From the preface to the second edition of The Recording Angel by Evan Eisenberg, a brilliant book about the history of recording and the way it has changed and governed our understanding, appreciation, performance, and possession of music (Gary Giddins):

“This book first appeared almost two decades ago. To ‘bring it up to date’ (…) I offer two afterwords (…) Writing the first [for the 1996 Italian edition] was easy (…) Writing the second afterword was impossible. The eruption of file-sharing and online music had removed the ground from beneath my feet, leaving no place from which to ply my precious lever. Not only was the future of the record as a ‘thing’ in question, but so was the future of music as a profession and an art. Each pronouncement I typed into my computer was overthrown, it seemed, by the news appearing on the screen the next morning.”

This website is about the interfaces and products, both virtual and physical that are precipitating the dizzying changes referred to by Evan Eisenberg. There are an unparalleled range of media through which to access and enjoy music - iPods, P2P networks, music playback software, recommendation services, MP3 blogs, smart playlist builders and so on - which make it a fascinating time for music fans.

If you have anything to contribute in terms of news items, suggestions or recommendations, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me: colin [at] musicinterfaces [dot] com.

Thanks for dropping by and I look forward to hearing from you!

Colin.