24-09-2005, 16:38 |

Neues von Fin de Siècle

This time we finally have a new release to announce. We have been busy preparing the next
couple of albums, and the release schedule looks very promising at the
moment! More on that in the next newsletter, hopefully. The upcoming
Protagonist album is still in the works, and people fortunate enough to have
been exposed to the newly recorded tracks have expressed their awe. Worth
waiting for...

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RELEASES

FDS 15 SRMEIXNER - THE DICTATORSHIP OF THE VIEWER CD

Srmeixner is the solo project of Stephen Meixner, who once was a member of
the influential UK outfit Contrastate. Here's what he has to say about the
new album, to be released in the end of October:

"This piece takes its title from the 2003 Venice Biennale. The show was
composed of different projects, each with its own identity and autonomy
highlighting various contemporary social and political global concerns. Each
project was supposed to reveal a cross section of the world's realities
which could be used as an open map by the viewer to create their own
individual experiences, giving the viewer control over how and when they
visited each project.

The title intrigued me, as did the concept. Utilising these I have recorded
one track composed of various sub sections. Each has its own identity, yet
all are linked together by virtue of the mixing process and the central
themes; autonomy and control. Each sub section has been given a track
number. Listeners can listen to the CD in the order I have arranged, create
their own order by pre-programming their CD player or use the random
function to programme the order in which the tracks will be heard.

The very idea of designing the Venice Biennale to give the viewer control
immediately poses an obvious conflict between the viewer and artist. In what
way was the viewer empowered? It seemed to me that the only choice the
viewer had was where to start and where to finish. The power was still with
the artists in that they dictated what went into their projects, not the
viewer. I wonder how many people will actually pre-programme this CD in
their order of preference.

The whole concept also reminded me of the initial arguments surrounding the
World Wide Web. Empowerment, liberating, individual, autonomous, etc. Yet
today the words that have become synonymous with the World Wide Web are
Microsoft, access denied, spam, virus, etc.

The core of this track was initially composed and structured as a live piece
which was first performed February 2004 in London and then later extended,
added to and re-worked."

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Pre-order it today and it will be sent to you as soon as it arrives from the
pressing plant. SPECIAL OFFER: Buy "The Dictatorship of the Viewer" together
with the previous srmeixner album "Between the Lines", released by Dirter
Promotions in 2003, and you'll get a free Fin de Siècle Media CDEP as well
as free postage worldwide. The offer is valid until December 31, 2005 or as
long as stock lasts.

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