iB41 is hot. Haven’t heard it yet? Do yourself a favor and download it immediately. If you enjoy funk, hip hop, wit, psychedelics, and/or outer space to any degree, it is highly likely that you’ll dig this EP (my personal fave: Finding Emo). If that’s not enough, the guys who’ve brought us iB41 (collectively known as iLL-Literacy) are also hot. Take a looksie at their pretty faces and dare to disagree.
But you know what’s hotter than iB41, N.I.C., Dahlak, and Drizzletron combined? Open source music.
Sounds geeky, huh? Well, I’m not here to pretend to be cool. That’s what high school was for. I’m here to share the glories of an interactive music– ah…dare I say– revolution?
Back in ‘06 when I was still a nervous and awkward creature, I saw iLL-Literacy perform for the first time. If you are behind and aren’t familiar with their work, you might assume that they’re offering freebies cos they have to. One might conclude that they’ve contrived a sloppily-produced EP and spewed some drivel about it being “for the fans,” while secretly dreaming about rooms stuffed with cash, video hoes, and umbrella-holders.
Fortunately for us, this isn’t the case. It’s pretty clear that they truly believe in what they do– and they’re damn good at it too.
From the website:
digit.iLL.Funk is an open-source-inspired approach to music that incorporates listener interaction in the inception, creation, and promotion of music. Through digit.iLL.Funk, iLL-Literacy seeks to develop a method of interactive music exchange that places a higher stake in community ownership – and ultimately free distribution of music… [it] is a genre we subscribe to that has less to do with the sound of the music itself, and more the way in which it is approached. As a result, digit.iLL.Funk is a denomination in the belief that an open-source way of living can lead one to their highest material and creative potential.
For an unrepentant web geek such as I, this is pure poetry. The Internet has subverted the way we interact with music (and information in general). It’s sucker-punched the music industry right in the bloated, sagging balls, altered the definitions of Artist and Audience, and has redefined what it means to “share.”
So really, take a listen. While you’re at it, read their spiel on open source and the future of music. It even includes fun videos, for those of us with short attention spans. Which is pretty much all of us.
