Electrobel UK and the future

this is a copy-paste from the newsletter :)

if you want to react in public... feel free

hey man, truth is. ive been real busy try'n to get recognised elsewhere other than Ireland (where i'm from). im sad to say that indie music and rock bands are dominating the music scene in my country and in electronic music, if your not a DJ, it's damn near impossible to get gig's and recognition. i'm taking my ass to Australia in september for a while to clear my head. the UK and Ireland portals should be left open as a sanctuary for electronic producers such as myself in Ireland and the UK.

I think you should assign a UK/Ireland based team of ebel artists who would like to be incharge in the UK/Ireland site & organize events in UK like you all have done in holland, france and belgium.

giving uk ebelers a platform to get togather to promote eaach other & local fellow acts.

its just a thought anyway

[QUOTE][I]Originally posted by : StaticZi[/I]

I think you should assign a UK/Ireland based team of ebel artists who would like to be incharge in the UK/Ireland site & organize events in UK like you all have done in holland, france and belgium.

giving uk ebelers a platform to get togather to promote eaach other & local fellow acts.

its just a thought anyway[/QUOTE]

it was my aim all along, problem was that i didn't know anyone in uk that could take the job.

now that there are some members on ebel uk, maybe someone will be able to coordinate :)

i've received already lot's of pm's and emails of enthusiat people :)

i'm getting two weeks holidays next week, so i'll be in my priority list to get ebel uk setup properly :) .. by holliday, i mean i 'only' have to work from 8h30 to 14h :)

(and italian portal will be up soon, but this one already has a team ^^ )

[QUOTE][I]Originally posted by : StaticZi[/I]

I think you should assign a UK/Ireland based team of ebel artists who would like to be incharge in the UK/Ireland site & organize events in UK like you all have done in holland, france and belgium.

giving uk ebelers a platform to get togather to promote eaach other & local fellow acts.

its just a thought anyway[/QUOTE]

this is what it is all about...

It's a shame things are not working out, because this site has a lot of potential.

If there is anything I can do to help, let me know.

steve/sound(e)scape

Count me in :)

I got some contacts via my part time project [URL=http://www.4o4.co.uk/]http://www.4o4.co.uk/[/URL]

[QUOTE][I]Originally posted by : StaticZi[/I]

I think you should assign a UK/Ireland based team of ebel artists who would like to be incharge in the UK/Ireland site & organize events in UK like you all have done in holland, france and belgium.

giving uk ebelers a platform to get togather to promote eaach other & local fellow acts.

its just a thought anyway[/QUOTE]

I TOTALLY AGREE, GREAT IDEA :)

Step 1/ Write a new "propaganda" intro text :) i'll try to find the old one i wrote for .co.uk and update it slightly.

maybe make a pdf out of it, and Step 2/ make it available for you guys.

Step 3/ then you will all be more than welcome to introduce the world around you to this wonderfull site ^^

it would be a shame to see this site go. i have always thought this site was fantastic! i am very much to blame as much as anyone else. i have been busy with a new job, but thats no excuse for not finding some time. i certainly will do all i can to spread the word of electrobel. i wish i had the time to help run the site but theres no chance of that (besides, i don't think i have the brainpower for that) i agree there needs to be a uk based team tho!

ill do my best to bring people to this site & be a bit more active on the forums.

sorry!

thank you

aidor.

[QUOTE][I]Originally posted by : ZARk[/I]

Step 1/ Write a new "propaganda" intro text :) i'll try to find the old one i wrote for .co.uk and update it slightly.

maybe make a pdf out of it, and Step 2/ make it available for you guys.

Step 3/ then you will all be more than welcome to introduce the world around you to this wonderfull site ^^ [/QUOTE] THATS KOOL IM UP FOR IT :D

JUST POSTING MY EMAIL REPLY TO THE BULLETIN:

Hi. I'm relatively new to Electrobel and so think it seems a great place. I'm not overly sure about why there isn't the sort of usage you'd want on the .co.uk site as opposed to your other sites.

Is there an option to have one electrobel.com site for everyone, or is the country specific site idea best? maybe if there was seen to be greater usage of the combined sites then this would attract more UK interest...?

