Target reached!
The original target will provide enough funding to cover the costs of production and...
The original target will provide enough funding to cover the costs of production and...
In 1998 I recorded an album which was never completed. 23 years later I've recovered the master tapes and now I need YOUR help to save them!
In 1998 my band Taller Than recorded a 12 track album which, for various reasons, was never mixed or properly finished. For over twenty years the original 2"master tapes were hidden away and I'd long since given up any hope of finding the time or the finances to complete the project.
These masters are now in a serious risk of becoming unplayable as old tape is susceptible to moisture penetration which can ruin them.
There is however a process that restores these tapes to workable condition, allowing them to be played one last time while the audio is transferred to a digital file format. Once that's done the original tracks can be edited, mixed and mastered allowing me to finally realise the vision of producing a finished end product.
The goal of my project is to raise sufficient funding to cover the costs of the tape restoration, editing, mixing, mastering, artwork design and physical production of a final deluxe package which will include a vinyl album with accompanying CD as well as a unique collection of items such as photographs, reproductions of the original tape track sheets, studio invoices and more.
Along with much of the rest of the world the music industry has been plunged into crises due to the global pandemic. It's not just musicians that have been affected, everyone that works with or in music have had their livelihoods put in jeopardy due to the lack of live and studio work. This project will allow me to support grassroots creative professionals such as producers, engineers and graphic artists as well as let me deliver a unique artefact to my fans and supporters.
Here are the separate steps that need to be undertaken to complete the project
Tape Restoration & Digital Transfer - A process which requires 'baking' the tapes at a precise temperature and time in order to reduce the moisture content and stabilise the ferrous oxide on the tape before they can be transferred to digital 'wav' files. These steps are fairly straightforward as there is an established process for them.
Editing - Restoration and repair of the audio tracks once they've been been baked and transferred. This could be a simple or complex job depending on what we find on the tapes once they're digitised. It will be incredibly exciting to hear the individual tracks for the first time since before the new millennium however it is common for there to be some 'print through' or bleed on old tape which may require extensive editing or rebuilding of certain parts of the audio.
Mixing & Mastering - Here's the fun part - actually listening to and producing final mixes of the songs and then mastering them so they can be sent for manufacture onto vinyl and CD.
Artwork Production - commissioning new bespoke cover art for the record, then positioning this artwork on printing templates for manufacture. This stage will also include replication of original assets such as tape track sheets, original studio invoice and photographs for inclusion in the final package.
Physical Manufacture - The project target is to pre-sell and deliver a minimum of 100 vinyl/CD packages to pledgers.
To hear an in-depth discussion of the origins of the project check out this interview of Mike by journalist and long time Taller Than fan Paul White.
You can see a video discussion of some of the memorabilia and other items available to pledgers here.
All items pre-ordered (including memorabilia) can be signed by Mike on request, just add the details to your pledge and it will be done!
This project successfully funded on 8th February 2021