Eat Your Heart Out

29 Responses to “ALEC EMPIRE ANNOUNCES TOURDATES, NEW RECORD “SHIVERS” AND MORE!”

1. loggedin Says:
   April 2nd, 2009 at 1:47 pm
   
   

   Definite yes to Wien, yaaay! Thanks for sharing the interviews.
   Allow me to ask: what is this campaign against Piratebay? Would it be different if it was sponsored by left winged business men? “(to then point the finger at their own users in court, claiming that they do the crime. not cool! Liars!)” It is illegal to download, yes, therefore it’s a crime. I don’t know if they were really pointing at their users in a way you imply it. So you say it’s cool to download music, movies, whateverthefuck etc. if you download it from anywhere else, but PirateBay? I’d be happy to support EVERY artist I like, but I’m not that rich. I’d rather pay to see them live and buy those CDs I can afford or I like very much. And let’s not forget that most CDs are twice as much in some countries and even if they had the same price,the differences in between the salaries and countries still remain. Piratebay searched for advertisers and sponsors like any other site. Too bad if it’s (still…?) a right party sponsor they have. Btw poor Tobias couldn’t even finish his sentences, cos that old Bert bloke was spewing his antipathy constantly at him and the other guy sitting next to him wanted to make him look like a racist.
   All in all: what is this about? Are those who download music (for example) more often than actually buy the cd less of a fan or what?

2. phenomenonRZ22 Says:
   April 2nd, 2009 at 4:16 pm
   
   

   first of all we at EYHO think that new answers have to be found for the problem.
   So there is no right or wrong at the moment.

   What is wrong is that Pirate Bay is using the content, that other people/artists/film makers have created to make money (so the “freedom of the internet” speech they keep using is bullshit. Because they are not idealists, they want to make money.).

   I understand that you want to have everything by all artists that you like, who doesn’t but we all have to accept the fact that people work on these projects and they need to make a living from that. I would certainly love to have 10 cars, but I can’t afford them, so I accept that as well. Music and Films are no different.

   Pirate bay has become the center of attention, because they are so aggressive against artists who ask them to take their music down. Pirate doesn’t work with the artists to solve the problem, Pirate Bay exploits the artists.

   It is important to divide between independent record industry and major industry. We believe that indies produce better music because they work closer with the musicians, and are a little bit less profit driven than the majors. Indies develop trends and new ideas.

   What we see is that the structure is being destroyed right now. Small record stores are almost gone (CD sections at Walmart stayed), many small record labels can’t afford to keep going (even though enough people “consume” / listen to their music, but download for free), and new bands stop shortly after their first release because they don’t make enough money to keep making music.

   the download culture as it is since the past ten years has given more power to the corporations, has made tours more dependent on sponsoring, while it has destroyed the independents.

   People wonder why music has gotten worse. This is the consequence of that reality. We have to ask ourselves if we want adverts with the music? (we don’t. look at myspace…too much ads on there…it sucks)
   Do we want to give the corporates that power to decide which artists they can finance? We don’t…hell..please no!

   Alec has his own views on these issues as he is against the capitalist system anyway.

   In general we believe that workers should get paid. And they should get paid more. The music scene is a reflection of what’s going on in society right now.

   On that interview those PB guys should have been prepared, but they can’t create a platform like that, make money from that and then not take the responsibility.
   And yes, I think it is wrong that they point the finger at their own users.

   Either we make music free or we don’t. If it’s free (while everything else costs money) then we could think socialist? The government decides which music we listen to? We don’t want that at all.
   Or big companies (TV shows, Pop Idol is just the beginning. Again…people are being exploited as a face of an already manufactured product)? mmh…we don’t like that either…

   so why not just buy music from the artists? It is that simple…

3. janush_hammer Says:
   April 2nd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
   
   

   I always support the bands I like. But I hate mp3s. Great that you are offering Flac!

   u r my heroes!

   Janush

4. tehcenter Says:
   April 2nd, 2009 at 7:33 pm
   
   

   Any chance you and Nic will make it all the way over to North America. I don’t wanna have to get a passport and spend my life savings to travel to the UK for this tour.

   Thanks for all the great news.

