Synthetic Ecology 4 :: Musicians & Mortality — When a musician passes away, and what to do with their creative output

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If you are interested in preserving your works, and with archiving them, I would not depend on a family member or a Max Brod-type to do it. I would waste little time setting up and performing this task yourself.

Act as a catalyst for archiving

My main role in the music scene has been as a netlabel artist. I have, however, tried playing other roles—I have mastered music, hosted labels, remixed music, filmed and shared videos, and so on. One role played was to act as a catalyst for archiving. I reminded artists about their own mortality. My feeling was that many artists, unless doing it themselves, will not be properly archived. If other people undertake the task, it likely will not be done in the manner that the musician(s) would have wanted.

Years ago, a good friend of mine suddenly passed away. Looking through his possessions, we found that he had left 2 boxes of 4-track tapes. For many years I wondered if someone should extract the music from those tapes. More than anything, I was frustrated that he had passed, and that he could not be there to help us all to decide what, if anything, to do with them.

My own archiving would be especially strenuous, as I have created tens of thousands of works of digital art. With that in mind, I have taken on the process, and become my own archivist. I do not expect my family or friends to do that work for me, and I realize that they might not have time, and might not be able to perform this work in a manner measuring up to my standards.

My method of choice involves immediately archiving my works in free and persisting public repositories, and keeping discographies that are current and accurate. Therefore, when I pass, little or nothing will need to be done. The archiving is already up to date.

Last week I heard about the unexpected passing of a musical collaborator. He was an affable character who lived in Germany. He himself composed music, often based on radio sampling, and was known as a clever reviewer in his blog (which is no longer available). A gift he gave the music scene was a compilation series called, midnightradio.

The midnightradio series has 114 published compilations, Most if not all are quite extensive, with 30 or more tracks, each from different artist(s). Submissions were free and simple, and Norbert, the artist who passed away, was open-minded and permitted a wide variety of styles to be accepted. As a result, the compilations are very diverse, broad surveys of independent net-based music spanning 2020-2024.

In Norbert’s words, “there is so many music on this planet. much underground, so many ideas. Sounds that wrap around the planet, and I would like to present a small part of it. Enjoy and spread it worldwide. Come with me.”

For me, grief over Norbert’s early demise is tempered by the persistence of his musical contributions. There is a tribute release planned, as well, to be published on Completely Gone Recordings. This will be a celebration of the midnight radio compilation series.

Whether you respond to this post at all, react in some way to the news of the death of Norbert Kutz, or consider the end result of your own creations—where they will live, if and how they will persist, how this will be achieved—will depend on your own efforts. When I originally brought the topic of artistic mortality to the table many years ago, most musicians shrugged it off. Once they die, they explained, their creations will no longer matter.

Not all of us have a friend like Max Brod, who rescued Franz Kafka’s writings from the fireplace. Kafka himself had requested the incineration. His good friend would not allow it, feeling the writings merited sharing with the world. Whether or not Franz would have acquiesced, existential classics like The Metamorphosis and The Trial, would otherwise have been turned to ash and never read by the public.

If you are interested in preserving your works, and with archiving them, I would not depend on a family member or a Max Brod-type to do it. I would waste little time setting up and performing this task yourself. Of course, that is my opinion. You are welcome to assess the potential longevity of your own creative output.

Learn more about Thomas Park at Archive.org.

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