Calling all DJs, Noiseporn wants your mix-tapes...

 

The fanzine used to be considered a way for die-hard fans to stay connected with their music. Pictures and articles were casually stripped from ageing magazines and then suitably glued together, fashioning what might now be perceived as an enthusiastic primary school project. Fast forward a few decades and we have the e-zine. Not only that, there are heaps of the blighters, covering any genre that takes your fancy. Blog away to your heart’s content I say, as long as there’s free music going about, no?

“That’s what they’re there for isn’t it?” quips Ally, Noiseporn’s creator. Intrigued after the cavalier introduction, I ask if that’s all it is. “Well it depends. There are blogs that just post up tracks; that’s just them putting tunes up and sharing it. But that’s not what we do. We’re promoting artists who specifically want to give the music away for free.” And there is no shortage of artists willing to give away mp3s, often at a 320-bitrate, just for the free advertising.

The promotional aspect is the driving stimulus behind the project. “I started it,” says Ally, “mainly because I was bored during exams. I mainly wanted to support nights in Edinburgh, support local talent and people I really like.” The expanding blogosphere may cause near-constant head-scratching for copyright lawyers, but the boys feel it’s indicative of a change in PR tactics: “Artists and promoters use it as a sort of springboard. It’s still a niche part of the whole music market,” says Gellan.

Ally interjects: “I really enjoy hearing back from an artist whose mix we put up and they say it got them a gig or something. That’s really satisfying. We try and keep a balance between grassroots and bigger names. On bigger names we let the music speak for itself, but with lesser-known artists we focus on writing a bit more about them, bigging them up for their sake.”

Fuse, Compakt and Aztech Breaks are the main nights in Edinburgh. Local DJs and artists like Hostage, Edinburgh Dream Factory and Al Majik really helped the site in the beginning by sending in their new releases, but visitor numbers have taken a hike over the last year, now up to around 65, 000 page loads per month. “Part of the reason that it really blew up is because of Fabric," Ally says. "They really got behind us with their support, sending us promos, sorting out interviews. Our Stanton Warriors and Commix interviews came directly because of them.”

Noiseporn dedicates itself to promoting club music from any electronic genre. Taking a look across the main page you’ll see reviews, promos, previews and occasional guest writers. J Woot and London favourite NAPT look into the world of breaks. Jeff Doubleu and Dominik Von Werdt take up duties on electro, fidget and house noises. The added bonus of living in this century is that fanzines can boast about their interactive nature. Ally tries to encourage as many Edinburgh promoters, DJs and producers to the site as he can. “Blogs are meant to be where you cultivate a bit of discussion. We get comments and discussion, people making up their own minds about the music.”

Noiseporn has also recently launched a forum. It fosters a public space for dialogue with the main aim of bringing Edinburgh’s electronic scene closer together. So why do they want your mix-tapes? For a ‘Mongolian mix-tape marathon’, of course. Ally is using his advertising revenue to fund a charity trip from London to Mongolia. “We’ve worked out there is 780 hours driving time, so that’s 780 mix-tapes. If each visitor donated a quid to the cause we’ll cover our petrol to get there.” So far, the drive has pulled in mixes from across the globe, but it’s local DJ sets they’re hoping to attract. Get in touch via www.noiseporn.com and sponsor Ally’s ‘Mongolian mix-tape marathon’ to help the cause in aid of Save the Children.