Welcome to the Free Music Archive

On a recent episode of WFMU's Sophisticated Boom Boom, Hollie Cook brought her distinctive style of 'tropical pop' to the airwaves! Hollie Cook was part of the last lineup of The Slits, a legendary all-female punk/reggae group from the UK. With heavy dub-reggae influences and strong melodic vocals that accent the music rather than dominate it, this is a live session that you don't want to miss! Listen below. 

Sometimes words alone cannot paint the picture of the things possessed within, but when you add a vocal flow that carries various levels of emotions and impacts, the message can become clearer. In a reflection of life experiences, the artist behind the Encrypted Scrolls utilizes music as a form of communication to express various instances that have occurred, are impactful, and also have been life-altering.

The 4-album anthology of Encrypted Scrolls, is inspired from a story written and lived by the performer himself, Tony Hulse. The story is being produced as a film series and the music is designed to coincide with the scenes throughout the film’s first episode. When you play the film and this music, you get a different story experience that is blended perfectly with all the scenes. This style of immersive media has never been done before (on purpose). Music fans may know of the Wizard of Oz/Pink Floyd combination that works in various scenes throughout the film. This is similar to that but with all the scenes blending to a precise beat and telling a new story to the one originally displayed.

Tony has been involved in the entertainment industry for over 5 years with his works on syndicated networks like ABC, FOX, and Disney. With his skills, he created the Encrypted Scrolls as an additional visualization of his art, wisdom, and to compliment some of his projects that are shared through various forms of media.

The first two albums from the Encrypted Scrolls are available on Free Music Archive to download and feature the musical scores from others FMA’ers with his vocals overlaid.  Tony is currently in production of the 2nd half of this set and a few other musical projects.

This is the first CD that is both a musical project and art installation. On the musical aspect, “Works” is a collection of 12 instrumental tracks written and produced by me. Twelve melodies developing through minimalism, sacred arias, electronica and tribal choirs. Twelve small audible pictures that have no purpose other than to move the listener. The album was released in June 2016. This is my first self-produced and self-distributed album. “Works” is a crafted product where the songwriting is simple. From the melodies to the sounds, from mixing to mastering, all is permeated by a DIY spirit. Self-production and self-distribution as a musical and social language.

“Works” is distributed for free in two ways: social and antisocial. With the social distribution you can download the entire album for free, leaving the listener free to share it in whatever way he feels. With the antisocial distribution, the album is handed out through an art installation. “Works” has been made into 300 numbered and signed CDs, left on the streets or in public places, there to be picked by people passing by. Every copy left is photographed and the photo is shared on the website www.roccogranata.it/works.

The project started in June 2016 in Rome, where most of the copies were distributed, and it spread around through Italy, France, Spain, Iceland, Holland, Denmark, Russia, Turkey, China, Cambodia, Senegal, Japan, Australia, Brasil, Argentina, Canada, Usa, Tailandia, Slovenia, Romania, Czech Republic, France, Croatia, Norway, Germany, Sveden, Greek, UK, Austria, Belgium. The CDs are distributed by me or by volunteers. There are copies that have yet to be distributed and are waiting to go around the world. If you want to distribute a CD, send me a message on this link.

From 14 to 16 July 2017 the Cd was taken to the Museo Macro in Rome on the occasion of Urban KING Action Figure. It's probably the first Cd to be exposed in a Museum of contemporary art.

A pianist and a cello player have contributed to the album recording. The nicknames they've chosen are Thomas Munz (piano), a homage to Thomas Müntzer, historical figure of the 16 th century and one of the protagonists of Luther Blisset's novel “Q”, and Lita Rodcenko (cello), which is a made up name. Lita, as a homage to Lita Ford, metal guitarist, and Aleksandr Rodčenko, artist and father of the Russian constructivism.

Guitarist Steve Gunn and percussionist John Truscinski recently visited WFMU's live studio and performed tracks off and on their new album, Bay Head. Their sound is impressively layered and nuanced for a two-man band. Host of WFMU's weekly radio program Surface Noise, Joe McGasko, says of the performance: "their latest album mixes Eastern modalities, a touch of psychedelia, and a grounding in roots music to produce a highly individual instrumental sound that's equal parts fiery and meditative. They supported the album with only a handful of live appearances – fortunately including this exclusive live session for Surface Noise recorded on 4/4/18 and broadcast on 4/16/18."

Please listen below!