Have you ever thought, "what is art?" The answer is inevitably too general for practicality or too specific for satisfaction. The universe infinitely experiences itself and Art is the name of its process. We invented the word, but its definition is inconceivable in its scope; it is probably everything. Maybe the point of the question was never to receive a perfect definition but to reveal those of its aspects we most value. I believe community is among the most valuable, and the ways ideas travel throughout Audiotool conveniently portray the relationship between art & community

ASSET SHARING

Before Quantum's addition to the studio, sim (under the name laidux) developed a simple multiband setup using a splitter, a merger, 3 slopes, and 3 green compressors. The setup made rounds through the community for years, especially in the EDM space, and found itself utilized by producers as essential as neo. , zelvo , and Tocka . Its appearance in so many snapshots of the pre-Next Audiotool discography is a testiment to the virality of an effective tool. In an age obsessed with clean, punchy earcandy it was a tool desperately needed, and it's rampant use among users probably accelerated the fruition of the Quantum in the first place. But its use also emphasizes the inherent and immutable sense of community imbued within tools themselves. Everyone is connected through their use, sewing together a collective creative consciousness whose arteries deliver knowledge and resources to wherever they may be needed [[embed:https://www.audiotool.com/track/torn_full/]]

REMIXING

Often someone else's idea is the tool. The best artists are just as much visionaries as they are skilled thieves; their work is an amalgam of ideas tastefully plucked from their influences. Remixing is instead a blatant announcement of inspiration, stating "your work made me create something!" In this way it's a vague form of collaboration, where the materials have been provided for an artist to manipulate into their own vision. The best remixes enhance engagement with the originals and gleam with their own artistry at the same time. In their remix of Finding Her by wilunki , An angel transforms the original's sweetness and awkward charm into a beautiful, Silent Hill-esque haze invigorated with a nocturnal stride [[embed:https://www.audiotool.com/track/finding_her_droned-out-pad_remix]]

COLLABORATING

Employing the help of fellow artists to mold the experience of your music is an event more profound than its objective. On surface-level inspection there's the amalgamation of techniques and style that births a fresh new creation. But found underneath is a gradual intertwining of creative souls; the more time you spend working with a collaborator the more acclimated you become to their presence and their process. Constant teamwork inevitably constructs the pillars of companionship for a friendship to rest upon. The art is just as much the product as it is the implicit bond formed between collaborators. As evidence of this, many artists have discovered their creative "other half" whose compatibility with them is instrumental to the process of sorting and fulfilling their ideas. Audiotool has seen many dream teams like this, but solar plexus and dove dominate within my favorites. Their initial dual-effort in 2018 contains the proof of their brilliant spark that would last another 5+ tracks and may extend indefinitely into the future of their musical careers. The track is a timeless fusion of their strongest artistic facets and shines among the most influential and essential tracks on Audiotool [[embed:https://www.audiotool.com/track/m1vdjm8psj2o/]] What is TINYGAIN?: Connect >> Chitchat >> TINYGAIN: an Audiotool Magazine