Külföldi torrent oldalak What.cd | WCD Financial Update: Part One

Financial Update: Part One

FINANCIAL UPDATE: PART ONE​

It's time for a brief update about our financial situation. We intend to release a larger update within a month, so keep an eye on the news section for further developments regarding the site's financial future, and your role in shaping it.

We'd like to thank everyone who has contributed in the form of a direct donation or store purchase since the time of the last announcement. This fundraiser has proven successful enough to keep the site running in the short term. The final two weeks of April were especially strong, and if this is indicative of a continuing trend, it would suggest that we're momentarily in the black as of the time of this post.

However, it is clear that funding What.CD is a challenge with more systemic problems (as is indicated by previous fundraisers). Without stimulating the user base with an occasional call for help, we eventually fall behind. As the site grows, our bills grow. With this comes the cost of server upgrades. Keep in mind that we own our servers, so fixed costs are a luxury we do not enjoy. As stated previously, the cost of one server breakdown can easily exceed many months of average operating costs.

For these reasons, it is difficult to fund the site primarily through the What.CD Online Store, although it helps. But the reality is that not everyone wants to purchase merchandise, nor is everyone willing (or able) to pay for costly international shipping. While the store will remain an effective way for users to show their support for the site, we understand that it isn't an absolute solution.

We also acknowledge that everyone would prefer additional options which allow closer to 100% of contributions to directly fund the site—something impossible to achieve when selling tangible products. Toward this end, we have been discussing the implementation of new donation incentives, as well as a more profitable utilization of the store. Changes beyond these are being discussed, but are nowhere ready for public hinting, much less public introduction.

Beyond keeping the site afloat, additional short-term goals include replenishing a safety net of emergency funds, and funding an overdue hardware upgrade. The longest-term and most important goal remains ensuring that each month's donations haul is at least large enough to cover monthly costs.

At this time, we encourage our users to be patient. Proper execution of our plans requires frequent discussion as a staff team, coordination with external partners, many developer hours, and time spent ensuring the security of everyone involved.

But, hey—thanks to you, we're still here. Turn it to eleven and kick it.

STAFF PICKS​

Irimias's Staff Pick

Basic Channel – BCD

Genre: Dub techno, Minimal

Torrents: torrents.php?id=67120

Review:

Techno reimagined as the logical conclusion of Jamaican dub. This is music that almost instantly changed the way that people make music, changed the way people that hear music and even the way that people feel music – Hell, in sonic terms, it represented a revolution in consciousness, one that we’re still trying to catch up with and still struggling to find the language to describe.

Pinch: “I’m a long-standing fan of Basic Channel and the lineage of music that followed from both Moritz [von Oswald] and Mark [Ernestus] – particularly their Rhythm & Sound project. Even though the BC records are 20 years old now, I still find them fresh and often more relevant than the majority of contemporary dub techno records.

“The textures in their music are not only deep and involving, sonically speaking, but the way the sounds actually move and develop throughout a given track create these endless, journey-like polyrhythms that can induce jaw-dropping, meditative states. I’ve often found myself drifting off into a headspace that sits somewhere just in front of the dream state – and not really coming out of it until the needle hits the centre run-out groove! Makes me sound like I’ve been partially lobotomised – but it’s true! BCD is music you have to interact with to fully experience; it’s music that tells a story but leaves you to paint your own picture to it. You can keep finding new and interesting sub-plots with every listen!”​

DixieFlatline's Staff Pick

Coil - Musick to Play in the Dark (Vol. 1)

Genre: Experimental, Electronic, Ambient

Torrents: torrents.php?id=24261

Review:

Run through with water, they bled slow waves beneath the stars.​

KitchenStaff's Staff Pick

Zulu Winter - Language

Genre: Pop/Rock

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72210414

Review:

