There was a configuration issue with my hosting company involving a domain which I had let expire as I wasn’t using it. Turns out that domain was the tiny thing holding everything together. Oops! It looks like we’re back, though.

Part of the reason for starting Coraspect was to distract myself from the dread I was experiencing under the first term of the current President. It was an opportunity for me to help put some good energy out into the world, as well as a chance to put my talents and abilities to work to fulfill the dream of releasing a professionally-made physical album for a promising talent who may not have the means to do so themselves.

2026 was the year that the wall of separation between Coraspect and State was breached. The tariffs threw everything into question and resulted in my having to make a decision to shelve several physical releases. I had no idea whether physical media would be affected, and if so, by how much. I already operate Coraspect on the barest of shoestring budgets. Coraspect is not a profitable label, but it hasn’t had to be, as I’ve been able to put most of my discretionary income into it. Also, over the course of working with many American and non-American manufacturing plants, I’ve developed long-standing business relationships with plants in the UK, Taiwan and China precisely because they have been able to consistently deliver physical releases for me with consistent quality. If tariffs were going to affect LPs, cassettes, and CDs, then the tariffs would affect the US companies as well, since they would have to pay tariffs on the raw materials needed to make them. “Memory Eternal IV” was the last physical release so far this year because it was the last order placed before tariffs went into effect.

The separation was also breached because the senseless and deliberate cruelty of the Administration has been so constant and relentless this time, and it has taken a serious toll on me mentally this year. The name “Coraspect” is a portmanteau of the words “core” and “aspect” – the Core Aspect being empathy. It has always been my goal to reflect the same positivity that drew me into this scene to begin with. The point of the cruelty is to make a person feel helpless and hopeless, but it has also made my autistic brain repeatedly ask me, “Why would anyone want this?” It threw me into a deep pit of depression this year and has been entirely responsible for my absence online for most of this year.

I’ve been slowly resurfacing over the past couple weeks, encouraged by the news that physical media appears to be exempt from the tariffs. This is such good news. I’m moving forward with some short-run LP releases I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. Most of these are going to be short runs of 50 to 100. Some of these are albums I’ve been asked about a lot. I plan to get some of them submitted for manufacturing before the end of the year, so that I will have them in stock and available when they’re announced.

I’m also thinking about doing some white-label releases. This would be an extremely cost-effective way to get out titles at an affordable price, and if there’s a way to get something on vinyl, I want to try to do it.

I’m also going to be starting a second label in 2026. This label will be for other things I want to release which sit outside the traditional Future Funk/NuDisco/Vaporwave/Synthwave focus of Coraspect. I anticipate that some of the releases will be fairly niche, but they will all share a common thread in that I want a copy of it in my personal library (and have ascertained that others do as well).

But back to the original thought: You can’t be an authentic person and an expertly-curated brand; it can’t be done. Coraspect is me. What you get is me. I’m an old man by the scene’s standards, and in a sense, I have felt (in mentally stronger days) like a sort of silent guardian, wanting to make sure things stayed positive. I’m hopeful, even in my current pessimism for the world.

I’ve had an idea in my head for a very long time – that of music being a spiritual force in and of itself. I’ve realized that the time I spend working in a record store in the 80s, the time I’ve spent crouched over a crate of vinyl in a record store or stall, in eager anticipation of what surprises may await me. Attending a live performance or an incredibly good DJ set, and feeling utterly transported. Assembling a digital master recording into a physical format – the music made flesh, if you would – and sending it out into the world has provided a far richer sense of ‘spiritual’ service than any I spent in church, and a lot of what I did feel in those services was largely due to the music. When I pack orders, I often wonder where it’s going. I’ve sent orders out to all but two continents, and that just blows my mind.

So keeping Coraspect going for me feels like something I need to keep doing, and I can’t see myself not doing it. The challenges are daunting – particularly in this era of AI. There is one Coraspect release which had an AI-generated cover, but the music had been approved previously, and due to personal health issues which pushed against the announced release date, I hadn’t examined the as closely as I normally do before approving it for manufacturing. This will not happen again: I will exercise due diligence to make sure that any musician indicate which, if any AI tools they used. Using a tool to enhance the audio quality of a sample or to fix an audio glitch is acceptable; generating songs from prompts is not. I have used the tools in Photoshop to extend the edges of a piece of cover art to the bleed-area, to upscale, or to smooth out imperfections in submitted artwork. This will be indicated on applicable releases going forward.

I feel a responsibility to you all, since you’ve all shown such love and acceptance from the beginning. Art is going to be increasingly under attack by political forces in this country, and at the risk of sounding hyperbolic, that’s why it’s more important than ever to stand in its defense. Music can give us the ability to breathe in the good, breathe out the bad, clear our heads, and give us the energy to get through another day.

I have a lot of big ideas for next year, but they depend on the state of the economy and let’s be honest, my mental health. I don’t want to do what I usually do and announce something that I’m not able to follow through on. But I’m determined to keep going, by whatever means necessary. There are some things I have wanted to do with the label since Day One, and I want to add those to the list.

I’ve gotten to the age where I feel I’m allowed to be a bit more eccentric, and as another birthday opens up even more senior discounts, everyone in this scene has kept me alive where I may not have wanted to be otherwise. Even when my depression made me do the wrong thing and close myself off rather than reach out, I still knew you were all there.

I’ve never stayed devoted to one particular passion project this long in my entire life. Nothing apart from my daughter has ever meant this much to me. I still feel like there’s a lot of work left to do, and I want to keep helping for as long as my body permits.

Thanks for putting up with this old man. I love you all.
Alan