NOTICE & RETIREMENT PLANS

Well, that's all folks! Actually probably not, because it's Reducer, and it's like The Thing - it ain't dead yet! But, it is certainly time I hang my size 9's up. 49 years I've been making music. Long enough. It's time someone else had a go, I've done my bit. Obviously, I'm not stopping making music, I'm "managing expectations" - - Reducer have reached a 'natural' hiatus, and as with any archive, it is finite, therefore, we have finished autonomously releasing the recordings we feel are of sufficient quality, to be worthy of a vinyl release. There are of course, many other recordings, some of which are available via download -  I also have a great deal of other material that we haven't explored, due to issues concerning quality & not feeling the need to make them public, as the response to the music we have released so far, is enough. Reducer were & are not about popularity or money, or just releasing material for the sake of it. There may be 1 other vinyl release via an independent label, at some point in the future, although it's not set in stone. As for the future of the website, we are currently undertaking great efforts to continue to make it available in some form, for the long term. We intend to keep our bandcamp for the foreseeable future, read on for streaming info.The band never brooked any nonsense and that's not about to change. We saw a gaping hole & we filled it - with original, unique sound & vision- and, our job was done. Or so we thought. The universe had other plans for Reducer, and we were blessed with our second coming. This time with manifestations of us, instead of live experiences - be it on vinyl or the big screen.

A chance to let some more of the world hear Reducer on our terms, was an irresistible opportunity to say one more time "have some of this you bastards" and make it stick - leave a nice big Reducer boot print on the world.

We have done that. We are wise enough to know to quit while we're ahead. We deal in energy & experiences.

Each record is a milestone. After 30 years, a new generation began listening to what most of their parents had missed in the 80’s - original, in your face, heart, mind & soul - the sound of love- the love of sound. It was an incredible experience to be in Reducer, and to be instrumental in our resurgence, and it has shown me many things I either forgot, hadn't realised or shone a new light on "old" work. To be as original, spontaneous & improvised as we were, was something special, to be able to capture that on tape, was a gift - I knew then, it was worthy of more than being left in a box. When we were "rediscovered", we were fortunate enough to have had the finance & the wits to retain our autonomy and release which tracks we chose on vinyl, and do the artwork as we would have done it, if it were the 1980's. This is real 80's music. The legacy of Punk - not so much the sound as more the confrontational attitude & get off your arse & do it yourself! Reducer have done something very unique in the music world, and we take that seriously, we came we saw we conquered back in the 80’s & we did it again in the 2020's- name another band that's done that autonomously. Now, it's time, as I said, for me to step back, my poor health & lack of access to further finance, as well as the culmination of the archive, really only point one way - nothing will change immediately, but over the next few months Reducer will have a very different profile & availability than it does now. We did it. We did it twice & We fucking did it our fucking way! What's left to do or say? A hatrick? Surely not? Well, I guess we're all gonna find out together!
 

At this point, we shall wave goodbye to Spotify & their lackeys. We will not have it. Enough. You don't get to piss down our backs & tell us it's raining. Reducer will no longer be available via Spotify & several other streaming platforms that perform the same "job" of ripping us off, from the New Year. It strikes us that whilst there are many listening, there are few who are invested. As artists we feel that a fair exchange is nothing but a fair exchange.  Whilst streaming is superficially flattering, and brings a certain type of exposure, that's all we get from streaming our music - this is no longer either desirable or acceptable. If you are a fan, & you use streaming, then please consider paying a small amount to the artists entertaining you. We charge the minimum acceptable by bandcamp for downloads, on purpose, in order that people with limited means (like ourselves!) are able to access our music. After all the effort of creating Reducer, gigging & recording, let alone the 30 years gap before we were able to release our music on vinyl & offer a website, we feel a two way relationship is a much more reasonable & Reducer like arrangement. Should you not feel this way, then in our world, you're not a real fan & won't miss what you don't care about.
Thems the rules. There aren't many, but where there are some, we established them a long time ago & they are presently, more than ever, non negotiable, and now, in full effect. 

We ask, any fans who use spotify or the others, to please visit our bandcamp. Your one guarantee that the artists get some money. We're just doing what we've always done  - keeping you honest. Nothing changes in the world, let alone music, still full of vampires & parasites - just like in the 70's, except they aren't gormless A&R men, these are spotty gormless millenials with no idea of what's what, and no compunction in ripping anyone off, too further their greedy ends. Like much of humanity, they don't care. About anything. Except themselves. From the new year, we will be dismantling & radically reducing the streaming availability, aswell as other platforms. We are returning to our core values. Consolidating our position in the hostile 21st century world of e-commerce, acquisitions & mergers. Reshaping Reducer, into a sleeker, more manageable crystalline weapon of blunt force trauma.

If in doubt, use bandcamp. Reducer. 

We are aware that some fans & followers have joined in the last few months & we recommend any fans who have not availed themselves of our 50+ page webzine/site, do so as soon as possible. reducer-music.com

HAPPY SOLSTICE ONE & ALL