One of my favorite things about smartphones is the ability to identify songs that you hear just about anywhere. I discovered this album after hearing 'People That You Must Remember' on one of the final episodes of Hemlock Grove; what I didn't expect was that the rest of the album was going to be as spectacular as it is. No, it's not complicated music, not challenging to listen to or deeply insightful with respect to the lyrics - but it's catchy, and atmospheric, and it's occupied my daily playlist for long enough that I want other people to hear it. Try the two-song combo of 'We Should Be Swimming' to 'Bitter Moon'.​

Lylac's Staff Pick

1200 Micrograms - The Time Machine

Genre: Psytrance

Torrents: torrents.php?id=51428

Review:

Absolutely amazing collaboration between Riktam and Bansi (GMS, which also happens to be one of my favourite psytrance acts), Raja Ram, and Chicago. This album delivers an enthralling experience that transcends space and time by incorporating region-specific instruments and sounds within the tracks. It is a must-listen for any psytrance enthusiast.​

Zettel's Staff Pick

Multiple Man - Multiple Man

Genre: Noise rock

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72459549

Review:

A friend from Australia put me on to this duo, who seem to be benefitting from something crazy going on down there. Their work—with this exception—is unavailable except on cassette, but it's all noxious new-wave revival goodness. I'd be very pleased to see a full-length in a non-ridiculous format.​

irredentia's Staff Pick

Random Inc. - Jerusalem: Tales Outside the Framework of Orthodoxy

Genre: glitch, field recording, ambient, experimental

Torrents: torrents.php?id=487096

Review:

Sebastian Meissner, here as Random Inc., offers up an album of contradictions: rich yet spare, complicated but understated, disturbing and beautiful, about a subject which is always contemporary but layered with contextual meaning and always re-interpreting the past. Jerusalem: Tales Outside the Framework of Orthodoxy filters the past through a modern sound, and never quite resolves to be document, artistic statement, commentary, or philosophy. Heavily influenced by glitch, it references older forms of sound collage and musique concrète to the point where it never sounds antiseptic and cold like much of Alva Noto's fantastic work, but rather takes on an element of the electromechanical. Tradition and modernity juxtapose and intertwine effortlessly on this brilliant, contemplative album—an appropriate examination of the role Jerusalem has had in Western culture as the tableau of history.

Notes: There are several long intentional silences on this album. This is a release which benefits from its presentation; although I do not currently have access to a scanner, I photographed the artwork to present this work in a fuller context in conjunction with making it my pick.​

Ajax's Staff Pick

Janine Jansen - Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto Op. 64 / Bruch: Romance for Viola, Violin Concerto Op. 26

Genre: classical, violin

Torrents: torrents.php?id=106584

Review:

Fantastic performance of Mendelssohn's violin concerto by the beautiful and talented Janine Jansen. One of my all time favorite pieces and a great way to start the summer. ​

draculesti's Staff Pick

The Meligrove Band - Shimmering Lights

Genre: Indie rock

Torrents: torrents.php?id=71834153

Review:

Despite being recorded over a four-year period, Shimmering Lights doesn’t have the dragged-out feel of a belabored album. Like a poppier version of Tokyo Police Club, Meligrove Band specialize in the sort of zippy, quirky indie rock that rarely slows down, and the band’s fourth album manages to squeeze ten songs into the space of a half hour. The songs themselves are pleasant enough, with all the familiar trimmings of 21st century indie rock: half-sung/half-shouted vocals, frenetic single-line guitar riffs, keyboards, and a balance between melody and good-natured noise. But if Meligrove Band lack something in the originality department, the group makes up for it with solid execution, and Shimmering Lights winds up being a tuneful example of by-the-book indie songwriting.​

Hyperion's Staff Pick

Kollektiv Turmstrasse - Rebellion der Träumer

Genre: Electronic, IDM, Downtempo, Ambient

Torrents: torrents.php?id=71848718

Review:

