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Extra funds will enable us to produce more CDs/vinyls, candles and booklets and plan...
Music from an Inner Space: Album Recording
Hertford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Aim
I'm recording my first album of music I've written.
You can donate any amount by pressing the DONATE button. Or check out the Rewards section and add an extra donation on the payment page if you'd like to.
Music from an Inner Space
As a professional musician you'd usually find me playing the oboe in various orchestras and ensembles in the UK and abroad, but over the last few years I have been increasingly writing my own music and now I'm taking the step to record my first album. It has been a long journey getting to this point, and I'm grateful to everyone who's encouraged me along the way. I have decided to step back from some playing commitments to make time to do this. It's been hard to let go of those things, but I've realised that this is something I need to do, however frightening it seems!
The album is a collection of Psalms and sacred songs for solo voice and ensemble (piano/ strings/ trumpet), with three instrumental interludes. The music is contemplative and spacious and writing it has been a process of learning to drag myself away from the demands of the day and to listen in quiet. It is called 'Music from an Inner Space', and my hope in the end is that the music will help people find their own contemplative space, and perhaps one that brings its own creativity.
The music is centred on the sound of the piano, as that's how I compose. It is often minimalist in feel but with a distinctive melodic voice. I love to set texts and for a couple of songs I've set my own poetry.
The team
The project has emerged from a collaboration with the Hungarian singer Evi Dobner. You can hear her on this track singing my song See Him, in its original version for voice & piano.
We are joined by a group of wonderful musicians - string players Beatrice Philipps, Flora Curzon, Oliver Wilson, Carina Drury and John Henry Baker, and trumpeter Sam Chaplin. We're recording at Heath Street Baptist Church with the producing/ engineering skills of Tom Mungall https://tommungall.co.uk/ and John Henry Baker.
Vinyl & CDs
I know music is largely streamed these days, and the album will be available to download. But I love objects, and especially objects which move us to spend our time in particular ways. So for those of you with record players, I'm releasing the album on vinyl. One of the things I love about vinyl is that because it's a bit more expensive it encourages me to take some dedicated time to listen to music. I will also be making CDs for those who still have a CD player lurking around at home.
Contemplation Pack
To encourage this idea of taking time to listen I have put together a 'Contemplation Pack', which you'll see in the Rewards section. This includes two special limited edition items: a bespoke candle and a word booklet.
Bespoke candles
I am having a bespoke candle made especially for the Inner Space album project. It will be made at a honey farm in Devon from 100% beeswax and will be embossed with the text, 'A beautiful thing'. This comes from a line in my song, 'In Bethany':
Words booklet
I will also be producing a poetry booklet with the texts to all the songs. It will be specially printed on quality paper using a risograph printer, and I hope it will be a beautiful object in its own right, as well as an accompaniment to the album.
Supporting the project
I would love you to support this project. You can donate any amount by clicking the donate button. Or take a look at the Rewards and see if you'd like to support the project by choosing one of them. You can also add a donation on the payment page after choosing a Reward. Your support will help to cover musicians' fees (£4,100), recording/ producing/ mastering/ venue costs (£3,700), and printing costs vinyl/ CD/ booklets/candles (£2,400). Thank you.
This project successfully funded on 3rd April 2023