Frequently asked questions.
( well, much less since this page exists, actually )

1. Do you release only vinyls ?

yes.    vinyl only.   limited to 250 pieces.   no reprints.
maybe some day there will be some kind of promo or gift CDs, but that's for a very far future.
tapes ? hhhm... some say tapes are cool again, some say tapes have always been there. hmm, yes. why not ?

ah, and about mp3 releases, we dont even have to think or do anything about it,
some kind souls with great scope ( state of the music shops world, anyone ? ) feel they have a mission to fulfill there.

2. why only vinyl ?

pragmatically, because we believe that the 2 medias that will make it past the next 10 years are MP3s and vinyl.

MP3s, well, arent ugly, they totally miss any esthetic quality. So let's forget about them.
Steve Albini always said that CDs were a rip-off and  very fragile - we believed him.
at least at the price they are usually sold.
on the other hand, CDs are quite a good medium : hi-quality, lots of space.
more deeply, well, we simpy like the materiality of a good slice of vinyl.
Vinyl needs time, needs attention, reminds you of things being fragile and not endless.
also, they have flaws. cracks. pops. surface noise.
we dont press audiophile or 300g, so our release have those unwanted things.
that makes one think sometimes.

3. Why only 250 ?  Are you creating an organized scarcity on purpose ?

Not exactly.   This is not based on a capitalist consideration.
250 is actually the smallest amount our press will allow us to make
and actually it's not that small. ( you have no idea how saturated and small our niche is )

We are very busy people and we dont want to be stuck forever with some releases and the business of re-releases and delayed orders, etc.
So when it's gone it's gone.    Finitude is a part of the human experience.

Sometime you have to be there at the right moment.

4. Do you accept trades ?

Yes, we do.   We just need to be interested in the trader's offer.
We are favorising small and independent distribution networks.

We are not interested in speculators, but well, what can you do to it once you've sold your stuff ?

also, there are moments where we prefer selling, since we need to prepare future releases.

5. Who's doing the artwork for your releases ?

S/ is responsible for most of the pictures and the design.
there is a lot of dialogue going on with the artists though.
We all have kids who made fantastic first drawings or friends who just graduated from art schools,
please dont ask us to use those things for artwork. We know where we're heading. (well...)

Yes, of course.   We love demos.   Except the really awful ones.
we just listen properly to CD-R, not to MP3s.
YouTube, Soundclouds, Mixclouds, or whatever-clouds links will be arrogantly ignored.
Should i mention MySpace... no, i'd rather not.

so : WE WILL ONLY LISTEN TO CD-R !

now you can either try to find our adress somewhere on this website ( good luck )
or send us a polite mail describing your intentions and asking for it.

7. what are the next releases ?

in the past we said too much too early,
and that made everyone ( ok, someone ) waiting for it.
no more anticipation, no more expectations now, no more deadlines.
we are free.
( ps : 2012 is full booked )

8.  Do you always use the same design for your sleeves ?

yes.  just check the main page.  
front : picture with a black rectangle featuring the name and the title
back : continuation of the front picture on the right.  
on the left, black area featuring info on the release at bottom and ini.itu logo , eventual drawings or additional pictures on top.
That's something we learned from quality labels like Touch, ECM, Mystery Sea, Extreme, etc
Of course, the interesting thing with rules is when you break the rules. Let's see when that happens.

9. How much does shipping cost for vinyl ?  

a lot ! no... A LOT !   

it's about 6€ for Europe, and 9€ for UK and 16€ in the rest of the world.  ( UPDATE : MORE ! )That's for 1 to 3 vinyls i guess.
That's why we recommend you to buy our products from one of the mail-orders where it's available

If someone in Europe feels like starting a special mail delivery system for vinyl, cheap and not especially fast, we would be eternally grateful.
now, you dont even have to pay us royalties for this idea. Just do it, for christ's sake.

10. Now, after these business questions, a bit of education :

What are those strange instruments ?   What is a shakuhachi ?   a buchla lightning ?   an eventide ?  a tremoloa hang ? foogers ?  a kecapi ?

sarode ? http://davidtrasoff.com/pages/instruments.html

meru bars ?

11. Nature. What is a tokae ?

geez, do i have to explain everything ?

13. Back to the business of giving-away for free. How do I get promotional copies of new releases for my fanzine / magazine / website / radio show ?

like everything else in life : you have to ask.
Our rule is quite simple : no review  and you can call it goodbye for the next episodes.
non-profit doesnt mean charity ( or stupidity )

Send us an email, we'll forward.   We aint no booking agency.

on the other hand we might organize a few concerts later in the year
(first proofs of that :
Blindhaed @ Common Room, Bandung, Indonesia, 23 oct 2010
d'incise @ Veals&Geeks, Bxl, 8 nov 2010
more to follow, hopefully... )

Send us an email, we'll forward.    Due to budget restrictions our marketing departement (ahum..) is euh. well.

18. Linguistics now. How do you pronounce the name of Blindhæð ?  Twinkle³ ?

Blindhæð
/blind-hythe/

Schaerbeek is the 7th city of Belgium by its size.
It's located right next to the centrum of Bruxelles.
it's sometimes referred to as "the city of cherries" or "the city of donkeys".
if you want to know why, send us a mail !

25. can i have a map of Indonesia ?

- look out yourself ! -

let's compile a few sparks of inspiration down here :

Dusted: What was the rationale for using the 7" format and having the box set, rather than just putting out a less-expensive CD or LP compilation, or a series of separate 7" releases?

Ackerie: Pure fetishism! Because there is nothing like the feeling of handling vinyl. No other format allows for design to be so playfully implemented. The sound is superior and has a warmth that I adore. All of the work covered was originally released on vinyl. All I have seen recently in London is record shops closing down. So many have gone over the past 18 months. I wanted to redress this and pay tribute to a format that I love. Yes, CD and LP comps would have been a hell of a lot cheaper, but that was not the point. Recovery had to be special for me. I wanted to produce something I could be proud of. I also wanted it to be unique

http://www.dustedmagazine.com/features/833

Enflammer l'imaginaire en empruntant un terme à la sphère du métaphysique ou du stellaire - et simultanément l'éteindre en l'immergeant dans le prosaïque : telle est la formule énoncée par Dionnet.   Les Humanoïdes / Asssociés .   Métro Châtelet, direction / Cassiopée.   La Foire aux / immortels.

Serge Lehman in Enki Bilal "La trilogie Nikopol"