Lately I've been increasingly drawn to all things Porcupine Tree which eventually led me to buy all six released official fanzines so far (arrived in the post a couple of days ago). Also lately I've been keen on reading up online on my influences and things related to them. I eagerly keep checking back on Steven Wilson's website in order to keep track of his playlist which he is so kind to share with us mere mortals. I've always been attracted to artists which insist on pushing the proverbial envelope and Wilson is one such character. His work both as an active musician and on the producer's chair is nothing short of staggering and he's a huge influence on me.

But I'm losing myself here. What I meant to say is that his latest playlist includes an album by a project called Fear Falls Burning, which in itself is, I think, a fantastic moniker. I've been on background processing trying to come up with a name with which to christen my own band and I always wish I had come up with names like this when I come across them. Anyway, perilous are the paths of the interweb, and I end up on Fear Falls Burning website which is basically Belgian artist Dirk Serries one man guitar drone show. I haven't been able to get ahold of any of his work yet (he's so underground that not even on eMule I could find any sample of his work!) but I'm eager to. I also learned that he's been on and off collaborating with Steven Wilson, notably on his Bass Communion side.

So, long story short, the guy has been maintaining a blog since the beginning of 2006 and I decided to check it out. Ended up reading the whole thing and while it's mildly addictive, two interesting things came up as far as I'm concerned.

First, the man has been having a frenzy throughput since starting Fear Falls Burning at the end of 2004 and he already came up with a DVD, entitled "The Infinite Sea of Sustain" (yeah, the guy has a knack for great naming). What struck me as particularly interesting is that the DVD cover is a special thing. Quoting from the blog entry:

"the infinite sea of sustain" is a special release, and naturally the packaging reflects its special status. In keepingwith Soleilmoon's uncompromising standards this DVD is presented in a stunning 5 x 8 inch (12.5 x20.5 cm) foldermade from hand-processed wood grain paper. The paper was custom made for Soleilmoon by Shantilal & Sons of Bombay, India, and no two copies are alike. The texture is an unbelievably fluid vision of wood; mere words cannot doit justice. A screen-printed insert and three postcards rest with the disc in a pocket inside of the folder, and an obandon the outside holds the whole package together." Take a look :

Beautiful. This is what I called both artistic expression and the positive campaigning against downloading and the so-called "piracy". Forget witch hunts, let's embelish our offer instead on aspects that cannot go through the wire and have to be physically acquired instead. Well done, good karma. This is akin to Wilson and many others I'm still to discover, who make a point of releasing stuff on beautiful vynil pressings, with amazing sleeves and liner notes. The real gods of music as far as I'm concerned. Music is art, so it should be handed and handled as such.

The second thing derives naturally from the first and that's the culture of "limited quantity" that Fear Falls Burning also seems to defend. And rightly so. I think it makes a lot of sense with this kind of art work. He goes on to explain:

The DVD has been selling tremendously well and this brings me to the limited edition issue. Many customers and listeners asked us whether the DVD or any of my previous limited edition LP's will be reissued. My personal opinion is that a limited edition needs to stay limited so for me and the music of Fear Falls Burning the past releases will remain sold out when they're out of stock. The LP's will not be reissued on CD and the DVD will not get a 2nd pressing.
I love the limited quantity aspect as it gives you the chance to share your music for only a specific period in time. Since I'm constantly evolving with ffb, it's for me interesting and healthy to leave a specific release behind me and move forward. Each ffb release belongs to a certain moment in time and it should remain that way.
Apart from this grants a limited edition you as well the option to make the packaging unique and special, "handmade on order" so to speak.

Well said. Now, I should really get on the lookout for a new nice turntable as it seems to have become a nightmare to find a new needle for my old one. I really want to start listening to some vynil again...

Three cheers for people like Fear Falls Burning, by the way.