Engine Studios – One more reason to like the people who like to make music

 

Engine Studios logoTwo of my eMusic Jazz Picks in this week’s column were released by Engine Studios, a small label out of Brooklyn that seems to focus on the free improv and avant-garde territories of the Jazz scene… though I should add, I haven’t yet delved deeply into the label’s discography, so my generalization might be too general in reality.

In any event, I was in the process of tweeting out my picks on Twitter, and as a result, I’m visiting various artist and label sites to see if they actually have a Twitter account.  That’s when I noticed this page on the Engine Studios site.  In addition to receiving a free album download just for joining the mailing list, it was this note that I found most endearing…

If you are broke and addicted to music, please contact me if you need some sliding-scale action.

The idea of adjusting the album price so that fans can have access to the music isn’t a new concept.  In fact, I’ve tried to highlight several of the artists and labels that offer a Name Your Own Price option on the Bandcamp retail site (and elsewhere).  There are legitimate pros and cons to this approach, but the altruistic goal of an artist genuinely wanting to remove barriers to their music for the listeners who will genuinely appreciate their music… I find the entire concept to be admirably humanistic and built of an unguarded decency that can’t be undervalued, especially in our modern times when cynicism is the typical fallback position for some many of us (myself included, far more often than I’d like to admit).

Anyways, I just really appreciated the personal nature of the note, and the generous offers on that page, and decided that I would post something about it.  Check their music out.  I’ve already found a few things that look pretty good.

Here’s another LINK TO THEIR SITE.  And here’s a LINK to their Facebook page, which seems pretty active.

And by the way, those two albums that got recommended from my eMusic Jazz Picks column this week were for the William Hooker Trio Heart of the Sun and Brian Settles Trio Folk.  And, actually, neither album are listed on the Engine Studios site right now, but hopefully they’ll get those recordings added.  But it appears there’s plenty of other albums to browse in the meantime.

Here’s a LINK again to that eMusic Jazz Picks column.

Cheers.