Just a thought, but this is the site that I've had most feedback on (outside MySpace) and that has most of my tracks... so I'd miss it!

Cheers - Ian '4Watt'

ebel works because it has a concept :)

concept is "real life community" over "virtual life" like myspace & co.

i'm not saying you should ONLY register on ebel and not take part of the myspace experience (or others).

Different concept, different advantages, different frustrations.

i'm being asked almost every week "why not make a global portal" ... the answer lies somewhere on the website, i've writtten it so many times ^^

anyway, like i said, i'm going to try to write some proper text in these coming days, .. i think it's one thing that is missing on ebel, it's some real sort of documentation..

One of the things I noticed is, that because of Ebel's link with "electronic" music, people would often associate it with "individual" producers. Young, unsigned "bands" never join ebel (well, there are a few exceptions actually) because they think "huh it's about electronic music - that's electro, drum'n'bass, etc etc". Maybe Ebel (in all 4 portals) could try to encourage more young bands (whatever the style) to join in. They will get to know lots of new people, have a decent way to promote themselves, etc etc. I still am waiting for the day when Electrobel will have the occasional Death Metal band, church choir, jazz group, and A-Capella ensemble among its members, such kind of diversity would be great for ebel.

My personal interpretation of the name "electrobel" never was "electronic music from Belgium", but an "electronic community/platform for Belgian music". That's quite a difference. It could have an impact on how people perceive Ebel.

Greetings from sunny Brussels ;) Rabauw

[QUOTE][I]Originally posted by : Rabauw[/I]

One of the things I noticed is, that because of Ebel's link with "electronic" music, people would often associate it with "individual" producers. Young, unsigned "bands" never join ebel (well, there are a few exceptions actually) because they think "huh it's about electronic music - that's electro, drum'n'bass, etc etc". Maybe Ebel (in all 4 portals) could try to encourage more young bands (whatever the style) to join in. They will get to know lots of new people, have a decent way to promote themselves, etc etc. I still am waiting for the day when Electrobel will have the occasional Death Metal band, church choir, jazz group, and A-Capella ensemble among its members, such kind of diversity would be great for ebel.

My personal interpretation of the name "electrobel" never was "electronic music from Belgium", but an "electronic community/platform for Belgian music". That's quite a difference. It could have an impact on how people perceive Ebel.

Greetings from sunny Brussels ;) Rabauw[/QUOTE]one thing i notice is how almost nobody reacts on this tread :)

[QUOTE]one thing i notice is how almost nobody reacts on this tread :) [/QUOTE]

Lol, tru but what can we say? I am all up for getting the name out there and getting others involved but we havent really had much drive from the site people.

Would be good to actully put a UK team together rather than just talking about it!

We cant do much if there is no team ;P

Just a friendly heads uo: The statistics show us a record number of downloads for the UK portal for April.

Now, this is nowhere near the Belgian boom of downloads, but for the few users that are actually on here, they're getting their share of exposure.

Well my tracks have been blocked from uploading as I'm in Spain at the moment. Whats that all about?

No reply from the "admin".

At a time when Electrobel need help, they shoot themselves in the foot.

:rolleyes:

Well we can always discuss but I dont see the point in questionning the basic principles of electrobel. This questionning has been done dozens of times before… mostly by new or unsteady users… (sorry but its true)

There are rules and they have a reason to be.

I'm sure, Nero, you agree on the fact that rules are necessary to make the electrobel thing work... even if you stated before that the electrobel rules are ridiculous and they keep the community from growing.

Pretty weird that these "ridiculous" rules only keep the UK platform from growing, isnt it? Coz all the other platforms are doing well... even with the rules.

So... to come to your point... why is the access restricted?

In 2003 Electrobel.be was the attempt to give LOCAL electronic music bands, producers and lovers from Belgium a platform to present their music to the world... to connect the people on LOCAL base... (Ur neighbour is your favorite dj and you don't even know it)... to organise LOCAL events... mutual help... etc... briefly the website is the tool of the community not vice versa... And of course it was important to give the belgian electronica underground a voice in a music world that is dominated by the omnipresent US. The concept was an incredible succes. Electrobel a success story.

In 2006 the decision was taken to export the same concept to the UK, Ireland, France and the Netherlands. Except the UK every platform managed to set up a local team, organising a real community life, representing it, organising events and bringing on new recruits all the time.

