We're not for everyone — and that's the truth

Behind the scenes from the thick of it

Right now the Metalabel squad is in the throes of the creative process of something you’ll see in the Fall. We’re excited about what we’re working on but we’re also in the thick of it. We still don’t know where it will all lead.

Some days the not-knowing is agonizing. The first time I experienced the feeling came while building Kickstarter, and it often got the best of me. But having gone through it before, I now appreciate how rare it is to not-know something you care about and are willing into existence with its ultimate outcome truly unknown. 

Our challenge now is basic — universal even: how to express our ideas in a way that others will hear. Not just the words, but how we mean them. It’s not enough for the facts to translate. Feelings too.

Tuning this dial is an act of creativity. It’s that process, neverending, always a surprise, where we gaze into the void past the point of discomfort to bring back truth. It sounds simple but the lived experience is much more humbling.

Two weeks ago I got so frustrated with the not-knowing I spent two days mad at myself. We wouldn’t be having these problems if I wasn’t so… heady, so intellectual, so me.

I finally got so frustrated I started a document where I wrote mean things about myself and Metalabel, roasting the project. Things like:

Metalabel: So esoteric nobody knows what it is

Metalabel: That HBO show people you don’t like tell you to watch

Metalabel: Yes it’s complicated. But so are you.

I was letting out my frustration, but the process felt refreshing. By saying mean things to myself, it weirdly defanged what others could say. Owning my inner critique helped me let go of my fear.

So what if we’re not for everybody?

So what if we’re deep more than shallow?

So what if we celebrate things more esoteric and less commercial?

The truth is we’re not for everyone. But nothing is. So why hold ourselves to that kind of impossible standard? Instead we keep learning and re-learning that embracing being not for everyone pushes you into being more you.

We’re weeks away from releasing more of who we are. While we’re in the thick of it, this continues to be our guiding question: how much more can we be ourselves?

What about you? If you ask yourself how to be more you in whatever you’re in the thick of, what happens for you?

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Featured releases

Molly Soda, “Trivial Pursuit Postcard Set” (100 editions)

Pioneering digital artist Molly Soda returns to Metalabel with a new release: a limited run of 100 editions of postcards celebrating the debut performance of her new play, Trivial Pursuit. Originally previewed at Metalabel’s space in NYC, the play will debut in Brooklyn next month. These limited-edition postcard sets draw from the world of the work. (Collect Molly Soda)

Do Not Research 2021-22 and 2022-23

Do not Research is a collective platform and publication producing writing, visual work, and internet culture research since 2020. Started by the artist Josh Citerella, the collective project has produced an annual physical publication collecting their works from a given year. This week, Do Not Research has released their two publications to date, 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, on Metalabel. Collect them to explore original research, ideas from the edges, and explorations into the depths of the web. (Collect Do Not Research)

AI + Music (English edition) by FUTURX, Daouda Leonard, and more

AI + Music (originally IA+Música) is the English translation of a new research report into the future of AI and music organized by the Argentinian group FUTURX (participants of one of Metalabel’s very first releases, the ASSEMBLY cohort). It features contributions from musicians, artists, and technologists — including Grimes manager Daouda Leonard — exploring what AI might mean for their craft. Originally published in Spanish, now translated into English, both available on Metalabel. (Collect AI + Music)

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YACHT runs the world

Over the past week, YACHT:

• Released their new album, New Release, globally on streaming services (their first fully indie release without a label)

• Celebrated selling out the first-edition vinyl and cassette versions on Metalabel

• Opened up a pop-up storefront in LA for a week

• Put their pop-up storefront on Google Maps and had their fans use it to review their album

• Launched a phone number (323-379-4418) where you can leave them voicemail

They’ve done all of this joyfully with a genuine love for playfully sharing their work.

Every time we talk to them and every time we watch them we’re writing notes to self saying “BE MORE LIKE YACHT.”

Take notes, folks! (Collect New Release on vinyl)

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Good luck to everyone in the thick of it this week. Don’t give up the fight.

We made a new page about releasing work on Metalabel this week. Check it out here.

Peace and love,
Metalabel