Written by: Emily Cinder
I had the privilege of interviewing and writing a feature on James, an artist
from Boise working on a project for the collective underground. While
exploring his work, I noticed James’ meticulous attention to design was
immediately striking; a remarkable integration between audio/visual and web
development. Mind Fabric is a project perceiving the collective consciousness,
the infinite universe between our ears, the unlimited creativity we all share and
access. James oversees all the visual and audio components for this project. In
recent years, his body of work has expanded to include the development of a
project called Sublair which is described as a "toolset for artists,
producers, and anyone with an artistic vision."
Sublair offers a unique toolset that allows people to network and bridge outside
mainstream music platforms, providing underground customization for
avant-garde artists alike. This platform gives artists more independence and
reign over their work offering valuable alternatives for connection and
collaboration.
During our interview, James elaborates on the origins and development of
Sublair. He recounted, "Sublair started a few years ago. There's a
platform called Audius, a Web3 platform that hosts all of their music files on the IPFS, which is really cool because it's a decentralized way of hosting
files."
Audius provided free access to its music through an API, inspiring James
to develop a similar underground interface.
The concept of Sublair as it exists today began to take form last September.
James explained, "I was just messing around with data visualization, creating
node maps and little bubbles and circles and stuff like that, and I realized it
would be a really cool way of visualizing networks of people."
James expressed his excitement about Sublair's direction, stating, "I'm really excited to be able to bring that forward because that's kind of where Sublair is going. It's a mishmash of music visualization and an actual useful toolset, which I think is pretty cool."
Sublair is currently an open beta, allowing artists to submit an application and
link social platforms before being human-verified. James explained that one of
Sublair’s primary goals is to ensure the authenticity of the information shared
on the platform. "That's kind of the point here, to make sure it's actual
information and not just bots, because we're inundated with bots online."
Sublair is committed to providing genuine, bot-free interactions, emphasizing
the importance of real, valuable connections in an online environment often
overwhelmed by automated accounts.
It became clear to me that James is determined to take a different path from
the prevailing trends of AI automation and rapid growth. He shared, "I want to
go the opposite direction that I see the world going right now, which is AI
automation faster, faster, grow bigger, grow larger." Instead, he envisions a
space where communities don't need to constantly seek exponential growth. "I
don't think that to find success, you have to have that." He’s committed to
human verification and fostering a tighter, more authentic community rather
than pursuing mass adoption.
He acknowledges the value of AI, particularly for self-education, but stresses
the need for cautious adoption due to its unprecedented nature and the
potential consequences of widespread, unregulated use.
James elaborated on his website, Sublair, highlighting its unique features and
upcoming enhancements. He explained, "I recently applied with PayPal to
create a marketplace. Essentially, if you're a small artist with stickers, T-shirts, sound packs, or visual packs, you'll be able to put them up on your node
and sell them as assets." This functionality is designed to facilitate transactions between artists and customers, with Sublair taking a modest 5% fee for server costs and funding, significantly lower than other platforms.
Additionally, the platform features a comprehensive artist map, enabling users
to explore artists and collectives by location. James emphasized the
customizable nature of Sublair, which includes options for personalized aesthetics and download gates, further enhancing its appeal for underground
and avant-garde artists.
In summary, the interconnectedness James is building online as a whole is
revolutionary to how we interact as an underground community while also
bringing healthy commodities and value to us as artists. This platform also
allows users to have autonomy in their music and a brilliant visual
representation of the underground community, ready to be explored right
from your device.
To explore James' personal creations, visit @_mindfabric on Instagram.
For updates and information on Sublair, head over to @_sublair
Additionally, to delve into his collaborative efforts with his partnered
collective, check out @thestaticvoid