what is the rotation(s) project?
rotation(s) is a series of month-long artist residencies presented by gravity halo in which artists can explore their craft, show how they work and give viewers insight into the many different expressions of electronic music as a unique artform. each month a new featured artist takes control of the site, posting pictures, music, essays, videos, tutorials, studio tours, thoughts, bits of inspiration...pretty much whatever strikes their particular fancy, with the ultimate goal of giving people a little peek into their world, what makes them tick and what inspires and influences their music.
what's the point?
in our opinion, electronic music is one of the most interesting, creative and diverse artforms that exists today. it's also one of the most consistently ignored and misunderstood artforms in the world, thought of as throwaway music to play behind commercials or danced to in nightclubs. it's seen as soulless, with machines or computers doing most of the work. the preconception is that one simply presses a button and the music writes itself. the reality is that those stereotypes couldn't be farther from the truth.
more than just a particular genre, electronic music represents a way of creating sound that is more akin to traditional fine arts than it is to most other modern musical forms. many electronic artists craft their own sounds from scratch, meticulously molding a waveform the way a sculptor would a slab of marble. they tailor them to the particular mood of the piece they're working on and more often than not, that sound will exist solely in that piece, never to be used again. and when that piece is complete, they start over fresh again, much like a painter would mix his/her own unique colors for each painting - consistently evolving and experimenting with each new undertaking. they labor over their craft, spending hours fine-tuning, rearranging and composing every aspect of a song. they are songwriters, composers, sound designers, performers and engineers. whereas most musicians pay money to rent out studios and producers - electronic musicians build their own studios out of whatever they can get their hands on and produce every aspect of their own music from top to bottom. they don't do it to get rich or famous...most of the time they give their music away for free. they do it because they're artists, plain and simple - because they love doing it, because they hear a certain sound in their head, because they want to reflect their inspirations, their motivations and their environments.
the goal of the rotation(s) series is to expose people to the many unique ways electronic artists work, the different tools they use, the approaches they take, the goals they strive to meet and the things that inspire them to create.
