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Derek Webb SOLA-MI Information

A note to my regular blog readers: This has nothing to do with my blog; it’s just a convenient place for me to post this. What follows is a compilation of everything that has been gathered about Derek Webb’s new website, www.sola-mi.com, a puzzle he is developing through the web perhaps revealing clues about an upcoming album. Feel free to participate in the hunt; you might really enjoy it!

Note: Due to the massive amount of information now involved, I’ve split this summary into two separate pages. Information leading up to the launch of the website and the “pre-puzzle” is now available here.

I’m attempting to list everything chronologically. If you have any additional information, feel free to leave a comment or contact me via Twitter.

5/7/12

  • The SOLA-MI pre-puzzle (summary here) unlocked a new “state” of the SOLA-MI.com home page, displaying a picture that seems to faintly represent Josh Moore, Jeremy Cowart, and Derek. The image’s filename is WsTA4eypeK.jpg, and it is located in the /where folder. This is reflected in the log page Derek included in the SOLA-MI website.

    • The image has since been updated (complete with a new file name, mpZom7rGBl.jpg) to add the number “09” (see below) and an additional input box with a submit button. All results responded with “That is not real,” followed by “Return later with the real” after an excessive number of attempts.


    5/8/12

    • a new email arrived from SOLA-MI entitled “The Next Step,” the text of which is as follows:
    • Thank you for your interest in SOLA-MI.

      As you may have discovered, there is currently a question in need of an answer: What is the NEXUS?

      While the answer is very close, the next step is up to you.

    5/9/12

    • For a brief period of time, the bottom submit box was removed, with the message “Return later with the real” replacing it.
    • @solomonmente tweeted: In the City of Seven Hills. Not sure what to expect.
    • Three hours later, @officialsolami tweeted: I AM IN LYNCHBURG
      • Though Rome is usually known as the “city of seven hills,” Lynchburg, VA is also a city claimed to be built on seven hills.
    • The “09” on the sola-mi.com picture was replaced with “message sent” (see below) and the submit box has returned.

    • An email from SOLA-MI entitled “I AM IN LYNCHBURG” displays a picture of The Muse Coffee Company (see below).

    • In the coffee shop, a sign was posted with tear-off strips at the bottom:



    • The tear-off strip says “344314273996.” Inputting anything in the submit box now reveals an updated image (which firs happened when someone entered “344314273996,” allowing any text to unlock the new image), showing the “09” portion of the image and revealing a “10.” Because the date is May 9, it currently seems likely that another email and tweet will provide clues for the “10” portion on May 10.

    5/10/12

    • @officialsolami tweeted: I AM IN NASHVILLE
    • An email arrived shortly thereafter with the same subject heading, enclosing a picture of Fido (a coffee shop) in Nashville.

    • At Fido in Nashville, the following sign was discovered:

    20120510-152522.jpg

    • Similar to the last sign, this one has tear-off strips. This time the number is 593191491340.
    • The SOLA-MI website has now been updated to reveal the bottom-right corner of the image (where “10” was previously located), and an “11” in the bottom-left corner. This time, the file is named BeejFwc4Qe.jpg.


    5/11/12

    • @officialsolami tweeted: I AM IN NEW YORK
    • Shortly thereafter, an email arrived with the same subject line. It appears to show a church steeple and a round sign that says “BLEECKER.”

    • The sign in the picture is Bleecker Street Records, 239 Bleecker St # A, New York, NY 10014.
    • @officialsolami posted a follow-up tweet with a clearer picture:

    • The clue was apparently found as the SOLA-MI page was updated, but details about the clue (a picture of the sign, the number on it, etc.) have not been posted online at this time.

    R5YzPE8kf2.jpg
    5/12/12

    • @officialsolami tweeted: I AM IN SAINT LOUIS
    • An email with the same subject arrived shortly thereafter, leading to Kaldi’s in St. Louis.

    • The clue was found, revealing code 518467470238.

    St. Louis Clue

    • The SOLA-MI page has been updated to reveal a “14,” indicating that no clue will be posted on Sunday and the next one will come on Monday, May 14.

    5/14/12

    • @officialsolami tweeted: I AM IN PORTLAND
    • An email with the same subject arrived shortly thereafter, with a picture of a sign that says “Bridgeport,” leading to Bridgeport Brew in Portland, OR.

    • I received an email from someone who went to Bridgeport Brew looking for the clue and could not find it. According to an employee there, the clue was there yesterday but was gone today.
    • However, the SOLA-MI home page has been updated, indicating that the clue was somehow found. No information on the clue has been obtained at this time.

    plPtUc6Olr.jpg

    • For the first time since the launch of SOLA-MI, Derek responded to tweets from his @derekwebb account. The tweets were all quickly deleted, however. Here are some that were discovered before their deletion:
      • Derek chimed in on a conversation between Ryan Brymer and Solomon Mente:
        • @ryanbrymer: @SolomonMente 1) with all your travel, how do you get any of your mysterious work done? #whatisthenexus
        • @SolomonMente: @ryanbrymer The current work is done. Now to tell the world about it.
        • @ryanbrymer: @SolomonMente 2) do you realize that there is a self-aware computer following you in your travels? #areyoujohnconnor #whatisthenexus
        • @derekwebb: @ryanbrymer You are catching on
      • Derek commented on a tweet from Bret Welstead:
        • @bretwelstead: @SolomonMente In your profile, you’re a self-described “provocateur”? Interesting. That’s synonymous with “agitator.” #whatisthenexus
        • @derekwebb: @bretwelstead I suppose that is interesting.
        • @derekwebb’s profile says “singer / songwriter / producer / remixer / noisetrader / agitator”
      • Derek tweeted to Solomon:
        • @derekwebb: @SolomonMente you’re saying too much too soon
        • It’s important to note that Solomon has been tweeting vague hints to where the next SOLA-MI clue will be posted several hours in advance of the “official” tweets and emails from SOLA-MI.
      • Derek later tweeted to Solomon again:
        • @derekwebb: @SolomonMente having a hell of a time on twitter today…where are you?

