hsmusic-wiki/data/groups.txt

Category: HSMusic
Color: #0088ff
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Group: Official
URLs:
- https://homestuck.bandcamp.com/music
Description:
    Albums released on Homestuck's official Bandcamp: the canon foundational to and long inspiring its massive fan community.
    <hr class="split">
    Coinciding (probably coincidentally) with the launch of <a href="https://homestuck2.com/">Homestuck^2</a>, on 25 October 2019 (10/25, a.k.a. [[flash:4109]] Day), the majority of then-released Homestuck albums were combined and re-released as compilation albums. (<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/homestuck/comments/dn0jo6/bandcamp_just_rereleased_a_bunch_of_albums_with/">Source!</a>)
    Undeniably, this was a practical move for those new to the discography, or looking to complete a collection, since the compiled albums were also considerably reduced in price. However, much was lost in terms of presentation: besides the cover arts of merged album releases being dropped due to the nature of the format, much more mysteriously vanished were <i>all</i> track art!
    No official word was given regarding purposes for this distancing, but the consequences were clear: these compilations were the future; fan-contributed track art would be left in the past.
    With no ill intent towards those in charge of managing the Bandcamp, we (alongside many fans) found this disheartening, and more than a little disrespectful towards the effort and creativity of the fans responsible for the wonderful gallery of art created for Homestuck's expansive discography. So, when official decisions baffled, fans took action and tried something different; <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/homestuck/comments/dwtc4w/i_made_a_wiki_for_homestuck_albums_including/">we released the Homestuck Music Wiki for the first time</a> on 15 November 2019, just three weeks after the Bandcamp restructure.
    Since then, we've been working with a variety of community members (listeners and musicians alike!) to improve and expand the wiki ever further; today, we hope it stands both a practical resource and a celebratory testament to the history - and future - of Homestuck music!
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Group: Fandom
Description:
    Albums created by the Homestuck fan community, released independently.
    <hr class="split">
    The fandom of Homestuck has been creating music since before Homestuck's own conception (<a href="track/problem-sleuth-theme/">yes, really!</a>); originally sharing music around the (now-defunct) MSPA Forums via Tindeck (also defunct), learning musicians would practice their skills writing tunes and sharing them with community members. Andrew Hussie would call for contributors to an official soundtrack for the comic (which would, of course, set the scenery for Homestuck's <a href="flash/">revered Flash animations</a>); musicians would share their work, and the best were picked to join a group known as the Homestuck Music Team. And all the while, fans kept writing, collaborating, and sharing their own music.
    The first album to find a distinctly <i>unofficial</i> album release was [[album:homestuck-for-the-holidays]]; it was a Christmas-themed album put together by members of the Homestuck Music Team, released to a new Bandcamp, <a href="https://homestuckgaiden.bandcamp.com/">Homestuck Gaiden</a>, on 25 December 2010. Half a year later, this would become the home for an altogether new idea, pioneered by [[artist:elaine-wang]]: the Homestuck <i>fan-album</i>.
    (That story is really hers to tell, and that she did in the introduction to the [[album:lofam]] booklet. Give it a visit!)
    With the ball now rolling, fan musicians were creating and collaborating more than ever before; now they weren't just making music for themselves and for each other, to be shared on only a single colossal forum thread - their music would have a home!
    The community grew ever stronger and larger from there, and the albums below are just a portion of the result. With a fair amount of luck, this wiki has come to be a second home for the albums we share; we encourage you to explore: delve deep, find yourself lost, and discover something new!
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Category: Fan-musician groups
Color: #ffec14
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Group: Casual Sunday
URLs:
- https://casualsunday.bandcamp.com/
Description:
    <i>"people who have made music by themselves and who are just now figuring out how to do it with other people.<br>we're still learning"</i>
    <hr class="split">
    Artists primarily from the Homestuck Music Team, now doing their own thing as a collaborative group.
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Group: Unofficial MSPA Fans
URLs:
- https://unofficialmspafans.bandcamp.com/
Description:
    The eventual merger of a variety of earlier groups, the Unofficial MSPA Fans (UMSPAF) are the musicians behind a diverse selection of Homestuck fan albums.
    <hr class="split">
    Their group page on HSMusic also contains releases from <a href="https://homestuckgaiden.bandcamp.com/">Homestuck Gaiden</a>, an early home on Bandcamp for albums not officially associated with Homestuck by the webcomic's author.
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Category: Projects beyond Homestuck
Color: #32c7fe
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Group: The Genesis Project
URLs:
- https://genesis-project.bandcamp.com/
- https://genesis-project-news.tumblr.com/
- https://www.sburb.me/
Description:
    A Unity-based game project made by a team of Homestuck fans to replicate Sburb.
    <hr>
    Quoting its official site, The Genesis Project is...
    <blockquote>...from a 2.5d perspective, with RPG mechanics. There’s a big focus on character customization, short play sessions that allow you to explore all options in game, and playing with others through a multiplayer system.</blockquote>
    While still in development, it's completely free to <a href="https://www.sburb.me/download/">download</a> and play on any common OS!
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Group: INHOSPITABLE
URLs:
- https://twitter.com/INHOSPITABLE_
- https://inhospitable.net/
Description:
    <i>"Into the static. Don't touch that remote."</i>
    <hr class="split">
    A webcomic by [[artist:nuclear]] that's been in development since 2016. The first two existing episodes are currently being recreated; in the meanwhile, <a href="https://inhospitable.net/lore/log">lore files</a> are being aired to introduce readers to the world.
    The only album currently released, [[album:inhospitable-delisted]], is a re-listing of the 2017 album <i>INHOSPITABLE Vol. 1</i>, but more is still to come!
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Group: Oceanfalls
URLs:
- https://nightslights.bandcamp.com/
- https://www.patreon.com/oceanfalls
- https://oceanfalls.net/
Description:
    A scrapped game project turned into a webcomic, created by [[artist:nights]].
    <hr class="split">
    One of many webcomics drawing early inspiration from Homestuck and the MSPA format, Oceanfalls stands out for being a totally distinct story from the world of Homestuck and SBURB, and it has its own community of fan musicians and artists contributing to its album-spanning soundtrack!
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Group: UNDERTALE & DELTARUNE
URLs:
- https://tobyfox.bandcamp.com/
- https://undertale.com/
- https://www.deltarune.com/
Description:
    <i>"The role-playing game where you don't have to kill anyone!"</i>
    <hr class="split">
    Besides being an acclaimed game with its own much-deserved passionate fanbase, the soundtrack of UNDERTALE - single-handedly composed by [[artist:toby-fox]], who also developed the game largely on his own - is well recognized for its extensive use of leitmotifs. Musical themes are reused all throughout the soundtrack; several have even made their way beyond their original context and been referenced by fan musicians in their own Homestuck tracks!
    DELTARUNE is Toby Fox's current project, a continuation of sorts set in an alternate reality; the first chapter has been released for free, and the remaining chapters (and their soundtrack) will be released as a set when the game is complete.
    Much as Homestuck's discography helped foster a community of creation and collaboration, the music and reach of UNDERTALE and DELTARUNE have inspired countless up-and-coming musicians to create remixes and delve into music creation with their own talents and ideas.