One showcases, among other things, the smallness of the world. The musicians within hail from all over the globe: Australia, Belarus, Ukraine, the UK, Germany, the United States. Beyond that, the album boasts an inspiring ingenuity that reminds us, without having to say it, that music is as vital a force as nature; it will find release. Project Bluebird boasts over twelve writers.The twins comprising Aloe Up— a folk outfit with elements of breakbeat electronica— collaborate across an ocean, one in Denver, one in London. Tom Peel’s backing tracks come out of a reel-to-reel tape recorder strapped to his chest like a bomb. There would be easier ways to come up with a backing track, but none of them would cry “Listen!” quite so loudly.

There is a joyful recklessness to this compilation; these do-it-yourselfers came together on last.fm, and have released this compilation as a free download, available here, under diym netlabel. An interactive net radio station, a hodgepodge of made-it-in-the-bedroom musicians, a DIY label, a free download— does it get anymore grassroots? Industrial soundscapes (“Prelude” by DateMonthYear) sit cozily next to Black Flag-meets-The Cars basement rock (“Good at Night” by Bill Strange); the chaotically cool electronica of deadcat (“C11H16BrNO2”) arrives just a few songs away from the rustic psalm of Project Bluebird’s “Once in the Forest.”

There are too many individual moments to cover comprehensively, but the gross effect of all these styles together under one roof is almost subliminal. Brokenkites’ meditative, pulsing dream track “Silent Sun I” plays like a soundtrack for a nighttime walk in a city with which you’re unfamiliar. Brunk’s track “hank and I were just bored” has a loungy, existential vibe, playing over a looped sample of a man and a woman having a conversation about sex. It’s sort of Portishead, sort of…not. Moya’s “Die Hard” is a psychedelic piano-and-guitar piece that plays out like a desert hallucination, gradually rising in intensity until a snarling guitar coda releases the tension (this track would find itself right at home in a Quentin Tarantino movie). Tom Peel’s “I’m Pretty Sure It’s Something” is a beatific and contemplative song about the ebb and flow of life on Earth, using the moon as its primary metaphor. Awaycaboose’s “Lullaby for Navidson” is appropriately haunting, a couple of ominous notes woven over top of a barely-there growl. But of all the unconventional songs in the collection, it’s Pete Davis’ slightly less adventurous “Fool” that sets itself apart— a brief, banjo-driven squall of layered vocals and taut songwriting, “Fool” absolutely soars. Davis manages to sound like ten people in one body, all of them gifted.

The unifying characteristic of all these songs– some fun, some cerebral, some just strange– is that they exist due to a labor of love; there’s little doubt that “established” acts also love their work, but there is an endearing purity to this collection that elevates it. One is no curiosity; it’s the natural collapse of barriers. These people are unafraid to experiment, and to do it on their own– following their intuition, creating music from a place of feeling and emotion. There’s little chance such a recording would fail to be compelling.

The free download is available here.

Track List:

1. My Life – Matthew That
2. Prelude – DateMonthYear
3. Good at Night – Bill Strange
4. Carry Them – Aloe Up
5. Silent Sun I – Brokenkites
6. Les Absents – Joe Jack Wagner
7. Fool – Pete Davis
8. Demo II – Solarein
9. hank and I were just bored – Brunk
10. Cosmic Interference – Joanofarke
11. shadows on the carpet – EL Heath
12. Once in the Forest – Project Bluebird
13. Die Hard – Moya
14. The Other Side – The Peach Tree
15. Kissing Your Beetle Bloodied Lips – Speculativism
16. I’m Pretty Sure It’s Something – Tom Peel
17. Sh0tSignal – SilverlagE
18. Sympathy – Terry Springford
19. Lost Subway Wind – Wolfframe
20. C11H16BrNO2 – deadcat
21. automat#1 – Elektrolandmusik
22. Bruno the Songdog – Kissing Zebra Jones
23. Lullaby for Navidson – awaycaboose
24. Hope Has Taken Me – Jason Silver
25. 06:06 a.m. – Greate world in g – psyPi!!Z
26. jukebox gemini girl – Fili O (so cool)
27. A Toast – Dan Masquelier