Interview: Five Minutes with Clarian

For centuries, the only way to hear music was to listen to it live, a fleeting experience that was frequently shaped by the surrounding circumstances. At this point, the only way to “purchase” music was to buy the sheet music and find someone talented enough to play it and employ them. This would change in the 1800’s when the phonograph was created – the first method to replicate and reproduce an exact sound and style for numerous people to hear on different occasions. Jump forward a few years and we land in 2021, a year where even CD’s are becoming a distant memory and records are collector’s items. Here, we see a new method of purchasing and listening to music, where streaming platforms rule to roost. However, as is so frequently discussed within the media, these too have their own glaring issues. Scratches on CD’s are replaced with complex terms and conditions and the knowledge that minimal, if any payment is reaching the artist themselves.

It is here that we find a vacuum, a point filled with possibilities and choices – what is the next step in the industry for purchase and consumption? It’s into this void that our hero, Clarian has stepped. Making history with his Whale Shark LP by creating the first NFT Music Album Auction ever, ahead of Kings of Leon, via The Golden Spoon on the peer-to-peer marketplace OpenSea. Having opened on the 3rd of March, the auction ends March 20, 2021, at 4 AM GMT with the Electronic Music Community and Culture (EMC^2) room, on the Clubhouse messaging app, hosting the final album auction countdown. With a minimum bid set at 1000 Ethereum, the musician is well aware he’s making history and he’s not afraid to ask his worth.

Enter the Whale Shark NFT Auction

Catch a glimpse into the extraordinary mind of this revolutionary below.

Set the tone for us. Why the arts?

I’m not sure. I always find myself back here somehow though asking the same thing.

How do you think your auction will “help restore life and freedom back in the music industry” and how long do you think it will take?

We will migrate the underground music industry into a place that uses this technology to provide value directly to the artists and celebrate the work and fanship first and foremost. Art will return to the center stage and we will defy any oppressive artificial intelligence that stands in our way. We will set best practices that protect and preserve the artists and their deeply essential presence and creative expression to our society as we brave into new technologies. No one will be left behind. Equal opportunities for all artists.

Do you think the highest bidder will keep the album to themselves or share it with the public? Which would you prefer?

I’d prefer you cherish it. But should you choose to destroy it absolutely from existence and spit on its digital grave, then that’s your choice. Its future is in your hands. I am the artist and I have let go. I am free now. I must move on.  

Which comes first when you’re producing – the sound or the idea?

Sometimes it’s a sound. Sometimes it’s a thought, a thinking process, or perhaps a feeling. Sometimes it’s something else entirely.

Does your material feature any collaborations?

The shoulders of the giant upon which I slouch. 

What’s on your current playlist?

Leonard Cohen and Elon Musk

Tell us about the chemistry you have with your fans on stage.

Cathartic and Volatile

What techniques do you experiment with to get your original sound?

I watch Twin Peaks religiously

Take us through a day in the recording studio.

Sometimes I sit and wait for days on end and nothing happens. It’s like fishing for ideas and it takes patience and discipline to reach those places worth exploring

What do you keep close by while you’re playing a set?

Bitcoin

Any emerging artists on your radar?

There is a band in the UK which are refreshingly unique in their tone and about to release some very special music. I had the privilege to work on some stuff from them and that’s all I can really say for now.

What gets your creative juices flowing?

Decentralized Blockchain

Take us through your collection of gear, tech or software that accompanies your creative expression.

Guitar, Synth, and Ethereum

Any side projects you’re working on?

I’m studying mathematics

How have you refined your craft since you entered the industry?

I have gone through several halvings but emerged sustained from the 2018 crash

What advice would you have for new and upcoming artists entering the music industry, especially during this uncertain period?

Never accept the status quo. The art you value is yours to value and not the machine. Set your honesty and mind free for the world and the people will hear you. 

Breakdown the news for us: what can we expect from you this year?

My music will incite a music revolution that will open up and release new and much-needed revenue streams through decentralization to our beloved and favorite writers and producers worldwide. A future that augments our quality of life by protecting the creative zeitgeist, the music makers, of what we, the people, value and cherish as caretakers and preservers.

Stream/Buy Whale Shark on Bandcamp

Follow Clarian:

Facebook – Soundcloud – Instagram – Spotify

By Sarah Britton