Photo by Phil Farnsworth 8in8 Buy The Album! Check-in on GetGlue More Sites Coming Soon Ben Folds benfolds.com @benfolds Amanda Palmer amandapalmer.net @amandapalmer Neil Gaiman neilgaiman.com @neilhimself Damian Kulash (of OK Go) okgo.net @okgo |
8in8 - "tomorrow's supergroup, today" - is comprised of Ben Folds, Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman, and Damian Kulash.
On April 25th 2011, they entered Mad Oak Studios hoping to write and record eight songs in eight hours - webcasting the entire writing and recording process. Prior to the event, the band was asked about their plans and why exactly they agreed to try and do such a thing... Amanda Palmer: "The four of us are creative internet addicts with our own huge Twitter circles. This project is exciting as it will give us the opportunity to collide our circles. I think the Rethink Music conference is going to be a groundbreaking event, and I'm hoping to engage in a dialogue about things that are very close to my heart, namely the importance of audiences and artists creating a new society of patronage and virtual busking." Neil Gaiman: "I'm excited and nervous both because there is so much room for things to go wrong, and because it shows people how art is actually made. Or would actually be made if you locked three songwriter performers and an author in a box for a day and forced them to collaborate with Twitter to craft and record songs. When I write it down and look at it, it looks even more unlikely than it did in my head." Ben Folds: "Digital technology allows singers who can't sing and musicians who look better than they play to sing and play in tune and in time. At the same time, it empowers the musician to distribute music without a middle man and directly to an audience within moments of its creation. It even allows two-way communication during the process so that the audience might collaborate to some extent or be present in some way - like live music." The results - a 6 song album (recorded in 12 hours) entitled "Nighty Night" - was released on Bandcamp shortly before the band's presentation at the Rethink Music conference; proceeds from the first week of downloads going to benefit Berklee City Music, which provides free music education to underserved teens. Later that night, the band performed a one-time-only (?) concert at Berklee College of Music, performing most of the record for Rethink Music attendees and fans. |