How we feel and what we do.

We understand that the term unconventional exhibits a certain quality of sound that references the notion of a music theorem. A trying out of sorts. An experimental playing of styles and forms providing an audience with an artist's concept(s) thru the utilization of sound. We would even say that we are/were unconventional at a certain "one" point in our careers, except for the fact that there are thousands of people making music like this utilizing the title experimental as an authors note. We sympathize with this labeling but find this not able to describe our work.

How can something be experimental if so many are doing the same thing? The concepts of musical mastery no longer hold to the dimensional set of boundaries as once thought of. And thus, to us at Rotten Crab, we understand this likened to the Webster’s Dictionary definition for the term Gravity: "the force that holds us down to the Earth". For us, this is equal to us saying "we aren't playing music at all, we are merely fucking around". "The Force that holds us to the ground" is not a definition, for what is the "FORCE" they are referring to?

Experimental is not a definition describing people who know what they are doing. With a further study of sound, most artists find themselves in a field of art that eventually renders their work as something "improvisational".

The term experimental (for us) makes little to no sense. Rock was experimental. Pop was experimental. But now they are genres. Yet, how can this be? Does this elicit only "acceptable musics" as / is something of a mastery. . .because of its universal qualities? What is a universal quality? Should Rotten Crab's Decisive music-roster only be acknowledged by the music industry, thru a description of horror movie music / scenes? The average person does. And this is a shame. I'd not like that type of thinking to describe my music nor the work of the artists on this lable, unless that is a particular artist's executed intention.

For many of us making Decisive music, we are considered by our friends, families, & coworkers very kind and thoughtful people. Many of us are really quite annoyed with the tags "dark" and "outsiders". Granted, a notion to fit in isn't something we care all that much about either. But Decisive music is a large cross section of modern music. Not just dark music. Thus, the appropriation of Decisive musicians/artists, shouldn't really be that of only darksiders and outsiders. Considering that this form of music is cross-political, cross-spiritual, and cross-genre, it's been hard enough to get people into a room without peoples heads slamming together over issues other than a musical description. And yet, so is the ways of acedemia...

We reserve the title DECISIVE MUSIC to describe who we release. The acts on Rotten Crab are bands that use traditional instruments and sounds in a certain way. The construct, taking cues from Musque Concrete, Punk, Jazz, Indie, Noise, and Psychedelic musics, provide the audience with a decisive form of - what has been recently described in the last 25-30 years as - "Out" music. But again, "OUT" implies a style of music that tries to move away from it's initial musical influence(s). This is also (to us) a counter-productive term.

Out? Experimental? What do these terms commemorate? Who are they referencing? From what class of musician / sound artist? This is the point we would like listeners to consider when apporaching the artists we work with. This lable is not about being weird. Nor are we Dada novelties.

Music that essentially "does what ever it wants", is still, ...music, even if calculating on the fly during a live performance.

Pin-pointing this genre of sound was difficult, but not anymore. In the year 2008 there are more than 8,000 music acts making music within this definitive boundary of sound. The parameters are set. The concepts are in place. The movement is now in its 25-30th(disputed) documented year within music history. How can there be anymore experimentation of this sound if people are sounding like one another?? Obviously there are discrepancies. Yet, this is a form(?) of playing music. And these formations of sound qualites are no longer concerned with strictly being represented as purely experimentation. Sure, there is alway exploration in sound as an artist. But at some point all artists develope a personal style. And thus, how can one improv(e)? All is an intent that is being executed via the bodies skillset. If many people's skillsets are rendered to being alike the fellow contributors, then a genre has been established.

In Jass/Jazz many have called this "the pocket". A place that is reached where all involved in the performing of that musical environment locks into a certain pre-understanding thru what all the others are doing/going to be doing while impov-ing. Visual artists call this an epiphany, when things involved hamon-ate into a cohesive intended whole. Intention and execution of that intent become a solidified mastery of communication between canvas and that artist's desires/subconscious drives. Architects call this "gelling" when the foremen, the electrician, and the architect see eye-to-eye on a plan. In rock and funk musics it has been described as " the groove". Fact is, something synergetic does occur when certain people come together within a creative process. All forms of art, as well as conventional musics, started out as an OUT from the influences that caused the artists/musicians to pick up the very instruments that created such sounds. There is a design taking place. Being constructued. The out arts / ideations of what has become out-art - as we now know and love it today -are justly no longer considered one of unconventiality. Rotten Crab is a reality label of a strict audio design. We've decided to do away with the terms "out" and "experimental". Simply because we know what we are doing. This is our mantra.

With that...

