Strike the Root: Lessig & ccMixter Release New Concept Album

Nov. 17, 2011 - PRLog -- Lawrence Lessig is leading the movement to get money out of politics through a new rootstriking organization, United Republic. The 'Strike the Root' concept album raises a community of voices to that cause.  With original music from Lessig and some of the most renowned artists of ccMixter.org, 'Strike the Root' features fifteen prolific songs expressing views on political corruption strangling the world economy.  

ccMixter.org produced more than 100 original songs in less than one month for the Strike the Root Remix Project – all open-source, all under creative commons license. In addition to a call to remix spoken word from Professor Lessig, artists were encouraged to create poetry, songs and samples inspired by Henry David Thoreau's words, “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.”

"We will only find the root through collaboration and remix,” said Lessig. “Let this be the start." Professor Lessig co-founded ccMixter.org, now acclaimed as one of the top five free music sites on the web. This closely knit international music community features all original music and 'Strike the Root' is the fifth concept album created by ccMixter in the last two years.

Lessig has joined forces with with MSNBC’s host Dylan Ratigan’s “Get Money Out” campaign with their new organization called United Republic, aimed at restoring power over American politics and government to the people, rooting out the political bribery that has been legalized by the courts, and has co-opted by both political parties. The 'Strike the Root' album is an example of the power of collaboration and creative expression of the people.

“Through this project, we learned many people in our community have been impacted by the rampant corruption in our financial and political sectors,” remarked Snowflake, ccMixter artist. “This collective music project exposes the roots of our souls and the painful irony of our personal experiences in today's plutocracy. And while we've been beaten down by the scruples of a few, the voices of the many are finally sharing their stories, connecting hopeful hearts around the world.”

The 'Strike the Root' album can be downloaded in CD-quality by contributing membership to TuneTrack.net, the sister site of ccMixter.org. 'Strike the Root' is also available as a physical CD Artbook, featuring original artwork and lyrics in a new format. Signed copies of the 'Strike the Root' album will be available at Professor Lessig's Rootstrikers speaking engagements. Donations for the album are shared between the contributing artists and the nonprofits United Republic and ccMixter.org.

To listen to Strike the Root visit http://tunetrack.net/ccmixter/releases/strike-the-root/. For more information about United Republic, visit http://unitedrepublic.org/.

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ArtisTech Media is a next generation music label that aggressively embraces technology - in order to create a richer musical experience for both creator and listener. ArtisTech Media operates the sites ccMixter.org and TuneTrack.net.