Farewell, REDEFINE. It’s Been Real. (2004-2016)

In the same way that my 13-year-old self once fretted over who might eventually receive my postcard collection when I passed away (morbid, I know), a younger adult me used to wonder what it might look like when this day came, and how I would be certain that it had come.

But today — on my 33rd birthday and at the tail-end of one hell of a rollercoaster year — I feel less sad than emboldened by a shifting sense of personal and social responsibility when I say:

Thank you for more than 12 years of readership and collaboration. <3
2016 is the last year REDEFINE magazine will be published.

When I started REDEFINE in 2004, the world was a different beast. We all knew technology, and we knew the internet, but we didn’t KNOW technology or KNOW the internet. At least, not as the entities which would shape our societies into the sci-fi cyborgs our individual selves are likely to eventually become. 😛

I could harp on how much that has affected the shifting media landscape, as I did in 2012, when REDEFINE was rebranded to critique arts journalism from a more social justice vantage point… but that conversation has already been had and, frankly, is constantly being had within our private hearts of hearts, every single time we stream music from Spotify or donate money to tastemaker radio stations, or even just mull over the once taboo concept of “selling out”.

We could mourn it, I guess, and on some days, I do. But the world doesn’t need to be crippled by mourning. It needs more action, more justice.

And with that… while I encourage artists and creators who still find art to be their way to passionately fight the good fight… the time has come for me to move away from arts journalism to more direct activism.

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Endless thanks and hugs to our readers over the 12+ years, creators who have offered endless inspiration, venues that have hosted our baller ass events (Holocene and House of Commons, especially), record labels and publicists that have come or gone, and all the other partners, collaborators, and participants in the complex music and art ecosystem — especially the unsung heroes who are happy to help sustain it despite seeing very little of its glitter and glam. You and your work are so, so appreciated.

And lastly, the REDEFINE staff. You have been some of the warmest, most dedicated, and genuine folks I have ever worked with, and REDEFINE would literally have been nothing without you. Thank you for being respective of deadlines, of critical thought, and of the value of not only quality art, but quality arts journalism… even when only being paid pennies. (Or early on, nothing at all.) 😀

I couldn’t be more proud of the content that we have created, especially in the past five years. Truly.

Still, I can’t sugarcoat that I don’t think 2017 is gonna be a better year. It’s shaping out to be pretty darn crappy. But how we react to tangible threats as well as existential crises is something we can all do better. Let’s REDEFINE “being human” as being more compassionate, supportive, and community-oriented than feels comfortable… so that we will make hope within that desire for hope.

“As a bee seeks nectar from all kind of flowers, seek teachings
everywhere. Like a deer that finds a quiet place to graze, seek seclusion
to digest all that you have gathered. Like a madman beyond all limits, go
wherever you please and live like a lion completely free of all fear.”

– Ancient Tibetan text (via Ron Brezney’s Free Will Astrology)

Below, you will find a small portion of our content through the years, and most articles from the print versions prior to 2008 have not been posted online. Nevertheless, enjoy the overview. This site will remain archived and intact for the foreseeable forever-future.

Much love. Much peace.

Vivian Hua
Editor-in-Chief, REDEFINE
(May 2004 – December 2016)

“Music is the art of the intonated sense; the sound, the groan, the cry and the song where the aural quintessence of the spiritual world of human beings. The aura that personifies sound is transparent through timbre and tone, envelops and tightens the other side of sound, the space of meanings and feelings.” – Sainkho Namtchylak, on Tuvan throatsinging

“For me, my individual works are those emotions via the music. The exploring, the playing, and the transmission… I transmit what I perceive, and then somebody, the listener, receives that transmission. It feels a bit preposterous to say that, but still, it is. I capture. I’m an antenna. I’m an area. I receive, I capture, I translate, I play, I record — then it’s the listener.” – Ariel Kalma

“We were… thinking about the ‘undifferentiated unconscious’ – something which manifests itself in any work and gives you this overwhelming sensation of eternal space being reconstituted. This quality, however you want to describe it, is something we’re very much attracted to and something that appears ubiquitously in the natural world.” – Melati Melay, Young Magic

“I am a devotee of letting nocturnal dreams / daydreams guide you when looking for inspiration. I am most interested in those moments where intuition is free.” – Christelle Gualdi, Stellar OM Source

“What’s important is being a good person and tending your own garden as responsibly as you can.” – Benoit Pioulard, ORCAS

“I see a lot of similarities between fascinating engineering and fascinating art. Both have to do with craftsmanship; both have to do with finding a simple solution for a complex problem. And it has to do with elegance and needs inspiration.” – Robert Henke

“Everything you lose you can either try to recreate and get back or just let go and start anew.” – Michael Silver, CFCF

“A lot of my songwriting comes from a desire to open myself up to nature and the universe, experiences with love, my subconscious, childhood memories, imagination and various cocktails of each.” – Christopher Lynch, Gardens & Villa

“Selling art doesn’t bother me. Making insipid, vacuous art bothers me. The cult of personality bothers me especially because I feel as though I have very little to offer. I’m a bad self-promoter, and I’m constantly reminded of how bad a trait that is for an artist to have.” – Jeremy Greenspan, Junior Boys

“There is a kind of sense of falling backward that I think the songs conjure. Or blindly driving your car into a wall. A sense of sadness in all the amazing things in the world.” – Ben Shemie, SUUNS

“It’s hard; I want to live my life and have money, but it’s good to… question yourself… like, ‘Am I giving back enough?’ or, ‘Am I doing enough?'” – Merrill Garbus, tUnE-yArDs

Visual Artist Features & Interviews