soulseek records compilation 001 This debut compilation from the online p2p Soulseek community brings forth a hectic mixture of idm, ambient, glitch, breakcore, and dance. From the trickling step-filtering in Lim's "T for Two" to the manic beat machinery manipulation in UndaCova's "Lost", there is bound to be something here for both the laid back chin-stroking intellectuals and the most hardcore distortion fanatics. The variety of styles presented in this compilation exactly resembles the variety of personalities that run rampant in the Soulseek chatrooms, where a constant flow of information, laughter, and general insanity is exchanged ----------------- Soulseek Records is a prototype of what like-minded musicians can do when they harness the power of the Internet, rather than fight it. Focused on growing artistically rather than financially, the label is an offshoot of Soulseek, a file-sharing application dedicated predominantly to the free trade of electronic music and the promotion of unsigned artists. Listeners can use Soulseek to learn about and sample new musicians they would be unlikely to encounter elsewhere, and artists can utilize the wide user base as an efficient means of distributing their work, getting feedback, and gaining fans. Based upon this community theory, Soulseek Records is a democratic label, with all decisions made by a dedicated group of users who confer via message board, rather than by an committee of businessmen or a CEO. Soulseek Records' first release, Soulseek Comp V1, is a sonic representation of that equality and unity. The compilation's tracklisting is the result of a contest in which participating artists submitted their songs to a central server, and participating users downloaded all 166 submissions, voting on their favorites. The tracks that received the most votes appear on the album, as a testament to the democratic, anyone-is-welcome ideology that inspired the label's creation. This release marks the first for Soulseek Records, and hints at the great things to come from the newer compilations and individual artist releases that will soon follow. It also marks the implementation of a new theory about the business relationship between a label, an artist, the Internet, and P2P applications. Soulseek Records is designed in a way that will prove one simple point: filesharing can be a powerful tool for record labels and artists. In fact, we're built on it. Read more at www.soulseekrecords.com