Oral History: Salon Du Monde, Fremont

A wildly imaginative new release based on a fictional TV show

We invited members of a fascinating new project called Salon Du Monde, Fremont: The Soundtrack to share the story behind their new Metalabel release — a series of cassettes that are just the tip of the iceberg of a fascinating experiment in collaboration.

METALABEL: WHAT’S THIS RELEASE?

Miter: The release is a soundtrack album featuring artists participating in a Substack-based music video/variety show called Salon Du Monde, Fremont. It’s a physical cassette that doubles as a zine with writing and art, as well as a download of the album.  

The whole crazy idea came from trying to connect with other musicians on Substack and thinking of the subscription model as a positive route and revenue source for music creators.

I started my own newsletter Washed Memoir in Real Time as a personal creative practice with the goal of releasing one song per month. At the time, it felt like a novel and humble way to continue to release music, especially for someone with less time and willingness to do the things typically required of musicians. After a short time, I felt the need to connect with others and believed there were others doing something similar — or that there should be.  

I quickly discovered that there were indeed people releasing music similarly via the Substack network. I came up with the idea of a "record label" as a way to create collective support  and connect with other musicians. The idea was about building solidarity through community and music without ownership. It is largely about self-autonomy and mutual support and almost antithetical to the idea of a record label — but still calling it a record label...mainly for fun. 

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From their announcement post

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After getting people interested in the concept, we started to brainstorm what we could do collectively. The idea of a music video show was an idea that seemed feasible and had support from the group. Buttressed by the positive response for the idea, I started reaching out to more people on Substack that would fit the concept. I recruited Jimmy Doom to host, and curated some non-sequiturs, interstitials, and comedic content into a show inspired by 90s MTV such as 120 Minutes, Headbanger’s Ball, Liquid Television, along with the more contemporary things like Adult Swim and Tim and Eric.

Overall, the response was great. People were interested in contributing and there was enough material to create three episodes of the show. After accomplishing that goal, it seemed like a good idea to release a “soundtrack” featuring the musicians and music that appeared in the first three episodes. And it was! The soundtrack is awesome and features some great tracks and artists. Putting something out like this as a collective feels more gratifying than putting out a solo release. The whole process has been both challenging and rewarding. 

METALABEL: HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED?

FogChaser: I was lucky enough to end up in Salon Du Monde, Fremont because of a collaboration I had done with the writer Alexander Ipelkofer. Alexander used one of my songs for a video he had made for the world he’s building in his dystopian novel Spherean, and Miter was kind enough to include me on this soundtrack. And that, to me, is what makes this whole Salon Du Monde project remarkable — it embodies and encourages the spirit of collaboration that has become crucial in the ever-shifting digital media landscape. I appreciate the possibilities of Metalabel, and I appreciate people like Ryan who can execute a vision with incredible generosity and poise.

Julia Pickering, The Dialectic: When Salon Du Monde, Fremont appeared on Substack I was astonished at its quality. The combined talent of the musicians, animators, filmmakers and performers involved in it had resulted in something magical… This stuff was really, really good!

It's the passion that hit me; the creative drive of people who, despite having jobs, families and busy lives, had the determination to use their talent to create. It brought a lump to my throat. It brought an even bigger lump to my throat when Miter copied me into an email asking for written as well as musical contributions to the cassette and Metalabel release. 

I thought hard about whether I could submit something and, I'm ashamed to say, eventually dismissed the idea. It was too intimidating to imagine that I could come up with anything suitable for a project as remarkable as this. A little later the indefatigable Miter messaged again. I replied that I was delighted to have been asked but was doubtful I could contribute. As soon as I pressed send on that message a small idea started to bubble up. 

What Miter did by not letting the matter drop was, for me, a vital step. It was the accelerant I needed to get involved, to take a leap into the unknown, to...try. People who keep their eye on the prize, brook no obstacles and keep pushing forward are to be celebrated. The impact they make on other lives is the essence of positivity. Miter's second email convinced me that the request was serious, and within a couple of hours I had something. When I saw the final product (the physical version of which will undoubtedly sell out immediately and become a collector's item) there was my little blurb, right there on the cover. I was stunned.

I'm so grateful for this opportunity, and thrilled to have contributed to such a fantastic project, even in the tiniest of ways.

Gadzooks Marchmain, Zookie's World: I contacted Ryan to declare a strong albeit undefined desire to contribute somethingorother. At some point I sent a couple of scripts and sketches and an audio file. You can see for yourselves what Ryan did! He asked for some music to lead into the sketch. I sent him a messy demo, and he graced it with guitar and bass, and plonked it on the comp! As a busy mother of three with little time to finish any creative projects, these collaborations are very special to me. Almost miraculous. Ryan's artistry and support in helping to present my work to a wider audience mean a great deal.

Britta Pejic: Ryan’s music projects caught my ear on Substack. Little did I know how industrious this fellow was!! He asked me to join the ranks of his label project! I hadn’t heard of anything as such. The music world needs visionaries like Ryan to drive the bus upstream!!! 

METALABEL: WHY ARE YOU ON METALABEL?

Miter: I first learned about Metalabel on Substack and immediately connected with the model presented of collectives and labels finding mutual support through the release of creative material. The zine that Metalabel put out called “New Creative Era” really spoke to me, especially the image that shows collectives coming together from individual creators to build a creative ecosystem. This aligned with my views, but much further along and more established...and more "meta." 

This speaks to some of my beliefs that there is a high degree of quality in artistic practice that is being created regardless of what the market or the nonprofit world produces and distributes in large quantities. There's an infinite well of creativity and the connection that we make around our endeavors and follies are socially valuable — if not always rewarded monetarily in the current system.

This cassette release includes all of the musicians that contributed to the first three episodes and seemed like a great way to expand the idea of a "label" and actually release a record. Metalabel seems like a perfect way to do the release. It fits with the ideals and the hopeful thoughts about creating better systems for artists. 

METALABEL: WHAT DOES THE FUTURE OF THIS PROJECT LOOK LIKE?

Miter: We made three episodes. I may have gone overboard with the vision for the show. I'm not sure what success means, but I'm pretty proud of making it happen and the feedback and growth that came out of the project. However, the project was a heavy lift and quite a bit of legwork as something I was doing for fun in my spare time. 

I still have aspirations to continue the show. Ideally, I'd like it to be more community and place-based, highlighting local scenes and including in-person screenings and performances. I've started making a few fundraising asks to try and produce this vision more fully, so we will see. 

It is hard to say. I’m satisfied with much of the project as it stands and it may make more sense to pursue new and different projects with Labelabel. I certainly have more ideas and I want to keep building on collaborations and connections. Metalabel has given the collective a place to stand, so regardless, I’m thrilled about the possibilities for the future.