cdr

Depending on who you ask, it's either getting easier or harder to get your music heard nowadays: you can upload a song onto the internet in seconds, but when 20 zillion people are doing the same thing, how are you supposed to get your ideas heard?

Give thanks, then, for Tony Nwachukwu and Gavin Alexander- two disgustingly well-connected music fanatics who not only care about ideas, they care about your ideas and want to hear them. Their monthly clubnight, 'the night of ideas' they call CDR, has been running for 7 years now. The concept is simple: you burn one of your beat creations onto CD and head down to Plastic People in Shoreditch, east London. You hand in your CD to them and experience the joy of having your music played on one of the best sound systems in the world. Yes, that's right, it's a clubnight of original music, fresh from the bedrooms of London and wherever else its audience descends from.

Speaking from his home in east London, Tony Nwachukwu knows plenty about the trials and tribulations of pursuing a career in music. During our conversation it transpires that the birth of CDR itself was, in fact, his way of channeling the frustrations he experienced during his stint producing for Attica Blues in the '90s.

'After we'd [Attica Blues] been dropped by Sony, after spending a lot of time making the second album, and the album not really receiving the support it deserved, it put a lot strain on us as a band. As with all artists, if you make a record and it doesn't achieve what you intend, obviously you're going to question how it was marketed, but ultimately what you're going to ask yourself is "was it us?", do you know what I mean? We kind of stopped working together and took an open sabbatical, which, ten years down the line, is still the case. So at that point I kind of asked myself "okay, what makes me happy?". And what makes me happy is to explore my own creativity in terms of my passion for making records, but I felt at the time I was burnt out by the whole "industry thing". So I wanted to create a platform where it wasn't about industry, just about people, and ideas. So CDR was my reaction to my experiences. I feel it's important for human beings to have a sense of growth and development. That's what the focus should be- on people's confidence building and creative journeys. It's an opportunity for people to share, grow and evolve.'

So, unencumbered by preconceptions or industry restrictions, Nwachukwu and Alexander went back to basics and took their concept out into the real world to see what would happen. Nwachukwu still counts that first event as one of the highlights of the last 7 years:

'It was at the Embassy Bar in November 2002. CDR was literally just an idea. And I really wanted to do it. So I did a few flyers and called a few mates up who make music. And then that night I burnt a few tracks from my laptop that I was working on- and that was my DJ set. The fact that I was playing my own music was one high. But then the biggest high was that the room was a combination of people who had heard about it and friends who make music. The playlist was all new music. I just had a big smile on my face and I said "this could work". It was a new playlist that was totally unique. I was like "this is amazing, totally amazing"(laughs)'

The idea certainly did work. 7 years later, it's still going strong, and Nwachukwu and Alexander count Floating Points, Simbad, Mr Beatnick and Bullion amongst its many alumni. In March this year they even took their circus of beatmakers to Tate Britain, where ecstatic attendees were treated to the surreal spectacle of cutting edge electronic music being performed amongst classic 18th century paintings (see here if that sounds too far-fetched). In August they also ran the first 'CDR Knowledge' event, where 3 lauded producers demonstrated their production methods to a packed out audience at Rivington Place.

As we approach the end of 2009 the CDR boys are focusing on where next to take their project. A tour of the UK is being planned, as well as events in Europe and even Australia. There's even talk of developing their 'strategically minimalist' website. After doing this for so long though, can they really enjoy it as much as they did at the beginning? Nwachukwu's response is emphatic:

'Most definitely. I really do [enjoy it as much]. I really look forward to the chaos (laughs). I don't know who's going to come, I don't know what's going to be played. Obviously we have a staple group of producers who come every month religiously and have done for years, which is beautiful, but we always get a quality mix of new music, which is brilliant. And I know how to programme the night and the music. It's a wonderful thing.'

CDR happens on the first Thursday of every month. Burn your song onto a CD, splash some water on your face, and head down to the crepuscular DJ booth at Plastic People, for the price of precisely zero pounds. You'll be met with a warm handshake and a friendly enquiry from the avuncular hosts.

Welcome to the family.

What you need to know:

-CDR is at Plastic People, 147-149 CurtainRoad, London, EC2
-9pm- 2am, tracks must be submitted by 10.30
-Entry is free.
-check out http://burntprogress.tumblr.com/ for details and updates.
-Tony Nwachukwu also makes great music. Check it out here and make sure you hassle him to do something with his beats: http://www.myspace.com/tonynwachukwu