5. loggedin Says:
   April 2nd, 2009 at 9:48 pm
   
   

   @phenomenonRZ22

   You didn’t answer my questions, you brought up more. I interpreted your comment like this: fuck PirateBay (and with that fuck other torrent tracking sites too, cos they do the same thing). Ergo – fans shame on you for downloading, cos you steal from the artist. Everybody knows that making music is not free. And yes, workers should get paid better. Yet, would people buy CDs even if they had the money? (I would, cos I like physical things – just for clarification.)
   And what does “the government” (which one?) have to do with this? Goverments and even the big record labels are against downloading as well, they just cannot create the ideal solution for obvious reasons. This is catch-22 of all time. For example where I live, it is legal to download material that is not released yet or won’t ever be. And that right winged-left winged talk is so useless, cos you say it doesn’t matter, it is still fucked up…right?
   More and more artists are unsigned. And sure, they need to tour a bit more (but since I’m a selfish bitch, I love this fact) and yes, the way of support/sponsorship has changed. About ads and music: well, yes, I don’t want to see for example Alec wearing a Coca Cola T-shirt…yet things have changed. You can’t bash torrent sites—> users forever. I mean, you can, sure. But the other side of the coin won’t disappear, whether you like it or not.
   About differing indie and major labels: I agree, but you wrote yourself that they are only “a little bit less profit driven than the majors” and “Indies develop trends and new ideas”…they all should. That would be the whole point, but we all know they go after the profit, too (on a stronger or lower level). Everybody wants profit.

6. demonzFAR09 Says:
   April 2nd, 2009 at 9:59 pm
   
   

   best news ever!

   thumbs up to the EHYO Blog community!

   Pirate Bay is strange, something I like about them, but Phenom has his points (are you a guy or girl? sorry to ask).

   stay fucking real – that’s what matters most these days

   demon

7. electrox Says:
   April 2nd, 2009 at 10:05 pm
   
   

   what’s wrong about a Coca Cola shirt?

   Coca Cola was the peaceful weapon which brought down communism after all.

   nice theory though

   capitalism is bad bad bad.

8. Alec Empire Says:
   April 2nd, 2009 at 10:18 pm
   
   

   I think Phenom was referring to the way things worked in the GDR back then. One of my fav part of the Rammstein/Feeling B book is that scan where the band got this stamped approval letter from the government that they can play for 4 Deutschmarks per hour (this seemed the correct fee for this “type of music” in the GDR).
   That is INSANE and a horror when you have to live with it. Looking back , very funny though.

   it’s all simple. The super rich steal from all of us. The corporations steal from us. If they would feed back more money into the cycle then things would be better.
   As long as they don’t do it…strike, do not consume, bring those assholes down.
   They need us (they still do)…

   or let’s change the system right now….I am up for it….everyone who earns more than 1 million gives all back into the community (ok, some fine tuning needs to be sorted out…but you get the idea.).

   If I had a “hit” record and money to burn, I’d open a music school right here in Kreuzberg…there are a lot of great talents around amongst kids…it might sound weird to you…but projects like that would solve so many problems (violence, crime etc)…. what do the rich do? they buy another yacht…people can’t take any more of that shit.

   Pirate Bay should spread the profits they make from the ads amongst the artists…then they would be cool. (but right wingers would NEVER support free thinking and art)

   the mind set has to change…but in this system the “wrong” mind set gets nurtured.

   Alec

9. Alec Empire Says:
   April 2nd, 2009 at 10:19 pm
   
   

   hey Phenom…love your blog…but could you next time maybe not make my pic that big…I mean fuck…what is more important my face or my music!

10. phenomenonRZ22 Says:
    April 2nd, 2009 at 10:22 pm
    
    

    the pic stays big… I love it. You are the artist, you have no control anylonger over your art (thanks to evil doers like Pirate Bay)!

    Control Drug is my fav of the new album, Alec! awesome

11. David Fury Says:
    April 3rd, 2009 at 6:55 am
    
    

    At first I thought of mp3 and sites like myspace like a radio or tv in the 80′s. You hear something you like and buy it or you realize after hearing something you don’t like it and don’t buy it. Now I have changed how I feel about all of this. I am now 100% against MP3 and myspace sampling of songs with a fury. I am back to buying ALEC EMPIRE(EYHO) Compact Discs without listening to one track. It’s the only way. We must support the independant artists we love or they and great music will die and becuase of that I have decided to put my money where my mouth is and I bought a brand new CD of tgfoh. I am learnind that variety is the spice of life and that having that balance there is a good thing. You must buy brand new factory sealed CD’s or the artist does not get revenue. I would never take it for free becuase then if Alec Empire and other indie artists I love would dissappear that would mean I contibuted to that extinction by stealing instead of buying. This is simple one plus one, I can’t believe this is what it has come to. Fuck pirate bay and anything like them. Fuckers!

