Sound Arts: An Insider’s View on Independent Experimental Music Publishing

Abstract

In this article, the author examines the history of independent art editions, the economy of multiples and an exposure to the current experimental music and conceptual art scenes that led to the creation of vibrö/vibrofiles.com as an audio and visual chronicle of contemporary sound creation. In the second part of the article, she exposes the practicalities of such an endeavour when faced with a ‘no/parallel-economy’, as well as the project’s active relationship with contemporary artists, critical writers, curators and institutions. A brief comparison with similar ventures (labels, publishing companies, individual curators, event organizers, artists’ collectives, etc.) helps to locate this experience in the current topology of a creative domain recently labelled as ‘sound arts’. The author concludes by trying to anticipate the possible development and relevance of such a project in a wider perspective.