So... the point is... we're not trying to get members or visitors to a website at all price... we want to have several real life communities that interact... but that can stand on their own. So what Zark meant (imo) at the beginning of this topic: Do we find a way to get the UK and IE platform running as a community with an active local team or not? and... is this first failure in 3 years of electrobel or isnt it? and... if yes... what are we doing with it? Is it representative for what electrobel stands for or not?

I guess the next question will be (again and again and again.... ):`

Why not open the community to everyone from everywhere...???

The reason is simple: it will go down as so many mp3 hosting sites or forums did.... consequently we do our best to avoid this fate... and to become neither a forum neither a mp3 hosting site but [b]a real life community[/b]. So if you followed my thoughts... you noticed we are not a netlabel either... even if we have our netlabel, this does not mean that electrobel is a netlabel. ;)

Of course… this is my personal view... others might see the things differently.

Cheers… 8)

IF YOU NEED MY HELP WITH ANYTHING JUST LET ME KNOW :D

[QUOTE][I]Originally posted by : anddroid[/I]

IF YOU NEED MY HELP WITH ANYTHING JUST LET ME KNOW :D [/QUOTE]just don't shoot ya self in the foot lol. ;) anyways would be great you guys stay within the ebel comm. wish the best to you all.greets

"Well we cant always discuss but I dont see the point in questionning the basic principles of electrobel."

Obliviously we can't discuss it as you completely ignored my PM to you, hence why I posted in the main forums to get a response.

"Pretty weird that these "ridiculous" rules only keep the UK platform from growing, isnt it? Coz all the other platforms are doing well... even with the rules. "

This is my exact point. Electrobel UK isn't growing and I'm trying to respond to Zarks request to give it a kick up the arse, despite what you may think.

Rules or no “ridiculous rules”, it isn't working here at the moment.

Of course… this is MY personal view... others might see the things differently.

Thanks for your time........

please dont let any death metal bands on here! it would be such a shame the 'local community' you talk about is such a good concept when i lived in england, it was knowing people who were into the same thing that made stuff happen, (gigs, cd's and all that) i cant understand why this site hasnt took off a uk team would help a lot live electrobel nights would promote the site and encourage people to participate

i've been thinking of things to try & attract people to use the site more. what about these ideas:

1. best of uk - recently you released "the best of france" what about asking people to submit one of their tunes for that & releasing that on the net label.

2. offer people to submit albums/demos/eps for release on the net label.

3. not sure about this idea, but, - what about setting up a section where people can upload samples, loops, hits & phrases etc for others in the electrobel community. i would be happy to upload bass lines, synths, guitar riffs, 303 lines etc. i'm doubtful of this cos i can't see too many people spending so much time writing riffs & stuff for other people. i would start making stuff the second i was told the section would be online.

as for using this as a place to get gigs, i don't play live with my stuff, but if gigs were organised i would try my best to attend!

hows that for a few ideas?

[QUOTE][I]Originally posted by : sporsmaal2[/I]

a uk team would help a lot live electrobel nights would promote the site and encourage people to participate[/QUOTE]

yup!

[QUOTE][I]Originally posted by : aidor[/I]

[b]1. best of uk - recently you released "the best of france" what about asking people to submit one of their tunes for that & releasing that on the net label.[/b][/QUOTE]

Yes... check the belgian forums for infos about the compilations. For instance there has to be red line going through it all... set up a concept... ;) just go for it.

This is what Zark said about the initiative of an electro compilation on the belgian platform: [QUOTE] like i said in previous threads, the netlabel is there to live.

Liquidbass did a nice compilation last year with the TripHop genre, he had an idea and more, selected some tracks, etc...

I'm quite tempted to delete this thread, because i don't really think a compilation release should be voted for democratically

Otherwise it just ends up in a political game, (selecting friends etc...) Making a compilation is hard work.

You have to come up with a concept/idea, just 'electro' isn't going to do it .... there's just too much, it's too large. i really like FabioPersonale, icteder, vanpet, bandarlog .. but i don't really feel their tracks belong on the same compilation....

unless you come up with a theme to their songs that come back.... like a "love" compilation, and have different styled songs, but having something in common.