12. Kabal Says:
    April 3rd, 2009 at 2:32 pm
    
    

    Well, I think that then we face another serious problem. For a lot of people is image still important thing and if you buy something you don’t know and hear just couple of tracks on myspace, while guys on the picture look cool and have nice design and artwork, then you can fail sometimes. I’d welcome if artists released their material on the internet(stream only), where I”d be able to listen to entire album and then to decide if to buy it or not. For me, quality matters and I want to support the artists who are worth it. However, country where I come from is really backwards with alternative music scene and without mp3 downloads I wouldn’t know ATR, EC8OR, Shizuo and other awesome stuff from the internet, which I really couldn’t afford to buy. At least, not everything. I support artists, I buy original cd’s and vinyls and try to support acts afterwards, but I need to consider the choice. I think that Trent Reznor does it right way. If you like album, you can buy it later as limited edition, or normal release. And lot of NIN fans did it.

    I know that for some smaller acts it’s more difficult to sell their name. I know that to live only from music is difficult. But we mustn’t forget that music comes first and moeny later. And that’s why I want to have enough clues to support only what I want. Thanks for reading of my opinion, I don’t have to be right, but it’s my opinion ;p

13. no words are spoken but the world is broken » Blog Archive » Alec Empire in his studio, making of “Shivers” and interview Says:
    April 3rd, 2009 at 4:22 pm
    
    

    [...] http://www.eyho-blog.com/2009/04/02/alec-empire-announces-tourdates-new-record-shivers-and-more/ Tags: alec [...]

14. phenomenonRZ22 Says:
    April 3rd, 2009 at 7:33 pm
    
    

    @ Kabal

    in theory it would be great if it worked but Radiohead and NIN have shown that the reality does not work like that. All their online projects lost money, they knew beforehand but wanted the promotion effect in the media.

    at the DHR online store you can listen to all the tracks. When Alec’s album was released, you could listen to the whole thing in advance on http://www.eat-your-heart-out.com as well.
    The artists want their music to be heard. That’s not the problem. The problem is the attitude of “consumers”.

    That’s why we need new rules.

15. David Fury Says:
    April 4th, 2009 at 12:02 am
    
    

    Hi phenomenonRZ22,

    When you say “The problem is the attitude of ?consumers?” What exactly do you mean?
    What “attitude” do consumers have?

16. phenomenonRZ22 Says:
    April 4th, 2009 at 12:19 am
    
    

    I meant that majority of people wants everything for free or cheap no matter if people in the 3rd World are exploited.
    It would be crazy to compare this with the music industry, but it’s the same mind set that the Pirate Bay users have.
    “It’s ok if I just take it, if someone else has to suffer because of me, I don’t care”
    I write for various magazines and e zines . If someone would just take my articles and publish them and then make money of them I would freak out.
    I am surprised that Alec is not more angry about it. I think he could be. People rip off his ideas all the time, and he keeps giving more and more energy. Sorry, Alec but this is how I see it. It’s not right!

17. Alec Empire Says:
    April 4th, 2009 at 12:30 am
    
    

    hey it’s cool man. don’t worry. I chose this way a long time ago. I had big people in the industry say to my face that with my political views they’ll make sure I get nowhere. well, whatever. I couldn’t live a lie. thanks for your support though.
    My opinion is that the thing will sort itself out at some point. It’s sad that we’ll lose great bands and great music on the way.My fans are awesome, no bullshit, I get so many great messages every day… this is why I do what I do.

