Support Benedict Please's debut piano album!

Aim

Help me record my debut solo piano album, create a piano book and get it out into the world with a quality that I could not manage on my own

ME AND THE PIANO

When I was a child, I used to sit for hours at our piano, hypnotised by the resonances of a single note, bewildered by harmonic complexity when you explored the keys further. I had been playing piano for about a year when our neighbour knocked on the door and said that unless I started having lessons he was going to call the police.

I have always been in love with the piano, always played it to clear my head and let my imagination wander. I compose on it for it's own sake, and the music has, thus far, never had an outlet. 

THE ALBUM

This record is an attempt to give the piano some focused time; to complete the pieces that I have been playing with for so long. I will find a space for two weeks, a piano that I love, and set up the recording with the help of one of the UK's most experienced recording engineers, Dickie Chappell. Most of the album will remain solo piano, but there are a few pieces that want to develop in different ways, and so, over a few of the days, I will bring in some of my favourite orchestral musicians to do just that. 

Alongside the recordings, I will produce a piano book, based on the album, so that people can find the music under their fingers too. They will range from pieces for experienced piano players, all the way to those just starting out. I want to make it as accessible as possible, so in addition to the traditional piano-score notation, there will be other visual ways of helping people learn the pieces, because that was a very important part of the way that I learnt piano when I was growing up.

After 25 years of working as a songwriter and composer, this will be the first time I have done something on my own. But I won't really be alone, I'll have all of you. There's more detail below in THE BUDGET about what I'll be making, about what I will be contributing myself, and why I am running a crowdfunder, but first - some great news... 

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DOUBLE YOUR PLEDGE - FOR FREE!!

I'm delighted that this project has been accepted onto the Crowdmatch scheme from Creative Scotland, where they will double what you pledge! That means, for example, that if you pre-order the Complete Works for £100, Creative Scotland will pledge another £100 on top! If you were to pre-order the CD for £15, they will add another £15, or if you wanted to donate any other amount, Creative Scotland will double it etc.... anything, up to the tune of £250.

They will only do it once per-person, and only for the first time someone pledges, and only up to a maximum of £250, so if you plan to get a couple of different rewards, get the biggest one first! I need to get at least 25 unique supporters for the project, and we also need to hit the project's target amount in order to get anything at all - but this Crowdmatch scheme will help us get there twice as fast! Amazingly, there are NO platform fees, just a small bank transaction fee, so virtually all of your pledge will go towards the project. 

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THE BUDGET

I will be contributing all my own time, and investing in accommodation, travel, and all mundane admin costs. All the money raised here will go towards the key creative costs (and people) that will allow me to make this album in the most exciting, collaborative and beautiful way possible; to get it out into the world with a flourish and quality that I could not manage on my own.

• Writing and recording // £4900: Part of the recording time will be devoted to exploring and finishing the many ideas that I will go into the session with, using the time and recording to complete them. I'd like to do this over 2 weeks, hiring a great sounding space, some key recording equipment, piano moving, piano tuning, and paying a top recording engineer to set up the space. I also want to capture the recording in film and photography, for use in promotion and design. At the end of the process I will bring in a minimum of three other musicians to develop some of the recordings further. 
• Post-production // £2200: 2 weeks professional mixing and mastering.
• Scoring // £800: professionally scoring the finished pieces for the piano book.
• Art and Design // £2100: The aesthetics are really important, and I'd like to be able to commission some new artwork, and pay a professional designer to produce the CD, vinyl, Piano Book and t-shirt design. 
• Manufacturing // £4000: I will initially produce enough of each physical product to fulfil the rewards pledged here and distribute to the UK record shops. 
• PR // £2000: Plugging the record to radio, pitching for reviews and features in magazines, online and the press, and promoting it's release.

TOTAL TO BE RAISED: £16,000

THE REWARDS

The rewards are a way for you to support the recording of this album, and can include pre-ordering a CD, or vinyl, or piano book, or a combination of them all. Perhaps you'd like an exclusive supporters' T-Shirt for Q-dos at the next family gathering ;) or perhaps you'd like me to compose something on the piano for you, or perhaps someone else? Have a browse and see if there is a reward you'd like in return for your support. If you prefer, you can also simply donate to the project, which would be wonderful... but I still want you to hear the outcome, so everyone who donates anything, or selects any reward, will automatically receive a full-quality audio download of the album on the release date, as well as a two pdf piano scores.

And remember, for each unique person supporting the project, via rewards or donating, Creative Scotland will add value and double that money - once per person, for your first pledge only, and up to £250 of extra support added. 

With your support, and Creative Scotland's help, there's a real chance this album could get made.

OTHER WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT THE ALBUM

Don't worry at all if you're not in a position to financially support the project - I'm often there - but you can still help so much by sharing this crowdfunder campaign to friends and family who might be interested, or on social media. 

Thanks for reading, and please get in touch if you have any questions. Just email me at [email protected]

Ben x

A BRIEF BIO

I am a multi-instrumentalist and composer, and have been a full time self-employed musician for the last 15 years, since founding the The Bookshop Band, with my partner Beth Porter. The band write's songs responding to books and have toured the world, been featured in The New York Times, ("...achingly good") and have collaborated with authors including Margaret Atwood and Philip Pullman, as well as artists Stanley Donwood (Radiohead, Glastonbury), and musicians such as Pete Townshend. We have written for the V&A, BBC, and The Pompidou Centre. My compositional work has been Ivor Novello Nominated (2022) for Aardman Animation's OSCAR nominated animated musical Robin Robin, and I've composed for many indie films and animations, including the BAFTA winning short, The Eagleman Stag. After leaving university in 2010 I undertook a brief ten year stint as an environmental and documentary film maker in East Africa.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made