new year near record ... new process

Sleepless is now a self-sufficient “cottage industry” ... more than a hobby/less than a career ... artisans ...

We have found a sustainable way to write, produce, release and promote our music independently

The whole process is funded by gigs ... the punters are underwriting our recordings … by turning up to our gigs they ensure that the pubs continue to book us and pay us … simply by drinking beer they enable us to release our music for free and play gigs for free ... it's like a barter economy based on a good night out ...

By recording it ourselves we were able to take our time and build the songs without worrying about the cost of studio time … sorting out the packaging and distribution has meant that all we have to pay for really is mastering ... we can make a record for $600 ...

Origami packaging may seem like a trivial idea but it means that punters can download the "complete package" themselves - not just the music but the artwork and the sleeve design and "manufacture" it themselves using easily accessible resources i.e. blank cd and A4 paper ... it's like IKEA ... we can reduce the price (to zero) because the customers do the work ... we don;t pay for print runs, burning, shipping ... and we don;t end up with any surplus stock

using the internet for distribution is not new ... we have seen the model where bands use myspace to build a profile and get noticed ... the problem is that this works extremely well for a very few bands (Arctic Monkeys) ...

... i would like to get noticed by as many people as possible but i don't think we need a record company ... magazines and websites that would get people to our website and to gigs would be good ...