18. David Fury Says:
    April 4th, 2009 at 1:00 am
    
    

    These people who take music for free or get it cheap(cheap meaning they buy it in a way in which the artist does not get the revenue they are due), they have a computer but they don’t have a credit card? How do they pay for internet bill? How did they buy computer? Did they ever hear of paypal? No checkbook? Money order? And if they can’t get CD’s I believe there is a way to legally buy Alec’s music with services he has approved and has a deal with in the form of mp3 for example like I-tunes and he would get the credit he deserves and the revenue in that way. You would pay just like everyone pays for internet service. These people could listen on the internet, how cool is that, but thats not enough, they have to support the enemy and steal or again buy it at discount in which the artist gets ZERO revenue. They don’t appreciate artists and art or else they wouldn’t be ok with taking it for free. Where is their integrity? They just don’t get it.
    No one should be selling Alec’s music but Alec let alone giving it away for free.
    Finally in the case of 3rd world countries and all other similiar grey areas isn’t being able to listen to the music on internet enough.
    TO ALL WHO DON’T GET IT RESPECT ARTISTS RIGHTS!!!! YOU ARE KILLING THE INDEPENDENT ARTIST WITH YOUR ACTIONS AND YOU ARE GOING TO RUIN IT FOR ALL OF US.

19. David Fury Says:
    April 4th, 2009 at 2:36 am
    
    

    Mp3 is not quality, I understand now. You can’t judge Alec’s music by listening to an mp3. If you just buy Alec’s cd’s without listening to awful mp3 files I don’t think anyone is going to be disappointed with what they get if they are really into him. Also the only place you should listen to it is EYHO. Before I listened to the cd of tgfoh I didn’t hear it the way it was suppose to be heard, I never thought of it like an indie rock noise record and that’s becuase by only listening to mp3 to see if I liked it or not I was missing the noise aspect which is lost in mp3, and the dark side I love so much is in there but you must buy new cd and if you go the way I am now going you will see…and hear.
    The songs from tgfoh fit in with all the rest of the harder stuff. I had to open my mind. My favorites are Robot Love, Bug on my Windshield, On Fire, No/Why/New York. I fed tgfoh through a yamaha mixer to two jbl eon15 g2 speakers and turned it up and the sounds are amazing!
    Alec, thanks for putting up with my shit, your awesome!
    I never knew you played bass, cool!

20. DJ_dangerzone678 Says:
    April 5th, 2009 at 2:01 am
    
    

    listening to Alec’ music on mp3 format is like listening to it over somebodies phone. Like my friend Rodger calling me up in the middle of the night and holding his phone to some speaker.

    thank goodness I have my decks and can play on a high level. my Vestax sound is a killer

    DJ Danger

21. red_dave Says:
    April 5th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
    
    

    hey there,
    i’m just checking my train connections for the show in reutlingen. when will the show approximately end, an will i be able to purchase shivers there or is it better to order it on hellish vortex online-shop?

    looking forward to see past, present & future
    best wishes

22. loggedin Says:
    April 5th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
    
    

    David Fury Says:
    April 4th, 2009 at 1:00 am “These people who take music for free or get it cheap(cheap meaning they buy it in a way in which the artist does not get the revenue they are due), they have a computer but they don?t have a credit card? How do they pay for internet bill? How did they buy computer? Did they ever hear of paypal? No checkbook? Money order? And if they can?t get CD?s I believe there is a way to legally buy Alec?s music with services he has approved and has a deal with in the form of mp3 for example like I-tunes and he would get the credit he deserves and the revenue in that way.”

    Hello again, Dave! Wow! Everything’s just black and white, yes? No comment…

    @Kabal I was talking about something similar, too.

    As for phenomenonRZ22′s answer to Kabal: So all of NIN’s The Slip online (free) release was a marketing campaigne? You say it like it wasn’t obviously part of it. Of course it was: a campaigne against the price differences, against the industry and the record labels etc. Rather hear Reznor shouting “Steal it” than watch videos against Piratebay where an old sweish fella and another 1 accuses Piratebay guy being a racist like it is a fact, although they don’t even let him answer. Again: I wonder if it was a left winged dude supporting them…
    I hate it when politics are so stressed (meaning present) outside of music. That’s why a lot of ATR fans boo-ed on TGFOH…cos it was more intimate and about personal feelings, ergo: sounded different. Oh, Jesus! What a sin!
    You did answer my question after all: fans who download (or don’t buy cd’s at all – which is not ok) are taking away your (no doubt – deserved) money. Well, I think that sucks. Yet I don’t think if they had a bigger IQ than a bee this would stop them to go to concerts. They will. It’s the music what matters…in low quality or high. (Thank fuck!)

23. loggedin Says:
    April 5th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
    
    

    *Swedish (never mind the typos, please.)