Off course this is my opinion, and it's not 'final' , i can always change opinion when convinced otherwise (with a gun, or good reasoning, they both work)

so what i say ...

• Find a good concept,
• keep your work secret
• don't hesitate to ask help of friends (pm .. not forum ^^ )
• once you think you got THE good tracklist, contact each artist, and ask them for a high quality version of the song, and if they want to make a new mastering of it or other modifications ....
• Then once you got all of that, either check directly with some gfx artists (list in the netlabel seeks thread), or contact me to see what to do next. [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE][b]2. offer people to submit albums/demos/eps for release on the net label.[/b][/QUOTE]

Well thats what the ebel netlabel is for. [QUOTE]he netlabel has different roles : A : attract more people to the electrobel communities, B : show listeners some really good songs that are available on ebel C : allow artists to have a first experience at trying to make a cd (it's harder than it looks)

Everything won't be accepted on the netlabel. We try to maintain a high level of quality; and therefore will ask you to give 115%

IF you are interested in releasing on the netlabel, PLEASE do not reply in this thread, but simply think about it seriously, start working on it seriously, and when you think you're ready, send me a demo (dropload, ftp, etc...)

Services at your disposal :

• Professional photographer

• ZARk [BE] (with mobile 'studio')
• Little-Fuse [BE] (contact distreality)
• Bollzy

• Graphic artists

• DegiHeugi [FR] (did most of the covers for the netlabel)
• Phyzz [FR]
• Little-Fuse [BE] (contact distreality)
• Kinet [BE]
• numtec [NL][/QUOTE]

If you dont know the electrobel netlabel... it's here: [url]http://label.electrobel.info[/url]

[QUOTE][b]3. not sure about this idea, but, - what about setting up a section where people can upload samples, loops, hits & phrases etc for others in the electrobel community. i would be happy to upload bass lines, synths, guitar riffs, 303 lines etc.[/b] [/QUOTE]

Cooool idea... 8)

i should have done a bit of research before asking the 1st 2 questions!

anyway just a couple of things -

1. i may just be stupid here, but what do you mean by "here has to be red line going through it all" - is that some term for set up a concept & i'm just daft or does it mean something else.

2. is there any chance of putting a "reply" button on the bottom of a forum page. YES! i really am that lazy!! ha ha!

3. i don't have much of a clue about this, but what about a dedicated internet radio station that played all electrobel (all portals) tunes 24/7 - i have no idea how much these things cost or how to set them up. but its another idea!

cheers!

edit: just found these from a link in another forum. "sporsmaal2" did these for reaktor. these kinds of things would also be included alongside samples, loops, phrases and stuff.

http://sporsmaal2.free.fr/reaktor.htm - interesting sounds & modules

http://sporsmaal2.free.fr/tuts.htm - reaktor synth tutorials

i really should do my research before posting, but i was on my lunch break & didn't have much time! - thats my excuse & i'm sticking to it!

[QUOTE][I]Originally posted by : aidor[/I] "[b]T[/b]here has to be red line going through it all" - is that some term for set up a concept & i'm just daft or does it mean something else.

[/QUOTE]

yes I meant the concept thing... stupid translation from french ;)

One of the biggest problems I have found with this site is the name, what does electrobel mean to UK people?

Nothing! it means nothing to me and I am sure nothing to plenty of others. The names does not say what it is and what it is doing, its hardly a domain name that is easily remembered by new users.

Just something i have noticed ;P

I was active on this site back when, but because things never picked up I lost interest. Certainly if we had a revival, I would frequent myself in this direction...

I would volounteer myself, but I have too many other projects going on :(

any news for the creation of the Elctrobel.co.uk LOCAL TEAM???

As there is almost no activity over here... the initial post on this thread is more than actual.

Where are those people who said they wanted to create a local team? 

I got in contact with Electrobel through a flyer.. The UK needs Electrobel flyers!

what about electrobel.es? ;) (not kidding)

[quote][i]Originally posted by : LiquidBass[/i]

any news for the creation of the Elctrobel.co.uk LOCAL TEAM???[/quote] 

Quite a few people put their name forward I believe and were waiting for the powers that be to organise this. [quote][/quote]