We conceived Appendix.Files [APPX:] to prop up our international-fam: through our collective residual stank, we have sought to secrete posi-vibes onto our wider social and ecological environments.
Nurtured by INDEX:Records, APPX: is a fledgling of sonic-experimentalism that aims to create ‘zero-waste’ through its production. We knew this could be achieved by peddling our music digitally. Yet, our communal obsession with 12” wax discs prompted us to think creatively about how to produce physical merchandise, whilst curbing our own contribution to ecological degradation.
Disc_Archive are fundamental to the label’s ability to function (and its continued evolution): allowing us made-to-order 12” lathe-cut records from their studio in Berlin and by letting us repurpose surplus inner/outer record sleeves in the embryonic stages of the label, we’ve been able to minimize wastage. We also re-vibed the need for a traditional center label on our records; Amos Turner – the label’s co-founder – collab’ed with K+M (Disc_Archive) to design bespoke engravings into the inner etchings of the vinyl, done by converting an image into an audio file, which is then delicately cut into the record with a hardy-diamond stylus.
Via charitable donations to the Rainforest Trust, we’ve tried to offset the environmental wrongdoings of our industry (albeit, rather speculatively). We hoped that by donating our label’s profits to conserve rainforests across the world, we could impact the climate crisis positively, in some small way. Now, as an underground record label, we are realizing that the influence we can ultimately have on this is perhaps too slight.
Localizing our impact is (probably) how we could make a more tangible difference with our efforts. By linking with musicians shy and naemi on our fifth release (APPX:05 by thru), we donated profits to Herbal Mutual Aid Network, “a grassroots organization that provides free, plant-based care for Black People seeking support due to the ongoing crisis of racial violence and injustice”. This experience made us reflect as a label about how (and more importantly, why) we are donating: is there some other cause that would have a more weighty impact on our own artistic community?
A new APPX:Fund is how we intend to donate going forward. We’re still figuring out the finer details of this, but we want our donations to have more relevance for those who interact with the label and its music. By creating this collective fund, we will offer direct financial support to artists and other initiatives that are closer to their lives.
Support APPX:Files HERE
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This Contribution was released with the support of Rudolf Augstein Stiftung, Bundesverband Soziokultur, Neustarthilfe, Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien.
