We're still collecting donations
On the 4th December 2020 we'd raised £3,275 with 65 supporters in 28 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
Over three afternoons during lockdown, I recorded three mini-albums of unaccompanied traditional songs and now it's time to make a CD
by pdcawley in Doncaster, England, United Kingdom
On the 4th December 2020 we'd raised £3,275 with 65 supporters in 28 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
There's going to be a CD! Thank you all so much! Now let's make the album of my dreams. If we hit our stretch goal, I'll produce a double CD with all the tracks originally recorded for the digital release, and the songs chosen by backers.
I want to record the new material in the same way as the existing material, and get it all professionally mastered. And package them in a professionally designed, eco-friendly cardboard digisleeve with a booklet of sleeve notes.
Again! Thank you for proving that there is a real audience for unaccompanied folk singers, you've made a middle aged man very happy!
For an example of how the tracks could sound after they've been mastered, check out The Isolation Sessions Sampler
Stretch Goal Update
We hit the target! So I've extended the stretch goal slightly. If we hit the new target then, once lockdown ends, I'll stream a recorded gig for all backers from Simpson Street Studios' beautiful chapel live room in Rothbury, Northumberland with professional sound and videography. There's even room (it's a former chapel, after all) for a small, socially distanced audience, so have a look at the new reward if you'd like to attend in person.
The lockdown has been hard on all of us. I was building a business as an artisan baker when the virus hit and my wife and I had to go into self isolation because of our (oh so delightfully named) 'comorbidities'. Unable to bake, I turned to the art that has sustained me all my life:, unaccompanied song. In happier times, I love to sing with others, but in isolation I started to record the songs that don't always fit in a singaround.
There's consolation in these Old Songs: a sense of empathy with people long gone and of shared humanity alongside weird and shocking differences. The sound of a lone voice singing with no accompaniment has always thrilled and excited me – it's why I was inspired to make these recordings. I hope that I'm not alone in that feeling.
I released the recordings via bandcamp.com and people were excited enough by them to ask if there were plans for a physical release. At the time, there weren’t, but it persuaded me to start this project.
With £750, I can:
I can't include everything from the Bandcamp version because I recorded slightly too much music to fit on a single CD. Backers will also receive a download code for all the digital tracks.
If we exceed the initial target, as well as making more CDs, I'd like to improve the product in the following ways:
Obviously, I think I've recorded a thrilling and essential album of unaccompanied singing. You don't have to take my word for it though:
Fascinating, moving and thrilling. … one of the country’s finest unaccompanied singers along to your venue – essentially a vocal gymnast performing without a safety net. — Jon Wilks
One singer. One voice. Carrying you away from wherever you are to distant places nestled away in the heart of Deep England … Piers’ voice contains a multitude of emotions and energies, adjusting his rhythm, volume and tone of voice in order to bring the story to life and maintain the listener’s attention. Piers changes lanes regularly enough to call the hairs on the back of your neck to stand to attention. — Folk London
I'm sure many of us look forward to Piers' contribution on #TradSongTues — @TradSongTues
This project offered rewards