Ant Neely: 'Scratch Redux'
"Scratch Redux"
Ant Neely's solo album, Not Fit For Human Consumption, is available for others to remix and build upon. hide caption
Musician and composer Ant Neely is an advocate of literally spreading his music around the world. A member of the electronic band Subthunk, Neely has turned the release of his first solo album, Not Fit For Human Consumption, into a global experiment by leaving copies of the CD in public locations for people to find, copy, and then leave someplace else. With the help of those who find the CDs, Neely is tracking the movement of his album on his Web site. One disc made its way from England to Brazil while another hopped around the U.K. before landing in Africa.
Anyone who stumbles upon of copy of Neely's album is in for a pleasant surprise. Not Fit For Human Consumption features chilled, multi-genre electronic music that mixes contemporary sounds with those from the 1940s and '50s.
The album begins with "Scratch Redux," a new version of a song that previously appeared on the Subthunk release, You Should've Been Here Yesterday. Once again featuring vocals by Subthunk singer Lisa Moore, the song is an infectious combination of slide guitar, synth and funky beats. The following track, "Lucky," continues the electro-funk tone while sampling audio clips from the 1950s instructional film, "How Do You Know It's Love."
Neely borrows from several other sources throughout Not Fit For Human Consumption, such as an early 1940s music video and a USPS educational film, and he also encourages others to do the same with his music. Because the album has been released under a creative commons license, others are free to remix or build upon Neely's work for noncommercial purposes. And acquiring a copy is as easy as downloading it from his Web site, where listeners can choose to pay what they please for the album.
Download this song in the Second Stage podcast.