Recorded at Public
Space One, located in the Jefferson Building in downtown Iowa
City, Iowa, on Sunday, October 19, 2008.
Mark Rushton - xiosynth, laptop, shortwave,
zoom h2
Jon Harnish - bass guitar, effects box
Track listing:
- Esker
(11:40)
- Drumlin
(5:46)
- Weathering
(5:57)
All files are 192kb-encoded MP3 files.
We consider them "donationware music". They are
free to download.
If you want to buy the EP,
visit the Esker page at AmazonMP3.com, where you can buy it for
as little as $2.67. 256kb-encoded, DRM-free, and no announcer
talking at the end asking for a donation.
For all download albums at AmazonMP3.com by Mark Rushton or Jon
Harnish, visit
their store.
Donate:
While the MP3s here are free, you are able to
donate any amount if you're a regular listener and wish to support
via Paypal.
About Esker (by Mark Rushton on November 2, 2008):
Jon and I recorded the Esker EP at Public Space One in downtown Iowa
City on Sunday, October 19, 2008. "Esker" constitutes about a quarter
of the music we recorded that evening, but this group of three tracks
really fit well together and I thought they'd work as an EP. Jon agreed
and I got 'em out in a podcast and as free 192kb MP3 downloads. They're
going to be on AmazonMP3 via CreateSpace.com some time in November.
The rest of the music from the October 19th session will come out after
I finish edits. I'd imagine there's at least two or three more EPs of
music in that session. The last track we did was nearly 30 minutes
long, but it needs some chopping and dividing. All that takes time. I
am busy with a day job, family, and am currently taking a university
class.
Esker also marks a significant change in the way that I make music
available.
Since 2004 I've been putting out CDs via CDBaby and getting my music on
iTunes worldwide and also on subscription services like Napster and
Rhapsody. That's fine, and I'm in the black on all those releases, but
that's not where the audience is. For me, the audience is listening via
the podcast, getting tracks the free MP3 feed, and discovering via
Google searches for certain types of music. CDs, as I've learned,
having become a waste of my time.
So I've made a change. With the Esker release, I'm putting out an EP
via podcast, making the single tracks available as MP3s, and asking the
audience for donations via Paypal. Just completely cut out the
middleman. And, if people want to buy the MP3 of the track, they will
have Amazon as an option. Pretty soon, AmazonMP3 will be worldwide.
What about selling on iTunes? Well, when I can get back on iTunes
without any upfront costs, then I'll do that again. For now, it doesn't
really matter. I have audience via iTunes via the podcast and free
MP3s.
I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I'd rather have lots of people
downloading for free rather than a limited number of people buying. If
people like the music, then they'll come back and get more. Maybe
eventually some will donate or buy tracks. I can't control any of that,
so why not grab the largest number of ears possible? The way to do that
is to give the music away.
About Mark Rushton:
Mark Rushton creates music and sounds with his laptop, synths, and field
recordings. His albums include 2004's The Driver's Companion, 2005's Hum
And Drift, 2007's Regeneration X, and 2008's Flow. An early podcaster,
Rushton's music has thousands of fans world-wide, and he's sold albums
in such places as Japan, Australia, throughout Europe, as well as the
United States.
About Jon Harnish:
Jon Harnish grew up in Cedar Rapids and played with Craig Erickson in
the mid 1980s for a few years before moving to California. While in Los
Angeles he played with many artists, including Keith Levene (ex-Public
Image Limited), D.H. Peligro (ex-Dead Kennedys), and Astrid Young (Neil
Young's sister). Harnish moved back to Iowa in 1998.
