Last year was all about change and growth. There were moments when laughing felt right, and there were days when staying in bed felt as though it’s all we could do. There were weeks when many of us didn’t see anyone. There were weeks we spent in the streets screaming for justice. Extreme anguish, mixed with a new perspective. Brave decisions and a new outlook on empathy for many. Mixed in were intense moments of joy and celebration for the small victories and big ones alike. To be completely real, there were moments where I thought I was losing my mind. I wasn’t sure where I fit into such a landscape. Everyone’s lives were, (and are) so much different from what they used to be, mine included. The need to keep creating and to encourage others to create a positive outlook on their situations kept me moving forward. I started streaming, and trying to raise funds for Covid relief, and various social movements. After a few weeks I realized that these streams were something special to me. During one of the most turbulent times of my life, these digital encounters with other people online became therapy. We all collectively were going through an existential crisis, and we were able to connect via technology. Through the many streams I did, I affectionately began to refer to this collective of human experience inside of the internet as The Datasphere. We were existing as, and inside of The Datasphere. During these streams, I would ask the viewers to tell me what they’ve been going through, or what they were thinking; I would then make a song about it off the top of my head. Sometimes they would be silly and fun, and other times I couldn’t help but cry and fall apart live on camera. I loved so many of these song ideas that I started recording them into short videos, separate from the streams. The need to capture these ideas and thoughts into their own fragments of time was strong. So, I began to release these short videos. Some were direct edits of songs from the streams, and some were made from ideas that had spawned from a message someone had sent, or a story that hit my heart in a stream’s chat. As the weeks went on, more people had ideas on the streams, and more people would message me about making a video with a particular theme or instrument. Needless to say, many more videos ensued, and I found myself swimming in a sea of inspiration. Through each stream and each video I made, it felt like I was capturing something raw and real. Never has an art project happened so organically for me. I honestly never intended for this to become an art project. The intention behind it all was to try to create a positive space for people to feel happy and welcome in a dark piece of time. I’m just some dude with a webcam and a keyboard… I quickly realized that I needed the datasphere just as much as they needed me… Thank you Datasphere for writing these songs and making these videos. Thank you for being the light I needed in a very dark time. Thank you Datasphere for helping me truly remember why I started making music and art in the first place… Now I’m crying… Damn….
In honor of you, I named this: Live from the Datasphere. It’s the first thirty five audio files I’m releasing from this experience. Some are clips from streams, some are raw one take songs, some are sound experiments I did with instruments, or household items. I plan to make many more as well. Keep creating, and I’ll see you in The Datasphere 💚