"A stunning hommage to a file format."
New York Times

"MIDI music - if would only have known this."
Michael Jackson

"The waiting has come to an end."
Tracky Birthday

"Working with and loving limitations, say cheese!!!"
Manuel Buerger

Manuel Buerger, an artist of small penis and huge mind, created a tragic story about our daily life. The business man and his dreams of being a adventurer.

His "WWW.THEMIDIOPERA.NET" is released on Shalom Salon and comes along with Shalom Salon's first ever compilation to honor and promote musical composition in MIDI format.

And we want you to join this conceptional piece in a pioneer on-line publishing stunt, where we fight against the limitations of WEB 2.0 standards on a broad scale.

Word from the author

The MIDI file is on its way out. MIDI file music played by an inbuilt synthesizer of your computer is perceived by many as annoying, cheap-sounding and very cheesy. Even though MIDI file sizes are tiny and provide a perfect opportunity to play music on the web, they vanish. Furthermore, latest electronical devices ignore the .mid format - the iPhone doesn't play MIDI files at all. The simplicity of MIDI files, their unique sound and the idea of interpretation didn't catch many partisans... especially after mp3 and audio compression conquered the broadband web of today.

This MIDI Opera is a little homage to the MIDI file format. Due to its limitation composing songs with the MIDI synthesizer of my laptop was always an attraction to me. The sequencer software is simple, and cheesy melodies are clicked within a second. After clicking S-T-A-R-T you'll find a compilation of songs squeezed into a little story about Gérald Midi, a hard working businessman, who is caught in his dreams of a colorful, exciting life. Maybe similar dreams are shared by MIDI files themselves as well.

Call for Interpretations

"The MIDI Opera" is composition and interpretation at the same time, were the perception of sound quality depends on the listener's computer configuration. Shalom Salon will publish a remix compilation of this opera to demonstrate the variety and greatness of MIDI file music and archive these tracks for future generations. "Go with the flow of the tight kick as beats and catchy melodies, or jump onto the conceptional branch of this awesome mind-twister". This is how it goes:

1. Remix a part of the opera. Mostly welcome are interpretations that keep the MIDI format through the whole process. Therefore download the midi files here or on the Shalom Salon website

2. Record your scores in wav/mp3 format and take a picture of your remixing enviroment. Send it to Shalom Salon.