Love OD Communications

Mental Overdrive would like to announce the following statement:

The transition of music back to it’s original state – i.e. freely flowing throughout any culture despite its geographical placement or social or economical rank – has now almost been completed, and thus rendered most recorded music near commercially worthless.

It’s been a bumpy ride, where many artists who have chosen music as their main means of communication have faced great obstacles, such as the gradual loss of their ability to support themselves economically. In one sense this has left only those who are willing to adjust their artistic output up against certain commercial parameters, or push the right buttons in making themselves visible in the marketplace to be able to keep their activities as musical artists a “full time job”.

And this doesn’t refer to “commercial” artists only – every “underground” (whatever that is) artist have also had to face these same challenges.

Anyone reading this far will notice that there’s both “good” and “bad” news contained within the above: The quest to find a “new economic model” in this changing picture has been a frustrating one for many, although it has left room for much creative experimentation – which is “good” from a creative point of view. It has made others do completely desperate things to try to keep things as they once were – as might be considered “bad” from a personal, humane point of view, as no-one should need to be left in desperation.

Mental Overdrive’s ride here has been both good and bad, which, according to Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, is “in everyone” – and therefore isn’t such a disaster after all.

Living in one of the few places on Earth where bottled water is considered one of the silliest ideas ever (the quality of the tap water here is far superior to that being sold in bottles), the only time one needs to pay for water is if one wants bubbles in it.

The analogy to the world of music is obvious and this has been seen coming for quite some time now, even though experiments along the way such as the single copy record and other experiments have been fun enough to do.

In December 2009 it was decided that Mental Overdrive would stop releasing albums, which was marked with the “unrelease” of the ANTI-LBM. Instead, an ever-evolving live-set was to be made available at gigs only – hopefully making the experience one of the moment and never 100% identical from time to time. These sets may be recorded and made freely available on Soundcloud etc. That’s not the point. The point is that every gig would be a glimpse into a constant work in progress, making it far more exiting both to create and – hopefully – to experience.

As of now there’s another twist to this programme:

Mental Overdrive will no longer charge money for doing these gigs. The silly myth of “what you lose on downloads can be obtained from gigs instead” deserves to die a sudden death here and now, as all artists on the globe suddenly seemed to get this idea simultaneously, and thereby made the competition on the gigging circuit so hard that most have to play for very little money to even get a slot.

Luckily not so with Mental Overdrive – yet – but that’s not the point either.

The point is that the new economy in the world of music  – at least for this artist – is to be based solemnly on barter from now on. This means that if you want to book an exclusive live set by Mental Overdrive for your club, you have to simply put food on the table. (Regrettably but also quite inavoidably: if your club is not situated in my hometown, you have to pay for transport and accommodation also.)

But the main point lies in the meals: I will simply play my music in return for a nice local meal, maybe coupled with a glass of wine, and a warm bed after the gig. If the size of your operation allows it, I might also bring family members along to sit at your table (I have one wife and two daughters), as they also need food from time to time.

This way, we will eventually break totally free from the confinement within the financial system that music has been held in for the last century or so.

If this tickles your fancy, you can drop a mail to Love OD Communications to discuss the possibility of an event. If this outrages you, you can do the same.

Finally, as the transition mentioned in the introduction is not 100% complete yet, there will still be the sporadic single release. First up is the brand new track “Darklight” which can be previewed here. It will be available from all digital stores from December 10th (no, it’s not a “Christmas single”). The Mental Overdrive back catalogue will also still be digitally available.

Tromsø, October 29th 2010

Per Martinsen AKA Mental Overdrive