U/U Vol.4 - FAQ

Find the project itself here.



ARE YOU SURE THIS ISN'T A CYNICAL CASH GRAB? ALIENATING YOURSELF FROM YOUR MUSICAL VISION TO INSTEAD CHURN OUT CONTENT EVERY MONTH FOR THE SAKE OF A FEW EXTRA QUID?

No it's a way of circumventing the dull and labrynthine death throes of the music industry that we (admittedly) signed up for in the form of various record deals in order to get enough cash to make records. Those kind of deals/models can't really handle anything that's not in a safe, tried and tested album format, but the internet can (see more innovative/groundbreaking examples of bands releasing music via internet). 65dos post-NMS has been finding it hard to make music that only fits into that format, and since writing several instances of algorithmic software and rethinking our approaches to how we all make music together, we have found ourselves with a glut of odd/cool music that we wanted to find a way to share.

WHY IS THIS CALLED VOLUME 4? WHERE ARE VOLUMES 1-3?

Volumes 1-3 were created in a similar spirit many years ago when we were starting out. Volumes 1 and 2 were CDR's we made at home with a photocopied cover (the idea being that people who owned it could make more copies of their own, back when all computers had CD drives) and were called, respectively 65’s.Late.Nite.Double-A-Side.College.Cut-Up.Trailers.For.The.Looped.Future and How I Fucked Off All My Friends.

Both volumes featured original material by us but also included unasked-for remixes, splices and cut-ups of other acts, a significant number of which were the big pop stars of the moment. This collage-like approach to throwing together music was quite central to the early days of 65, live shows would include this kind of stuff too. Knowing that it could never officially be released, but wanting to share it, we turned them into the U/U compilations. These liner notes from Vol. 2 give a more honest explanation of our intentions than anything we could try to reverse-enginner now:


Volume 3, The Kids Have Eyes, was a DVD with some official and non-official music videos and a short road movie/tour doc that we sold on tour.

They’re probably floating about the internet still if you care to look.

IS THE FORTHCOMING ALBUM GOING TO CONTAIN ANY OF THIS MUSIC?

No. The new album is completely separate and is owned by a record label, see Q1.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MUSIC FROM YOUR ‘DECOMPOSITION THEORY’ PROJECT?

Decomposition Theory was probably as close to improvisational as we're ever going to get, and lots of it was led by instances of algorithmic software we built in 2016/2017. As such, some versions of some of it are represented here, having been adapted to better fit this form. Some of it also ended up on the forthcoming album. Some of it exists only as a memory of a shared experience between us and whosoever came to see us at the Decomposition Theory shows.

WILL ANY OF THIS MUSIC GET A PHYSICAL RELEASE?

It's not really intended for that. We would have had to make the subscription much more expensive to factor in making enough vinyl/cassettes/cd/whatever for everyone and then shipping it all out. Also the speed that is lost makes it less appealing for what we’re trying to do here. The coming album makes the most of the physical format, whereas this project tries to make the most of the digital format. We can move quickly, keep things spontaneously, upload music to you the day after we finish it, etc.

WHY IS IT NOT ON SPOTIFY/APPLE MUSIC ETC?

Ah, well. It's great being able to have millions of tunes at the touch of a button, but also we got told some of our No Man’s Sky music has been streamed on Spotify NINE MILLION TIMES and we didn't really get paid anything for that. So while the answer to Q1 is true, it's also true that selling nine million singles, or even just getting played nine million times on the radio would lead to SOME SORT OF CONTRIBUTION TO A GROWN UP INCOME if and when we finally decide to be grown ups.  This subscription thing is a step towards that. There's no-one else involved.

OK, BUT IF I CAN’T STREAM IN WHERE IS IT EXACTLY? HOW DO I LISTEN?

The subscription’s running via Bandcamp. When you sign up, you’ll get a Bandcamp account. Every time we release new music, you’ll get an email with a link in it. Following that link you can either listen to the music in your browser or download high quality files which you can then add to the local library of  iTunes/Spotify/Whatever music app you use.

WILL THIS PROJECT ONLY INCLUDE MUSIC?

Probably but not necessarily. Apart from specific releases, there is also a member’s area within the Bandcamp subscription page, where we will post more information about the music and keep peolpe updated about the ongoing work we are doing over the year.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MY BANDCAMP SUBSCRIPTION AFTER THE YEAR HAS PASSED?

It will go to the Bandcamp Subscription Graveyard in the sky. The way the Bandcamp system naturally works is that subscriptions are designed to be ongoing as a way of supporting the band. However we will give subscribers plenty of notice to make sure that nobody gets recharged. Additionally, it is worth noting that you can sign up for the subscription, immediately cancel, and will remain signed up for the duration of the project.

IF I AM BROKE AND CANNOT AFFORD TO SUBSCRIBE FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS, WILL I MISS OUT ON PREVIOUS RELEASES? 

No. By signing up at any point in the year you’ll be able to immediately download all previous releases.

IS THIS THE FUTURE OF MUSIC?

Don’t know, doubt it. It’s nice to be able to seize our own means of production in this small way though. It hints at something a little less dystopian than the music industry we are used to tends toward.

WHAT IS ‘BLEAK STRATEGIES’?

Bleak Strategies is our podcast. It was launched at the same time as U/U Vol.4 but is separate from it and freely available. Search for ‘Bleak Strategies’ in your podcast app or go here to find other ways to listen.