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Features - Interview
 Polymath Open-source music in the age of collaboration Interview by Sean B | March 28th, 2008
“Welcome to Polymath - an open source musical experiment. The story begins here. Where it ends is up to you.”
So begins the introduction of Polymath’s website, where ideas of all kinds are exchanged to feed and shape the vision of a groundbreaking new form of music conception. Having just released their self-titled debut EP, the experimental collaborative group from Nottingham is ready to redefine the way music is created, and they want you to help them do it.
As their website states, virtually no medium is off limits for contribution—drawings, audio samples, video clips, and even dance are all welcome toward shaping the vision of this “open-source” endeavor. The band describes the process as “mutual creative vampirism,” where contributors “feed” off of one another to create a collective entity—a whole which greatly surpasses any of its parts.
Certainly, this is much more than just a “band,” and people across the world are beginning to realize it.
As the group gears up for their next performance, project co-founder, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Tom Walsh gives us an inside look at the rewards and challenges of Polymath, their past and current collaborations, and where the band plans to head next.
SF: What inspired you to make Polymath an “open-source” project?
Tom Walsh: Right from the start we wanted to do something very different. I think it came from the fact that we all have so many influences in our lives musically and artistically so bringing those all together was the initial inspiration. I also like what NIN and Lost (the TV show) have done with the web and turned it into an integral part of what they’re about. NIN’s “Year Zero” concept was a big catalyst.
How do you feel the openly collaborative nature of the band has contributed to your overall sound and direction as a group?
So far it is early days but it has already taken on its own life. The initial sound of the band came from the coming together of the four main band members who are from varying musical backgrounds. Where we go from here will depend on the degree input from others. Also, the fact that you collaborate means that you expose yourself to new ideas all the time and it’s impossible to ignore that influence.
While there are undoubtedly some unique benefits to the kinds of collaborative work you do, are there any significant challenges or obstacles that come with making music this way?
You have to be honest with yourself and you have to set boundaries. If you have no boundaries then there is no direction and the whole thing gets pulled apart. If you set yourself rules then that means you can vet certain things and create something that works as a whole. Basically, it has to be a true collaboration where both parties are inspired otherwise it doesn’t get used.
Your website states that you accept contributions of all kinds for the project, whether they be lyrics, audio clips, videos or visual art. What has been the level of participation so far? What kinds of outside contributions were incorporated into your new self-titled EP?
All the contributions are on the website at the moment but we have been working with a few others for the show in May. What we’ve found is that people want to get involved as much in collaboration and remixing as they do with the song-writing process. So at the moment, we are working on a dance piece with two contemporary dancers; an architect is creating a structure inspired by the music of Polymath then an animator is creating a film from that architectural drawing – so there are lots of different ways it works. The EP itself was written as we were forming the band so there were ideas coming from lots of sources there too – that was the first open-source collection of songs essentially.
The whole concept of mass collaboration and “open-sourcing” has definitely taken the world of the technology by storm. Do you think your adaptation of the concept to music will catch on among other bands and artists?
Well, what we’re doing as far as collaboration goes isn’t anything new. Andy Warhol did it with The Velvet Underground back in the 60’s and John Cage was working with dance in the 40’s and 50’s so it really depends on your disposition to different art forms as to whether you open yourself up to that sort of thing. The open-source element is different. I think that a label would probably be too scared to sanction an open-source project because of the lack of control over the band’s image and music. The record industry is such a slow moving creature that I doubt there will ever be an open-source commercial success. If there is a success it will come from the ground up which is, of course, the whole point!
Like most forms of open-sourcing, your project allows free access to all of your material (the music). It seems only fair, considering the entire project is ideally driven by a community rather than just the band members. On the other hand, recording and producing albums, not to mention touring, can be rather expensive. How do you manage to cover the costs of making Polymath a reality? Do you have intentions of selling merchandise or CD/vinyl editions of your albums?
What we’re doing is giving people the chance to be part of the creative process – you can take what we’ve done and roll with it. But we still need to make money to keep the project alive. So yeah, we sell tickets mainly as well as merchandise, CDs, posters, artwork prints etc. The fact of the matter is this project would go nowhere if we couldn’t afford to fund it, so we have to do all that stuff. When people submit work to the project it is with the understanding that it is to be used for the band and they’re fine with that.
What is performing live like for Polymath? Do you collaborate with other performers for your live shows as well?
Performing live with Polymath is amazing. We have two elements to the live performance. We have the normal Polymath show that goes out and plays gigs like any other band but we also put on our own shows where we perform all the collaborations and invite special guests. The idea is to create a buzz around the project and show people that there is more than one way to get your music out there. But the style and intensity of the music really lets you lose yourself on-stage.
What can we expect to see/hear from Polymath in the coming months?
OK so, we have a big show on 3rd May in Nottingham. This show will showcase us as a band and four collaborations; dance, animation, architecture and performance. It’s a lot of work but if we pull it off the rewards will far outweigh the effort! Then we’re doing gigs across the UK throughout the spring and summer and then it’s back in the studio in the autumn for the second EP. We’ll also be doing more remixes and collaborations from June onwards but I can’t tell you about those just now! You’ll have to check the website to find out more!
To read more about POLYMATH & get involved, visit the official website: http://polymathematics.co.uk
FREE DOWNLOAD of POLYMATH's debut EP from Amok Recordings
Read SF's Review of Polymath EP
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