    5/15/12

    • @officialsolami tweeted: I AM ON SUNSET
    • An email arrived shortly thereafter with the following picture, which is Guitar Center on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood:

    plPtUc6Olr.jpg
    5/16/12

    • @officialsolami tweeted: I AM IN ATLANTA
    • An email arrived shortly thereafter with a picture of Guitar Center on I-85 in Atlanta.

    • The clue has been found and the home page picture updated. A picture of the clue has not been discovered as of yet, however.

    5/17/12

    • @officialsolami tweeted: I AM IN INDIANAPOLIS
    • An email arrived shortly thereafter with the same subject, showing a picture of Monon Coffee.

    • Reports on Twitter indicate that there is no sign at the coffee shop.
    • A Twitter user who reported in a tweet to @officialsolami about the missing poster received the following DM in response:
      • warning: element status: [missing]
        release element?
        Y
        115426422998
    • The code unlocked the next piece of the picture on the SOLA-MI home page.

    5/18/12

    • @officialsolami tweeted: I AM IN PITTSBURGH
    • An email arrived shortly thereafter with the same subject, showing a picture of Caribou Coffee.


    5/19/12

    • @officialsolami tweeted: I AM IN VIENNA
    • An email arrived shortly thereafter with the same subject, showing a picture of Starbucks Coffee. The image sent (which will be posted soon) matches the Google street view of the Starbucks located at 207 Maple Avenue East in Vienna‎, VA.
    • The code has been entered and the website updated. No one has posted a picture of the sign on Twitter at this time.

    5/21/12

    • @officialsolami tweeted: I AM IN HOUSTON
    • An email arrived shortly thereafter with the same subject, featuring a picture of Catalina Coffee in Houston.
    • The code has been entered and the website updated. (More details will be posted soon.)

    5/22/12

    • @officialsolami tweeted: I AM IN DALLAS
    • An email arrived shortly thereafter with the same subject, featuring a picture of Good Records in Dallas.
    • I live in Fort Worth, so I went to Good Records in search of the Nexus sign. I was the first one to arrive at the shop and took the first tear strip.

    Good Records in Dallas

    • Two other people arrived shortly after I did and took tear strips. We each huddled around an iPhone and watched as the code was entered. The image on the SOLA-MI home page completed and said “STANDBY.”

    Standby

    • Shortly thereafter, the home page updated with details about SOLA-MI.
    • According to the site: SOLA-MI is a concept band featuring Derek Webb, Josh Moore (Co-producer of Webb’s Stockholm Syndrome and Feedback albums), and Latifah Phillips (of The Autumn Film and Page CXVI), commissioned and inspired by Solomon Mente’s groundbreaking fictional narrative and film, NEXUS. Their debut album, the official motion picture soundtrack for Mente’s NEXUS, is set to release at 12:01am CST, June 5.
    • A video is also included on the page with what appears to be a brief behind-the-scenes preview of the upcoming album.
    • Watching closely in the video, several instances of binary numbers appear. Converting them to ASCII, they spell out “puella vigilans” (which is Latin for “the girl is awake.” The message “The girl is awake” also briefly appeared in the video in English.
    • This led to the discovery of a new website, http://puellavigilans.com.
      • This website currently contains a video interview with Derek Webb and Solomon Mente.

    6/5/12

    • The sola-mi.com website has been updated with a link to download the new album.
      • The album contains the following tracks:
        1. Keynote
        2. Mother Mother
        3. The Naming, Part 1 (Degustation)
        4. The Naming, Part 2 (Certificate)
        5. The Naming, Part 3 (Selection)
        6. Crowd of Silent Strangers
        7. The Blessing of Being Bloodless
        8. Trust Falling
        9. Silver Grizzly
      • The download also includes a booklet. The booklet displays a set of binary numbers. Converted to ASCII, it spells “She is awake”.
      • A few other observations about the album:
        • At the end of “Mother Mother” (track 2), there’s something that sounds like morse code. While it has not been decoded as such, a clue hidden in the music is entirely possible. Also, several tracks end with lengthy portions of white noise.
        • In “The Naming, Part 3 (Selection)” (track 5), the 5th, 6th, and 3rd tones are used – in solfege, “so la mi.” Thus the name has been selected with the notes. However, in the later track “Crowd of Silent Strangers” (track 6), “only me” is sung, implying a double meaning with the Latin.
        • The album’s length is exactly the same as Scott Brignac’s “Self-Sabotage” film. Speculation is high that the album was intentionally created to correspond with the film.

      6/10/12

      • The album set to “Self-Sabotage” has been posted on Vimeo. It is difficult to tell from the post if it is “official” or not – the poster is labeled as “Reboot” (which coincides with a Brignac tweet about it; however, the tweet was made before the account was created on Vimeo). This version of the film is entitled “Sabotaged” on Vimeo.
      • Several comments have been made on Twitter from people with inside knowledge which indicate that there is more to the game than has been currently disclosed. More clues are likely.

      At this time, this seems to be all the information we have. When more information comes available, I will attempt to update this as soon as possible. If you find something I’ve left out, feel free to leave a comment or contact me. I hope this helps us figure everything out!