We detail our favorite NFTs, DAOs, platforms, and DeFi and DApp projects in the Web3 space from last week.
This week’s Web3 Wrap includes the fifth XLR8R+ NFT package, featuring music, art, and editorial from Nairobi, Kenya, an 80 artist “headless band” called Chaos, Decentralized Audio Workstation Floppy’s beta launch, Tamago’s NEAR wallet integration, IMS Ibiza’s Web3 and metaverse day, and more.
Check it all out below.
XLR8R Releases the Fourth NFT Edition of XLR8R+
Last week, XLR8R released the latest edition of XLR8R+ (XLR8R+037), the fifth XLR8R+ edition to be minted and available as an NFT.
The art for this month’s edition, a beautifully realized package of music, art, and editorial from Nairobi, Kenya, featuring Jinku, Nv Funk, and RVMP, was created by Jebet Naava, a self-taught visual artist based in Nairobi. The artwork draws influence from her Nairobi home and the music presented in the package, which are vibrant and transcendental beatscapes full of immersive atmospheres.
As is the case every month, the NFT includes a locked download of the edition’s exclusive content, which includes six previously unreleased tracks, an Ableton project file of the package’s lead track, and a bespoke PDF zine with art, design, artist profiles, and a track breakdown interview to go along with the Ableton project.
The NFT is claimable exclusively by XLR8R+ subscribers.
You can find more information on the edition and package here, or subscribe here to claim the NFT.
80 Artists Converge to Create Chaos, a “Headless Band”
Camp Chaos, a group of 80 artists from around the world, have announced the release plans and structure for the music NFTs created by the group.
Announced back in March, Camp Chaos is the third camp out of the Songcamp ecosystem, and is an “8-week experiment in collective creation amongst 80 artists — a rambunctious group of musicians, designers, storytellers, engineers and operatives.” There are 45 musicians, nine visual artists, six engineers, five radio producers, three economists, two lore masters, and seven operatives helping realize the project.
Over the eight-week duration of the camp, the 45 musicians will create 45 songs. The eight weeks will be split into two-week blocks called Acts, during which a new band of musicians will be formed from the 45, starting and finishing a song from scratch before forming a new band of three for the next two weeks (Act). The bands fall under one of three Houses and each house also includes what the group is referring to as Alchemists.
In the last Act, the 50 records will be “mastered, paired with cover artwork, and encased into NFTs.” 5000 NFT packs will be made available, with each pack containing four music NFTs. This is where it gets interesting (in case your mind wasn’t already spinning). Pack collectors have two choices: open the pack, which burns the pack token and mints four individual song tokens; or keep your pack closed and therefore in “mint condition.” Collectors of unopened packs will be unable to hear the songs enclosed in the packs, as the songs are only “chosen” at the time of opening. Some songs will be rarer to mint than others, too.
Each cover artwork will be generative, meaning each artwork will be unique to every edition minted.
The Chaos NFT project will be deployed to Ethereum Mainnet in May, with more details arriving in May, too.
You can read more about the project here in a fascinating essay.
Tamago Launches In-App NEAR Wallet
Decentralized audio streaming platform Tamago has added a native NEAR wallet to its app.
The in-app wallet will allow artist’s to sell downloadable content, setting their own price for exclusive offerings such as songs, limited edition edits, samples, and more. Artists will also be able to send funds to other artist wallets, opening up community exchange possibilities.
Since its launch in March, Tamago has on-boarded over 500 artists and 700 tracks, which have amassed streams of over 40,000 minutes. Artists have also received over $20,000 in payouts, which have been realized from event fees and “Top of the Chart” liquidity pools.
Tamago was founded by electronic producer, artist, and developer Clarian and currently features music from Turbo Records founder Tiga, Detroit’s Visionquest, Jay Tripwire, RUMORS head Guy Gerber, Mikey Lion, and Clarian himself, among many others.
You can check out Tamago here.
Audius, MODA DAO, Richie Hawtin, Deadmau5, Friends With Benefits, and More Feature at IMS Ibiza’s Web3 and Metaverse Day
Yesterday, International Music Summit (IMS) in Ibiza presented the Future Of Music: WEB3 & Metaverse Day.
The day, which was run in partnership with PIXELYNX, RCRDSHP, Sensorium, Eq Exchange, and Celo, featured panel discussions, presentations, and, most interestingly, a beginner’s guide clinic. IMS pulled in some of the Web3 space’s leading artists, including Richie Hawtin, Blond:ish, and Deadmau5, plus brands, platforms, and communities such as Audius, Coachella, EQ Exchange, Friends With Benefits, MODA DAO, The Sandbox, and more.
According to the press release, the main theme that emerged on the day was “how these new technologies will cut out the traditional intermediaries in the music industry between artists and fans, whether that’s centralized streaming services or record labels.” The disparity between music revenue and gaming was also an area discussed, a gap that speakers think NFTs and the metaverse may help bridge.
A few cautionary warnings were put forth during the day, including looking out for bad actors working in the largely unregulated space, finding working standards that fit your own, and managing your mental health in regards to the pressure of constantly delivering to fans.
You can find out more on IMS here.
Floppy Releases Private Beta
Floppy, a Decentralized Audio Workstation (DAW) and First Person Sampler (FPS), has released its private beta product.
The private beta was launched earlier this week to a limited number of users (those wishing to try it out can find details on Floppy’s Twitter), allowing the beta testers access to the innovative product.
Floppy utilizes a vintage-styled UI with blockchain technology to deliver a fun and—promisingly—powerful music-making experience. The platform features artist created and curated sample packs, which can be used in a “First Person Sampler” via sequencers and in-app triggers. The sample pack creators are rewarded with tokens for adding to the platform and allowing public beat makers to use their work.
Music made on the platform can then be minted and sold on the platform’s native NFT marketplace, Crate. To mint a track, users will need to burn a “White Label” token, which in turn mints a “Dubplate” token of the recording and cover art. Every “Dubplate” token will be listed on the Crate marketplace and can be auctioned off by its owner and listened to by users.
Floppy notes that the platform will be “Splice, meets Bandcamp, with a custom metaverse MPC (CPU) to help you get from point A to B.”
You can read more about the platform plans here.
What to Join and Who to Follow:
Karma.wav: Web3 artist, Songcamp alum, and current Headless Chaos member.
Logos DAO: a collective and resource for DAOs.
Beat Foundry: on-chain curated generative music.
Future Tape: a Web3 music player created by Hype Machine’s Anthony V.