Welcome to the Nightwaves website! This website has a been a long time in the planning
phase. I sincerely hope you enjoy it.
To tell you a bit about myself and Nightwaves, it all started way back in 1999. In January
of that year, I published the very first issue of a fanzine called Nightwaves. My intention was to start a zine that
would be dedicated to the underground electronic artist. Being an electronic artist myself, and living in the far-flung
region of eastern Canada, I felt very isolated, and quite often it would seem to me that I was the only electronic artist
in that part of the world. But I had a suspicion that I was not. I knew deep down that tucked away in the dark
recesses of every little town and village were bedroom musicians just like me, quietly recording their audio opuses in their
bedroom studios. I knew if I put this zine out there, pretty soon, the electronic artists would crawl out of the woodwork.
And they did. From these very humble beginnings, the zine grew and grew, and pretty soon
I had readers all over the world. I was amazed how something as simple as a photocopied and stapled zine that I hand-made
could reach that many people. Reviews of the zine were consistently positive, and I was fortunate enough to meet so
many talented artists from the electronic underground. I didn't feel so alone anymore.
I was also thrilled to be able to interview artists who had a huge influence on me. Again,
this humble little zine opened up so many doors for me. I was honoured to speak with such visionaries as Robert Moog,
Roger Linn, Ron Mael, Joe Vizvary (Images in Vogue), Tracey Howe (Rational Youth), Mark Mothersbaugh, Stephen Singleton and
numerous others. The zine continued right up until 2005. During that time I was thrilled to be regarded as "the
underground electronic artist's best friend", and for a while my mailbox was flooded with demos and CDs from around the world,
all from artists who were seeking exposure for their art. I was thrilled to give them an opportunity to spread the word
about their music.
Alas, by 2005 much had changed. Living the life of a poor student, I found publishing a
zine a very expensive endeavour. From day one, all expenses for Nightwaves came out of my own pocket, and I just couldn't
afford that anymore. The zine itself was always free. But the hefty costs of publication and postage were just
getting too high. Plus, I also felt that my work was finished, at least that's how I felt at the time. With the
appearance of popular sites like MySpace, I found that the underground electronic artist was not as underexposed as they were
in 1999. So, due to the fact that I felt like my services were no longer needed, plus the high cost of zine making,
and a very busy schedule that made working on a zine less and less feasible, I decided to end things in 2005 with issue number
16.
Which brings us to today. The thought of doing a Nightwaves website was always at the back
of my mind. So I finally decided to break down and do it. The advantages of a website over a printed zine are
numerous. For one thing, it is free, plus the thought of reaching a much wider audience is very appealling. Also,
I like the fact that I can add to the website little by little, whenever I feel like it, whereas with a zine there are deadlines
and everything has to be brought together all at once for publication.
I would like to say in this welcome the same thing I said in issue 1 of the zine. This
website is by the fans, for the fans. This is not the work of one person, it is the work of many. I am constantly
seeking any contributions related to electronic music, whether it be a CD review, a show review, a rant, a tech review, photos,
artwork, anything. If you love electronic music (or any interesting music for that matter....I am not strictly interested
in electronic), this website belongs to you.
I sincerely hope to hear from you all very soon. Enjoy the website!
Electronically yours,
Gary Flanagan
