For 500 years, human beings had an interruption in the way they communicated by physically printing things. Eventually, they physically printed original recorded music. They (and their record label masters) were able to sell their music for money. They could then use that money to: make more music, buy onto tours, advertise, create merchandise, and generally survive. The record labels could use some of the extra money to invest in the next thing, and for a time it was good. Then the digital revolution came, ending that very brief 500 year period now known as the Gutenberg Parenthesis. (Yes, we have slipped back into our more primative tribal roots.) Somewhere along the way, original music was mostly left in the dust. A few things still squeaked through by catering to a predictable audience, or having the capital needed beforehand to spread a suggestive word that this is a thing you should be supporting. The last remnants of successful musicians from the end of the Parenthesis were able to somewhat sustain themselves by charging 10 times more for concert tickets; supply and demand. But everyone new could tell that small window of actual music sales was over, as was the opportunity for growth. (2000 streams = 1 album). It was around that time that most musicians took the easy route and just started doing covers on youtube, no point in putting the effort into writing your own stuff anymore afterall.
We are not those people. We are the last of the survivors and witnesses of the Parenthesis bearing a newer project. And we plan to tell our story by doing exactly what we shouldn't, writing original music. Our new album, "The Maid And The Blacksmith", vows to tell our preapocalyptic tale, back in the days of vhs tapes, and mtv with actual music, when 8bit graphics were cutting edge and not trendy retro throwback nostalgia. It's the story of when kids used to sit and listen to music, whole albums at a time, and just stare at the lyrics *printed on the little accompanying booklet, and dare to think and to dream, "I want to do this someday." Little did they know they would be obsolete before "someday" would have a chance to come.
It's a very interesting concept to consider, and here we were writing about it for our second album this whole time for the last 3 years. You never understand the times you are in to be an "era" until afterward. Much like the renaissance was not called that until looked back at in a retrospective observation.
Here is a wonderfully well written article that explains the Gutenberg Parenthesis a bit more in depth:
https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-snapchat-and-the-dawn-of-the-post-truth-era/