We recognize the contradictions. We recognize that all things are subject to change. Rotten Crab recognizes there is/are many differences in experimental, avant-garde, and out musics today. Whether the public critic coming from pop to "unconventional sound" are able/willing to understand the uniquenesses, or at the very least are able to recognize that "nothing is unconventional at some point", this is really non of our concern. For as the philosopher Ken Wilber suggests with his whole body of work (paraphrasing the sum) all things are integral to the process, even the things that are unseen or flat out denied are essential aspects of the entire process.

No one here is uniquely trying to be innovative. Those that are when making Decisive music have obviously tapped into something ephemeral considering all of these artists - while trying to do something "different and fresh" to their individual ears - all sound so damn similar. Obviously has "gelled". This is a genre of music that isn't experimenting anymore. Obviously something (or someone) has to make a decision on what it is called, what it is about, and why they decidedly entered a stage in music concerned with leaving music. How can one leave music when one is still playing music? For if Zbigniew Karkowski is considered a master of this genre, there is nothing experimental about it anymore. Just unknown to exist for the seeker. Like a book that describes something you've never been able to articulate until you've read the words of another - thus is what experimental / out music has become. For if there are masters in 2008, there ARE designed decisions that have been made. Laws, rules, and regulations are in play whether you've known of them or not.. We are just here to expose them to you.

...As for the comments at the top... We believe punk as a genre, became 100% pop-cuture the very second Crass released "the feeding of 5,000" because of the wide range of listeners accepting it's message(s). Many state the Sex Pistols as starting and ending punk. With further study you'll notice that the Sex Pistol were as pop as you can get. And Punk actually started sometime in the 40's. Crass being one of the last great bastians of the puritist-punk movement (considered by the media as a music group) was - in our oppinion -actually a leading political movement that expressed their anarchist philosophies thru the medium of art via punk rock. YET! How can any "group" be anarchists? The counter productivity is the guiding philosophy of anarchism. Band together to stop people from banning together. Non of us feels this makes any sense.

Like that of nihilism, how can one be a nihilist if one is a living creature? Or a misanthropic black metal kid that eats hot pockets from a local grocery store chain when he is hungry? Most things ANTI-anything are generally just promoting it's antithisis. Which is why we love ripping on experimental and out music(s) as describers of a genre that has nothing to do with experimentation. Heck, even look at the 90's term for alternative rock. How is the sound of Pearl Jam an alternative to rock? Seems to me something like Primus was an alternative to rock, yet it's still rock. Much like the band The Minutemen, Crass was an alternative to Punk by being punks, yet not being very punk. And let's not even get on the subject of POST-anything. I think the lables Kranky and 12k have handled these situations very effectively.

We sight Crass as a wonderful example of something we definately admire about the human spirit. They were a band that understood it's own contradictions, and thus stopped it's process mid stream. A good conviction historically. Another great example is comedian Dave Chapelle. He virtually did the same "I'm outta here act" once he'd realized the racist traps of showbiz. When trying to stop racism, he was then exploited by his producers into unintentionally furthering it. The fact that both Crass and Mr. Chapelle "did the right thing", that to us at Rotten Crab, is one of the most respectable action(s) a group or individual can undergo when their intention (& execution of that intent) exposes their own unfortunate self-corruptions.

The Truth.

It's never entirely the fault of the person when things take a turn for the wrong. We do however believe, it's only their fault when they know the wrongs and yet continue anyway. We make no apologies. We will do our best to represent this music as something important and respectable.

So, with all that being stated, if we feel that this labeling "Decisive Music" as being something totally balderdash - within even a week from now - we will retract this whole statement outright, and continue to search for another marketing description. Cuz the reality of 2008 is that any and all terms are simply Marketing. It's all just music.

And why not embrace the truths of today?! Exacltly. Redirect the pain and make it a healing process. Fuck the down-grade of acting unique to be cool. Incorporate the pretenses. Take somethings ultra seriously. Might as well be the artists you are. Rotten Crab acknowledges your work!

We do want you to come together and make more music. Meet one-another, make friends. Get known for your hard work. Make some cash thru the media's "sexually lure`em in and then shit`em out" idiocies without becoming addicts. We at Rotten Crab actually want YOU to be able to live how you want to live. Be how you are, and keep making great masterful decisive musics. Otherwise why run a lable?

Decisive Music is Rotten Crab. ...We are glad you could join us. :)

ps - The music is free, but we'd love you to donate to help us stick around a while.
pps - "musics" is not a misspelling of the word music. We mean what we say.





Rotten Crab releases are free to download under a Creative Commons License.