It seems like everyone and their mom has a great free “music” giveaway, Download.com for example offer y’all a “Dean Martin Christmas" (not that there’s anything wrong with Dean, but Dean plus Xmas = gag), or for what download.com thinks is the “Indie” set, you can have Aimee Mann’s “I’ll be Home for Christmas" (my apologies to those of you who just threw up in your mouth a little). The web is literally littered with similar rancid garbage (although needless to say, no actual “Rancid” or “Garbage").

But there’s nothing we like more than a trend, and the only thing we like better than that is to not only work a trend, but outdo the wankers, wasters and wannabees. Hence herewith (in the “Song of the Week” spot), we’re giving away an entire album of songs, that you can download and keep, share with your friends, sample, remix, knock ‘em around however you want. Not a crappy “listen to it over the Internet with 60k bit-rates and stutters and gaps” nascent stream.

“How can we do this?” You ask.
“We do it because we love you.” We reply. Kinda ignoring your question really.

The album is the self-titled Sumosonic, track listing as follows:

• Destroy All Monsters
• Come Friendly Spaceman (the single)
• Monks of Kung Fu
• Gods Green Earth
• Business And Work
• Everything is Wonderful
• Fern Schnell Gut
• Cat’s Life (a personal favourite)
• We Are The Traffic
• Hey Stoopid
• Sputnik (another personal favourite)

Before we go into a little background as to the why and where-for issues regarding this album, we cordially invite any Jerries to submit links to other free stuff that is good, interesting and with as vague a Christmas theme/content as possible. Music, writing, games, anything at all can be submitted (do make sure it’s legal of course).

Sumosonic: The Background Story

The year is 1996, Alan McGee’s seminal record label Creation Records has been discovering and producing the best new music in the UK—from the The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Fluke, Swervedriver, Slowdive, The House of Love, Teenage Fanclub, Primal Scream, Oasis, 3 Colours Red, Super Furry Animals, The Telescopes, The Boo Radleys to 18 Wheeler. Alongside these money spinners, Alan also pushes out new music he likes from The Times, Biff Bang Pow, The Jazz Butcher, Teenage Filmstars, Ed Ball, The Pastels, Nikki Sudden, Momus, Heidi Berry, and others.

Sony eyes Creation longingly: they have artists, but zero credibility, their A&R folks just can’t cut it. Sony offers a deal Alan can’t refuse: lots of money, creative control of artists (something which Alan never did: bands made albums and brought them in when done, no contracts exist: if they want to sell the material elsewhere fine and good—a policy also adopted by Factory around the same time) and albums, bigger and better marketing, single publisher for the US. Anything Sony doesn’t distribute in the US can be sold to other labels. Sony gets to control the sub-labels Rev-ola, the dance label Eruption, the seemingly-just-there-for-Saint-Etienne Heavenly, and the quirk label August Records.

Deals are done, papers are signed. Everyone is happy.

The first band to come up under the new deal are Guided by Voices. As always, 1,000 copies get printed to test the market. They sell out within a week so a further 9,000 copies are put out. It’s making money, not Oasis-type money, but good enough.

Next up, “Love Corporation” with a rather unusual album: while it’s a dance style record, it’s also still very pop. It’s goes out on the Creation label, not the dance label, 1,000 copies printed and a week later Sony pulls the plug: it’s not going to be released. Alan shrugs. Cost-wise, it wasn’t that much money to print the 1,000 so it’s not as much of a loss as to be concerned about. The basic idea of Creation—to produce the finest music in the world, with the big sellers offsetting the more eclectic material—is damaged however.

But Sony are still not happy. Alan gets some help with A&R. Just, you know, to move him along.

The next issue comes up. Sumosonic. Brand new band. Pretending to be from outer space, with their own alphabet, all tongue in cheek. Three months late. Alan loves it and has ordered the usual 1,000 copies pressed. Less than 200 copies sell. Needless to say, this pisses Alan off, not to mention Sumosonic. Still, the taste of the public can never be relied upon, except in its banality.

For a few months business continues as unusual. Resentment finally gets the better of Alan—he struggles hard to get “Why do I Need a Gun, I’m Chelsea” by old friend Ed Ball released—victorious, on that he decides to take the honourable route and closes the company. No new artists, no new albums, no re-presses. Over. Done. Doors closed, website down. A very pissed off Sony discover that in their contract they did allow Alan to do this. Fuck.

But this leaves Sumosonic in a rut: they have an album, it’s in (very few) shops, it can’t be resold, it can’t be re-pressed. What to do? The answer becomes clear: while the final versions of the songs can’t be distributed, the last demo versions (virtually the same, apparently) can be given away. Perfectly legal, and as no money is being passed around, there’s nothing for Sony to sue about.

So checkout Sumosonic on the web, try out the songs in Song of the Week, and enjoy!