music" or, while I have not stated it but seems logically linked, that has fallen or released into the public domain.

I'll make one exception — music that has been published in the audio section of the Internet Archive. Here the following rules apply:

• If it has been published with a license that would make it eligible for inclusion in the blog based on my free music criterium no further rules need apply. (Sounds circular a bit but that's half-witted legalese by an amateur/hellip;)
• If it has been published as part of the Community Audio collection I will share it as a free download but I will make it clear that it's for personal use only, that is unless it has been published with a license allowing sharing.^[1]
• Everything else that I might feel worthy or interesting will be featured for streaming only. (Again, unless there is a license attached that allows me to share it based on my rules.)

I hope that you can accept that addition to my own rules. To better understand this decision let me explain. The Internet Archive has declared as is general mission that it "is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we [the Internet Archive] provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, the print disabled, and the general public." It's content is thus meant for the general public and generally its use is encouraged. The Internet Archive invites everyone "to view or upload audios to the Community collection." You may of course only upload contents that you have the right to share.

Thus I feel free to share basically anything for streaming as this (strictly personal) use is sanctioned by the declared mission and I feel free to share anything from Community Audio as it was originally set up and is still primarily used to Creative Commons and public domain publications even though it is possible to upload material for personal use only.

The primary reason for me to limit music on this blog to licenses that allow sharing is to make sure that no copyright law is broken. The scrutiny that the Internet Archive experiences (as one of the top 1000 websites in the world^[2]) and its declared mission grants me some leverage to share its contents.


^[1] Community: A New Name for "Open Source" Collections on Internet Archive Blogs, 8^th March 2011.
^[2] As of today, 8^th June 2013, the domain archive.org is ranked by Alexa with 258, and by SimilarWeb with 974.

Esther Garcia « Incidental »

Now, you might ask "Is it all just electronics here at HBB"?

No, let's take Esther Garcia Gonzales, Spanish composer and pianist. Having studied at the Conservatorio profesional de música Arturo Soria for eight years and at the Escuela Superior de Canto de Madrid for four years, Esther has written mostly orchestral music for various audiovisual projects and companies in Spain.




Incidental was released 22^rd March 2013 via Bandcamp for sale. Esther later (5^th April) released an MP3-only version under a Creative Commons license. If you like the album as much as I do you might consider buying her album on Bandcamp.

• Free streaming (and purchase in FLAC, MP3, ALAC, AAC or Ogg Vorbis) from the Bandcamp © 2013 All rights reserved.
• Free streaming and download in MP3 from Jamendo

See also: Discogs | Last.fm | MusicBrainz | RateYourMusic


Incidental ℗ 2013 Esther Garcia Gonzales

mend « The State We're In »

Ten years after their debut album, mend finally returned with some new material.




The State We're In was released 30 December 2012. While Todd claims it on mend's official SoundCloud page to be an EP, it is in my mind just a maxi-single consisting of an a-side, a b-side, and two remixes of the a-side.

• Free streaming and download in FLAC, MP3, ALAC, AAC or Ogg Vorbis from the Bandcamp

See also: Discogs | Last.fm | MusicBrainz


The State We're In ℗ 2012 mend ℅ Corey Hennis, Todd Mahoney, and Chet Slater

Altus « Excursion One »

You should not get the idea that Jamendo is the only source for free music. There are many netlabels out there. The Earth Mantra Netlabel is one specialized in ambient and drone music, and like so many others, it uses the Internet Archive to host its releases. Among its many artists is prolific Mike Carss, also known as Altus.

1. Evergrow 20:12
2. The Long Way Back 30:06

Excursion One was Mike Carss' first album on the Earth Mantra label. It was released 26 June 2007. This album is ideally suited for relaxing with closed eyes, and it should not be considered a negative but it may cause you to fall asleep quite wonderfully. It has a beautifully dreamy quality to its layers of electronic ambience.