24. Alec Empire Says:
    April 5th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
    
    

    I think Phenom means that the media is looking at NIN and Radiohead as future business models…which is very short sighted.

    it’s down to the people to demand it. That’s what it comes down to at the end.
    If people want the corporates to decide for them, well, then that’s what it’s going to be. It looks like that at the moment. all major festivals are under control already. Clear Channel, Live Nation etc…. these things could fill books.
    If people feel safer in a herd, then there is no solution for the problem anyway.
    At some point the whole system will collapse and it will be very painful up until then, and right after… I just wish we could all stay out of it.
    Great music will be crushed, great venues, films, art, books…but if people are actually more happy with some blonde chic singing a tune we have heard a zillion times before, then why even bother… I just expect more from music and life.

    And I make sure I get my kicks. I just can’t help it, I find most music, most films sooo boring. It depresses me. I have to ignore all that shit.

    What those in power should understand soon, is that they can’t move on without innovation. And this can’t be manufactured in the way popstars are.

25. loggedin Says:
    April 6th, 2009 at 11:40 am
    
    

    Alec, I always agreed with the ‘musicians should get the appreciation, money etc.’ they deserve. Yet downloading is the big sister of the copying fever when we had cassettes back then. I remember we had only mainstream music in our stores (I’m talking about the ’80-’90s) and purchasing different music we liked outside our borders was expensive, so one bought it and the others copied the cassette.
    And when you say “people want the corporates to decide for them” I think you’re talking about the popular culture. Who wants a Britney Stinks album? The MTV followers. Mainstream was always controlled by greedy idiots for (mostly) idiots who don’t want to hear deeper/darker lyrics just want to shake their butts to catchy tunes and read gossips in trash magazines.
    And yes, too many shallow stuff on the market. That’s why a) you have to fish on the internet b)go to film/music festivals if you can afford it c) see what your friends got etc. if you want to be uptodate and hear about new bands other than Lady Gaga.
    About the future business models: well, everybody’s trying to sort things out in their own way. Radiohead was a tricky douche anyway, cos they had a fee on their remixes after all and offered low quality shit on purpose. And Nine Inch Nails…it was sort of an experiment as well and I don’t think they came out of it so bad after all.

26. EllaKitty Says:
    April 6th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
    
    

    what was so interesting to me:

    the shoes on heels-MG! I cannot never wear such stuff,
    neither I cannot get any good ones to wear in Warsaw,fuck!
    Probably I should try to search in London?

27. EllaKitty Says:
    April 6th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
    
    

    Alec…one guy with mustache also liked such big portraits…ha ha ha

28. Handsomedead Says:
    April 7th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
    
    

    My internet has been dead for one week and look at everything ive missed!

29. bellezebub Says:
    April 8th, 2009 at 12:40 am
    
    

    There is a really funny blog written by one Mister Robert Smith absolutely excoriating Radiohead “and others” for the whole giving away of music for free. It was weird, because I thought he was going to bitch at consumers; but no, it was the bands he was having a go at (and I did wonder if by others he meant NIN). I’m not sure what his beef was, because it wasn’t at all clear, I can’t say for Radiohead, but The Slip was offered as a free download for fans as a thank you. (That’s what Reznor said, anyway; if there was a marketing idea behind it, I never considered it at the time, and I’m not sure it would have made a difference.) As such, it was offered almost in a fan-club kind of way, but to the public at large. I guess what I don’t understand is why Smith feels it necessary to comment on what were fundamentally experiments between band and fan.
    I don’t know anything about the money made on The Slip. What was a matter of public comment though, was the numbers for Saul Williams’ Niggy Tardust. Reznor showed a great deal of disappointment with the paying figures for that one. But Saul himself said that his music was on more ipods than before; and that he’d reconciled himself (my words, not his) himself to the fact that as an artist he would have to make his money on tour. I know those are very specific cases where artists had the wherewithal to offer their work for free; but Reznor’s reaction does beg the question: if an artist is offering their work for free in whatever form, why is it wrong or even disappointing to take it? If you can then find alternate means of actually supporting that artist (merch or whatever) then you should. But why be disappointed when people take what you offer?
    Funny; I’m sure there was a time when to be a musician all you had to know was your instrument and how to keep time. Now you got no chance unless you got and A* in your marketing and computer programming classes. Then people wonder why it is music sucks these days. Could it be because it’s being made by people whose real talents are in marketing and computer programming? Just a thought.
    Belle

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