Rebellion der Träumer (Rebellion Of The Dreamers) is more than an album. It reflects the development of the Kollektiv over the past years, assimilating experienced impressions and presenting another side of them. It reveals their true nature and what we really are: Träumer - dreamers. A great deal of love, time and passion was invested into this album, aiming to touch both heart and mind, and to entrain you on a musical journey.​

WithTiredEyes's Staff Pick

Ambulance LTD - LP

Genre: alternative, rock, lo-fi

Torrents: torrents.php?id=18201

Review:

I don't have a review for this. Download it if you like shoegaze, Elliott Smith, the Velvet Underground, Eels, britpop, or any of the rest of my staff picks. ​

iapetus's Staff Pick

Darkstar - Dead 2 Me / Break

Genre: garage, bass, dubstep

Torrents: torrents.php?id=246828

Patience's Staff Pick

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willy and the Poor Boys

Genre: rock

Torrents: torrents.php?id=28355

Review:

Listen to it. You wont regret it.​

brancusi's Staff Pick

Giacinto Scelsi - The Orchestral Works (2)

Genre: 20th Century Classical

Torrents: torrents.php?id=71930011

Review:

Italian composer Giacinto Scelsi (1905 – 1988) remained largely unknown for most of his career, the impact caused by the late discovery of Scelsi's works was described by Belgian musicologist Harry Halbreich:

A whole chapter of recent musical history must be rewritten: the second half of this century is now unthinkable without Scelsi. He has inaugurated a completely new way of making music, hitherto unknown in the West. In the early fifties, there were few alternatives to serialism's strait jacket that did not lead back to the past. Then, toward 1960–61, came the shock of the discovery of Ligeti's Apparitions and Atmosphères. There were few people at the time who knew that Friedrich Cerha, in his orchestral cycle Spiegel, had already reached rather similar results, and nobody knew that there was a composer who had followed the same path even years before, and in a far more radical way: Giacinto Scelsi himself.​

eXistenZ's Staff Pick

Letting Up Despite Great Faults - Untogether

Genre: dream.pop

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72311599

Review:

I don't believe in swaying opinions with music reviews; just check it out if you like infectious melodies and the dream.pop genre.​

Torus's Staff Pick

Duke Ellington and John Coltrane - Duke Ellington & John Coltrane

Genre: Jazz

Torrents: torrents.php?id=10860

Review:

For this classic encounter, Duke Ellington "sat in" with the John Coltrane Quartet for a set dominated by Ellington's songs; some performances have his usual sidemen (bassist Aaron Bell and drummer Sam Woodyard) replacing Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones in the group. Although it would have been preferable to hear Coltrane play in the Duke Ellington orchestra instead of the other way around, the results are quite rewarding. Their version of "In a Sentimental Mood" is a high point, and such numbers as "Take the Coltrane," "Big Nick," and "My Little Brown Book" are quite memorable. Ellington always recognized talent, and Coltrane seemed quite happy to be recording with a fellow genius.

By Scott Yanow (http://www.allmusic.com/album/duke-ellington-john-coltrane-mw0000416142)​

Lisbeth's Staff Pick

Zack Hemsey - The Way

Genre: Electronic, Instrumental

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72043929

Review: cduniverse.com wrote:

A hybrid sound of orchestral score, world instrumentation, and driving percussion.​

Dumont's Staff Pick

Team Me - To the Treetops!

Genre: soft rock, pop, indie

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72067890

Review:

I found this little gem through a flash game of all things. The game itself is of little importance, but the song used in the game was Weathervanes and Chemicals and it stuck with me. I looked it up and grabbed the rest of the album.

