Gramatik has teamed up with BitTorrent to release his new LP “The Age of Reason”, yes you read that correctly, one of the most recognized names in digital music production is teaming up with a company that is has is often under the gun as a channel that promotes music piracy.
It is tough to contemplate why a music producer would work in tandem with a company that produces software that is often used to download media illegally and in large quantity. It seems right off the bat that this is a poor decision, but Gramatik and his team are no newbies, with a discography that is pages long, Dreams About Her EP, Expedition 44, Street Bangerz Vol.1, Street Bangerz Vol.2, Water 4 The Soul Ep, Street Bangerz Vol. 3, to name a few and comes with strings of production credits on various labels from hip-hop to top40 radio ghost writing, Denis Jasarevic (Gramatik) is certainly making a very well thought out move here.
From what I can gather these two entities are forming a symbiotic relationship. The battle for copyrighted material on the internet has long since been over, torrent clients and media sharing websites such as Mediafire and Hulkshare have won, by a long shot. Now that the fog has cleared on the battle field, it seems that the successful artists have accepted the Darwinian truth and have adapted to survive in an ever-changing digital age. To avoid the fate of some that have resisted change, for example Kodak Film, it seems that working together with a then enemy, will produce a future ally, Denis shares this idea and this is what he had to say about BitTorrent,
Teaming up with BitTorrent isn’t a first for Gramatik, he has been posting links to his discographies on torrent websites for years now. Teaming up with BitTorrent publicly for the release of this album is a great idea, if people are using this client by the millions to consume copied media, why not have that client support your music and suggest a download to the anonymous user strolling the billions of pieces of information on the internet. This unique approach to standing out in the cut-throat marketplace that has become the digital music realm will hopefully amplify notoriety for this beautifully worked album.
This 15 track album is no joke, it is a collection of well crafted digital music that glows with the hours of hard work and time spent crafting tracks after almost a year of silence. If you know Gramatik you know that his music cannot fit under one category,this album takes us all the way across the spectrum and back pulling elements of soul, funk, hip-hop, dubstep and everything in between; a wonderful detachment from the every day single on Soundcloud or the 3 track EP that only features one original. With such a well polished work of art to show off, there should be no shortage of ticket sales as Gramatik makes his rounds on stage. The “Age of Reason” will undoubtedly bolster his already sterling name.
Denis is also a life long fan of Nikola Tesla, and for various reasons they draw similarities as they selflessly pioneer their work for the better of the craft, not for credit or financial gain. The title of the album was taken from a standup segment from the late George Carlin, drawing ideas and basing a work mentality on the aforementioned individuals is enough to win me over, and over again. Gramatik has always worked hard to break the chains of copyright law and he speaks openly about it, which is always very well received by his loyal almost cult following. So please take some time and enjoy the work of someone important. *click “Free Download” at the bottom of the SoundCloud player to link to the BitTorrent site*
“Free music by making it free” – Denis Jasarevic