Estou de luto...

Ontem calhou ir visitar o site da Output (e editora de Trevor Jackson), uma das minhas editoras favoritas, e deparei com o site a mencionar apenas 1996 - 2006, e temi logo o pior...que se confirmou, assim que li isto na Pitchfork :

"It's never easy for the underdog. But with his impressive creative output-- album art, installations, performance, production, DJ projects (Playgroup), remix projects (under the alias Underdog), and record releases, Trevor Jackson always seemed to manage to make it look pretty easy.

Nevertheless, the founder and owner of the fiercely independent UK label Output (which has released singles and albums by MU, Four Tet, Colder, Dead Combo, LCD Soundsystem, the Rapture, and more) has announced that his label is officially shutting down, effective immediately. Indeed, visit the Output website, and all you'll see is a black screen with the dates 1996-2006: year of birth and death.

Jackson issued an official statement to Pitchfork about Output's untimely demise, citing manifold reasons (financial issues, "friends turning into monsters," and the general nightmarish-ness of running a label).

"I never wanted to have all my passion and enthusiasm knocked out of me," he said, "But somehow it's happened. I simply wanted to showcase exciting, experimental, and forward-thinking music with individuality and personality."

Acknowledging the dedication of fans throughout Output's successful ten-year run, Jackson said: "I would like to express my gratitude to all the music lovers, buyers, record stores, radio & club DJs, journalists, labels, artists, promoters, and remixers worldwide who supported the label (many of you from day one!). I will miss all the positive feedback and kind words, which I constantly found uplifting, and which gave me the energy to carry on even in the most difficult of circumstances."

Starting October 1, the final Output releases (comprising the label's 100th release) will be available as free mp3 downloads from Output's website for one month only. After that, there are no immediate plans to continue manufacturing any of the label's back catalogue, and its titles will likely disappear into collector-dom. So grab what you can, quick!
Jackson's full statement-- part explanation, part eulogy-- appears after the jump.

"Running a record label started as fun and ended up as a nightmare. I saw people I thought were my friends turn into monsters, sycophantic fools jump bandwagons quicker than sneaker styles, and individuals I thought were affiliates stab me in the back without even thinking twice. Babysitting grown adults is not a skill I possess, So I am more than happy to pass the gauntlet on to trust-funded pseudo-indies with fat pockets and no imagination. Let them deal with paranoid artists with inflated egos who believe their own hype and request tour riders fit for royalty.

The label remained a true independent for its entire lifetime and was never run by a staff of any more than two, So I'm extremely proud of what was achieved and really hope the music and spirit of the label made even the smallest impact on people's lives. Nobody taught me how to run the label. It started with a dream to create an international genre-less platform for musical outcasts who couldn't get their music released anywhere else, and it ended up becoming a highly respected label spoken about in the same breath as labels that had inspired me to create Output in the first place. I got the chance to meet and work with some of the most wonderfully talented and inspiring people on the planet and had the pleasure of getting support and feedback from people I had respected and admired for years.

It's not so easy living in one of the most expensive cities in the world running a label with the sole purpose of releasing music that I love, (regardless of style or current musical trend). I never once made a musical decision based on the amount of revenue that an artist could bring into the business, and perhaps that's partly responsible for the position I am in today. I never wanted to become flavor-of-the-whatever, or become part of any new movement or scene, But as more success and attention was thrown at us, the bigger problems became. I never wanted to have all my passion and enthusiasm knocked out of me, but somehow it's happened. I simply wanted to showcase exciting, experimental, and forward-thinking music with individuality and personality that was, at the same time, accessible-packaged in a way that would force people to look twice and desirable enough to purchase and possess as a treasured item."

Em memória da Output, vou hoje dedicar a noite Electro/p0werup a ela, portanto pode-se esperar que vá passar alguns dos temas mais emblemáticos dela...

Output R.I.P. , mas ao menos foi-se em beleza.