I'm glad to say that it was a pleasant surprise when I listened to it. I'll happily admit that I have an unfortunate tendency to disregard generic pop/rock indie releases when I see them, but that is a habit I know I should shake, this album being just one of the numerous reasons why. Give it a listen, you won't regret it.​

alderaan's Staff Pick

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin

Genre: Rock, Blues, Hard Rock

Torrents: torrents.php?id=491770

Review: Amazon.com Editorial Review by Mark Walker wrote:

Given that they were the biggest band in the world, Zeppelin were notoriously camera-shy in their heyday. Their official filmic legacy until now has been just the fascinating but flawed The Song Remains the Same. While this new set presents some previously unseen footage from the same 1973 Madison Square Garden gigs, its real wonders lie in the earlier (1970) Royal Albert Hall footage and the later Earls Court (1975) and Knebworth (1979) concerts. Everything here looks and sounds new-minted, thanks to painstaking restoration and remastering of both audio and visual sources, a Herculean labor of love on the part of co-producer Dick Carruthers working hand-in-glove with Jimmy Page. Trawling through thousands of yards of previously unseen film and unheard tape recordings--some with missing visuals, some with missing audio--Page and Carruthers have chosen only the best possible footage available. They were also at pains to make the segments segue seamlessly so that the viewer is treated to what feels like a continuous concert--just sample the transition from a grainy Super 8 "Immigrant Song" (Sydney, 1972) to "Black Dog" at MSG.

Highlights? It's not hyperbole to say that every powerhouse minute of this collection (some 230 minutes of concert footage plus another hour and a half of extra DVD material) is a rare musical and visual treat. But hearing Page's violin bow work on "Dazed and Confused" in DTS or Dolby 5.1 is an experience not soon forgotten.​

Athena's Staff Pick

chipzel - Super Hexagon EP

Genre: Electronic

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72289284

Review:

This is for those of you who spend more time hearing "Game Over... Again" than the actual game music. ​

Entrapment's Staff Pick

Jan Hammer - The First Seven Days

Genre: fusion, abstract, progressive.rock, jazz, electronic

Torrents: torrents.php?id=412590

Review: Synthtopia wrote:

The First Seven Days is one of the great early works of popular electronic music.

Released nearly 30 years ago, the music is a set of seven rock-fusion tone poems inspired by the idea of the seven days of creation. It was a head-trip when it was released, and the remastered CD re-release makes it sound better than ever.

Jan Hammer is a talented keyboardist and composer. He’s best known for his soundtrack work for Miami Vice and his jazz-fusion playing with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. His talent with the Minimoog is legendary, ranking him up with other MoogerFoogers of the seventies, Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman.

This gem of an album, while little known, is probably his best work. The First Seven Days is a set of tone poems, loosely inspired by the story of creation. Part progressive rock, part jazz-fusion, and part genius, The First Seven Days is great music, and Jan Hammer’s keyboard work is some of his best.

Though the album is almost three decades old, both the music and playing hold up well. The Mellotron sounds date the music, but it’s used so effectively that Hammer transcends the limitations of the instrument. You may want to look for a used Mellotron after listening to this. The music was innovative for its time, and the remastering brings out the best in the music.

The highlight, though, has to be Hammer’s Minimoog playing within the context of the trippy music. The music is evocative, almost psychedelic, and his synthesizer solos explode out of it. The First Seven Days has some of the best lead synth work that you’ll hear.

Bring on the Hammer!​

brd's Staff Pick

Locomotora - Locomotora

Genre: post.rock

Torrents: torrents.php?id=753612

Y's Staff Pick

Gustav Mahler performed by Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Mariss Jansons - Symphony No.1

Genre: classical

Torrents: torrents.php?id=71874054

Snowflake's Staff Pick

Jeffrey Lewis - The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane

Genre: anti.folk

Torrents: torrents.php?id=91269

Review:

Makes me happy. ​

Kryptos's Staff Pick

Van Morrison - Moondance

Genre: rock, folk, soul

Torrents: torrents.php?id=12433

Review:

