and_oar

Q: "and/OAR?"

A: The main division of and/OAR is a recording label committed to releasing unique
and interesting environmental recordings and various kinds of avant garde sound
art that somehow utilizes environmental recording or recordings.

One basic mission of and/OAR is to help raise awareness and appreciation of the
sonic environment that surrounds each of us, plus enable people to experience
unique sound environments of places, activities and things that they would not
normally be able to do otherwise. All of the work released on the label should
also hopefully contribute to breaking down the long held beliefs of what can be
considered as "music" and shift our social paradigm in that regard to something
more "all-inclusive"; because the term "music" as usually described in dictionaries,
and as still understood by many people, is often too limiting and should be
expanded to include all sound that a person can enjoy and/or derive some kind of
pleasure or benefit from. It is the hope of and/OAR to encourage a much broader
understanding and appreciation of all that is "sound", which in turn, can lead to a
better understanding and appreciation of life in general.

Another mission of and/OAR & the and/OAR Diffusion shop has been to make
sound work as affordable as possible so that as many people as possible can
afford to buy and listen to it. In 2003, a/O started the Diffusion shop in an attempt
to initiate a positive new paradigm in online CD music sales by providing the best
prices, best customer service, and faster shipping while also properly protecting
the items en route to the customer. Paradigms, paradigms, shift those paradigms!

Q: What do you consider to be an "environmental recording?"

A: Since an "environmental recording" is a recording of the sounds of a particular
environment, this would include various kinds of captures made with various open
air microphones, as well as non-open air microphones, receivers, & various sonic
sensor apparati like: piezo discs, hydrophones, geophones, shortwave radios, VLF
receivers, satellite transmissions, inductive mics (magnetic coils), bat detectors, etc.

Q: What does the name "and/OAR" mean?

A: "OAR" is an acronym for "Overheard And Rendered".
Ov erheard And Rendered was a recording label from 1999 to 2001.
and/OAR was originally founded as a sub-label of Overheard And Rendered.
Plans are in the works in 2008 to start a two new divisions ( either/OAR and mOAR )
which will not be centered around environmental recordings.

Also, the and/OAR & either/OAR names were derived from the phrases "and/or" &
"either/or" which are often used in English sentences to indicate "one or the other"
or "both". Therefore, the names were partially chosen because of their
"all inclusive" nature. They are unifying and collective names. Of course the name
"mOAR" just means "MORE" from the same source (i.e. and/OAR), only different!

"OAR" is also similar to words in other languages that refer to the ear like "ohr"
(German), "oor" (Dutch), "oreille" (French), "orecchio" (Italian), "orelha"
(Portugese), etc.

And finally, in the film industry,"OAR" refers to "Original Aspect Ratio", which is the
size and shape that the director intended their film to be viewed in, or the size and
shape that a film is being presented in. This relates to an obvious interest in film
that has surfaced in releases such as "Another Kind Of Language: Dedicated to
Andrei Tarkovsky", "Yasujiro Ozu - Hitokomakura" and the upcoming
"Michelangelo Antonioni - Trilogy And Epilogue".

Q: Demos?

A: Yes, demos are now being accepted for and/OAR, either/OAR & mOAR. All
demos are listened to, but commentary cannot be provided for everything sent. If
there is interest in your work, you will be contacted within a reasonable amount of
time.

- Before sending your demo, please research the label to make sure your work is
appropriate.

- Please do not send your parcel via registered mail.

- Please do not send sound files as e-mail attachments.

If a physical release cannot be offered, you might be asked about the possibility of a
(pay-per-download) MP3 release instead. The MP3s will mostly feature new and/or
previously unreleased work, and as of now, most of the proceeds will go to the artist.
All divisions of and/OAR will eventually have MP3 releases featured in their catalogs.

Right now, the priority of and/OAR (the main division) is for straight environmental
recording release proposals of highly unique sonic phenomena or subject matter
that have rarely, if ever, been recorded. As mentioned above, the either/OAR &
mOAR divisions do not have environmental recordings as a primary focus.

Q: Radio promos?

A: We receive a lot of requests from DJs for airplay copies, but after some
careful consideration, it was decided that the end result for this extra expenditure
does not justify the cost. We do offer "DJ discounts" for all and/OAR releases and
certain Diffusion shop items, so please contact us about this if you are interested.
If we don't know who you are or haven't heard of your program, we might need to
see a website and/or any recent play lists as proof your program actually exists.