Hamah Moh is a Kyoto based singer/songwriter who writes some impressively dank and dingy ballads using his disctinctively raspy
resonator guitar and slide setup. Backed by harmonium and the occasional bit of didgeridoo and percussion Hamah's lengthy. sparse, bluesy dirges have an almost Eastern flavour to them managing to fuse blue grass, folk and eastern influences with elements of traditional Japanese folk music. To be honest I find his vocals to be a little grating after a while (He has a slight "tang" in his voice that sounds a little forced, but perhaps it's not so noticeble if you don't know Japanese.) but he does a great job of creating music that manages to be dark but also surprisingly uplifting and upbeat. Hamah even manages a worthy cover of Japan's multi-talented comedian turned actor turned songwriter turned painter turned author turned movie director turned university professor
Kitano Takeshi's "Asakusa Kid".
Dim the lights and break out the cigars and whisky for maximised listening pleasure.
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Download (Link removed by kind request of Hamah Moh)
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It is commendable that you are giving Hamah Moh some well deserved exposure...but why are you RIPPING OFF this artist with this free download crap? His music is not yours to distribute for free. You are stealing from someone who deserves to get paid for their hard work. Take the mediafire link DOWN from your website.
ReplyDeleteI have removed the link since I received a kind email from Hamah Moh.
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to rip artists off. I'm trying to introduce them to new audiences who otherwise would not have a chance to hear their music. In general I try to avoid posting new material or professionally released material and stick to CDRs and demos so as not to anger the artists themselves.
The few releases I have been requested to take down have usually been accompanied by very kind words and an understanding from the artists themselves. Like I said I'm not trying to offend or rip off anyone. I do this because I love these artists music and only hope that mor people could have the chance to hear.
If you want to expose people to new music and still HELP the artist...direct your readers to a site with samples (like Hamah Moh's myspace page, for example: www.myspace.com/hamah-moh - you can listen there) or offer ONE song for free download and encourage your readers to BUY the CD. Otherwise...you are taking earnings from the pocket of the musicians you claim to support. We don't make much anyway, playing non-commercial music...so every time we lose a sale thanks to some blog offering the product of our hard work for free, that feels like being RIPPED OFF. Don't tell me that you giving someone else's music away for free is the "only chance" people have to hear it, because that is false.
ReplyDeleteThe only appropriate and justifiable circumstances for offering someone else's music for free is when a record is OUT OF PRINT. If it is still available and you are offering it for free, you are stealing from the artist.
ReplyDeleteIf you like giving music away for free, I suggest you learn how to play an instrument, spend years perfecting your music, write some great songs, invest in recording and releasing your music, and THEN give it away for free.
Look, you and I are obviously not going to see eye to eye on the issue. As you can see from the new post I've made I am a musician myself, have recorded and released my own material and am more than willing to share it with the rest of the world. Infact that's the very reason I create music. So it can be heard by other people.
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to rip anyone off and if you are a musician yourself as you seem to claim to be you'll know just how little non-commercial artists make off their own recordings. A 5% royalty off a $20 CD is nothing. You would have to sell a hundred CD's to make less money than you would make playing a single gig. For 99% of non-commercial artists record sales are meaningless. The vast majority of a bands income comes from live shows.
If you don't agree with me sharing music then just simply don't read the blog.
"A 5% royalty off a $20 CD is nothing."
ReplyDeletehahahaha that's is ONLY true for an artist on an indie label.
Hamah Moh released his own cd on his own, without label money, so all the sales go to him, not a small percentage.
It isn't about "seeing eye-to-eye" it is about getting your FACTS straight.