Van Morrison's 1970 classic, Moondance, is the rarest of beasts, a wholly substantial and completely consistent rock album. Never on this spell-binding LP is there a clichéd or superficial lyric, a lazily-sung word, an unnecessary instrument in the accompaniment, an instance of fabricated artistic posturing and nowhere on Moondance is there a song that is not completely outstanding. Casual classic rock listeners are probably familiar with the dreamy "And It Stoned Me" and the jazzy title track, but none of these ten songs would sound out of place on a best-of collection. Even lesser known songs such as the bopping "These Dreams of You," the emotion-rendering "Brand New Day" and the simply breathtaking "Into the Mystic" are compositions strong enough to rival Lennon/McCartney. On Moondance, Mr. Morrison obviously reached a zenith of artistic maturity and focus. The album is a perfect ten. (Amazon.com)​

Ananke's Staff Pick

Mastodon - Crack the Skye

Genre: progressive metal, sludge metal

Torrents: torrents.php?id=426516

Review:

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quartz's Staff Pick

Benton - Reflections

Genre: dubstep

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72488864

Review:

Benton is unquestionably one of the top up and coming Dubstep producers hailing from Epsom (UK). He has been producing since 2007 and is tipped for great things in the coming years. ​

Peppermint's Staff Pick

Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady

Genre: jazz, post.bop, avant.garde

Torrents: torrents.php?id=97408

Review:

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is one of the greatest achievements in orchestration by any composer in jazz history. Charles Mingus consciously designed the six-part ballet as his magnum opus, and -- implied in his famous inclusion of liner notes by his psychologist -- it's as much an examination of his own tortured psyche as it is a conceptual piece about love and struggle. It veers between so many emotions that it defies easy encapsulation; for that matter, it can be difficult just to assimilate in the first place. Yet the work soon reveals itself as a masterpiece of rich, multi-layered texture and swirling tonal colors, manipulated with a painter's attention to detail. There are a few stylistic reference points -- Ellington, the contemporary avant-garde, several flamenco guitar breaks -- but the totality is quite unlike what came before it. Mingus relies heavily on the timbral contrasts between expressively vocal-like muted brass, a rumbling mass of low voices (including tuba and baritone sax), and achingly lyrical upper woodwinds, highlighted by altoist Charlie Mariano. Within that framework, Mingus plays shifting rhythms, moaning dissonances, and multiple lines off one another in the most complex, interlaced fashion he'd ever attempted. Mingus was sometimes pigeonholed as a firebrand, but the personal exorcism of Black Saint deserves the reputation -- one needn't be able to follow the story line to hear the suffering, mourning, frustration, and caged fury pouring out of the music. The 11-piece group rehearsed the original score during a Village Vanguard engagement, where Mingus allowed the players to mold the music further; in the studio, however, his exacting perfectionism made The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady the first jazz album to rely on overdubbing technology. The result is one of the high-water marks for avant-garde jazz in the '60s and arguably Mingus' most brilliant moment. ​

bashmore's Staff Pick

Octo Octa - Between Two Selves

Genre: electronic, house, techno, leftfield

Torrents: torrents.php?id=72498074

Review:

After delivering two of 100% Silk's dopest 12"s and a collaboration with LA Vampires, Brooklyn's Octo Octa delivers the label's most anticipated long player. Like his earlier anthem, 'I'm Trying', his 'Between Two Selves' perfectly characterises 100% Silk's shift from super lo-fi towards much cleaner, sleeker deep house tropes whilst retaining something of a raw, unusual, almost psychedelic fuzziness that you're unlikely to find in the latest Hot Creations spawn. Over its eight trax Mr Octa succinctly references classic Chicago, New York/Jersey, Detroit and moodier European flavours with efficient flair, instinctively reducing their essence into lean and refreshed new forms. Pushed to pick highlights, we'd first point to awesome closing cut, 'Fear' for pure and lusting dancefloor potential, and then to 'Come Closer', which somehow manages to make those hackneyed down-pitched vocals sound quite pleasing in balance with the cut's glum house atmosphere and depressed beat, but nuff of the moody stuff, 'cause the rest manages that fine task of being perky without the earnestness, as with the breakbeat-spiked swerver 'His Kiss' and the lucidly sensual bliss space of opener, 'Who I Will Become'. ​

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