• Free streaming and download in FLAC and MP3 from the Earth Mantra Netlabel
• Free streaming and download in FLAC or MP3 from the Internet Archive

Direct download of the FLAC version of the complete album from the Internet Archive:
DOWNLOAD

Direct download of the MP3 version of the complete album from the Internet Archive:
DOWNLOAD

See also: Discogs | Last.fm | MusicBrainz | RateYourMusic


Excursion One ℗ 2007 Altus ℅ Mike Carss

Epic Soul Factory « Volume One »

Nothing enhances a moving picture more than sound, especially if it is as emotional as a good film score. Good film music has become so popular that now there's even music movie-style without the million dollar movie to go with.
Some artists now have specialized to provide us with good music that plays to the ear without the limitations that film techniques require. Epic Soul Factory, made up of four film composers from Spain, is one of them.

1. Rising Legends 1:52
2. Titan 2:32
3. Iron 1:52
4. Poltergeist Attack 2:07
5. Amazona 1:44
6. El prendimiento 3:06
7. Dusty Universe 1:58
8. La búsqueda de Ianna 2:39
9. Creo en ti 4:06
10. The Fall of Gilead 3:32
11. Sugiriendo u crimen 1:04
12. The End 3:31

Epic Soul Factory - Volume One, their first album, was originally released 15 August 2010. Only on 17 February 2011 they released it in a downloadable format through Jamendo but with an altered tracklist.

Here you can listen to the originally released version in streaming only.

• Free streaming and download in MP3 from Jamendo
• Free streaming and download in MP3 or Ogg Vorbis from the Internet Archive

Direct download of the MP3 version of the complete album from the Internet Archive:
DOWNLOAD

See also: Last.fm | MusicBrainz | RateYourMusic


Epic Soul Factory - Volume One ℗ 2010,2011 Epic Soul Factory ℅ Eduardo Jiménez, David de la Morena, Fran Soto, and Francesc Vilà

mend « In Spite of It All »

Sometimes it so happens that an artist has released some stuff years and years ago, sufficiently long enough that said music has gone out of print ages ago. One option is to try to find a new publisher, a new label to reissue the music. Or the artist makes the music available for free.

That's what Idahoan synth pop band mend did in 2008 when they re-licensed their music under a Creative Commons license.





In Spite of It All was the first album, originally released via Altered Music in June 2002. It was reissued via Jamendo and Bandcamp 22 October 2008.

• Free streaming and download in FLAC, MP3, ALAC, AAC and Ogg Vorbis from Bandcamp
• Free streaming and download in MP3 from Jamendo
• Free streaming and download in MP3 and Ogg Vorbis from the Internet Archive

Direct download of the MP3 version of the complete album from the Internet Archive:
DOWNLOAD

See also: Discogs | Last.fm | MusicBrainz


In Spite of It All ℗ 2002 mendmusic ℅ Corey Hennis, Todd Mahoney, and Chet Slater

Halo Effect « Hammer the Gear »

Being a long-term Depeche Mode fan myself, bands highlighting the now classic period of DM as the world's foremost synth pop band in the second half of the 1980s have long held a special interest to me. But not everything can be considered a success. Here, Italian band Halo Effect finally reached a level that their music can be recommended.

1. Hammer the Gear (Celtic Tribes Remix) 5:27
   Remixed by Celtic Tribes
2. Hammer the Gear (Spektralized Remix) 3:50
   Remixed by Richard Bjørklund aka Spektralized
3. Hammer the Gear (Divider Remix) 5:46
   Remixed by Divider
4. Hammer the Gear (FabrikC Remix) 5:24
   Remixed by Thorsten Berger aka FabrikC
5. Hammer the Gear (Naukilot Remix) 4:51
   Remixed by Naukilot
6. Hammer the Gear (Deadtronic Remix) 3:49
   Remixed by Deadtronic
7. Hammer the Gear (This Took Long Enough Remix) 4:48
   Remixed by Controlled Collapse

Hammer the Gear was the first remix single, released 1 September 2009.

• Free streaming and download in MP3 from Ionium Records
• Free streaming and download in MP3 from Jamendo
• Free streaming and download in MP3 and Ogg Vorbis from the Internet Archive

Direct download of the MP3 version of the complete album from the Internet Archive:
DOWNLOAD

See also: Discogs | Last.fm | MusicBrainz | RateYourMusic

Official Video



Hammer the Gear ℗ 2009 Halo Effect ℅ Marco Cattani, John Andrew Peverieri, Alessandro Polinori, and Federico Rosi