For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Domini Forster and I’m an independent Melbourne-based musician and songwriter. If you’d like to check out my music, you can listen to my first EP here.
There’s a bunch I’d like to share with you, but for starters I’ll give you the vitals:
I’m about to make my debut album (WOOHOO!) and I’m asking for your help to make it happen. In return for your financial contribution to the project (and your moral support) I’ve created a heap of reward packages for you to choose from, or you can keep it simple and just pre-order yourself a copy of the album.
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So, I’ve been tinkering away in my music room writing lots of new material, and I now have a collection of ten songs ready to be recorded and made into an album to share with you guys. The songs are inspired by the ever-eventful and tumultuous experience of being human; the light and the darkness and everything in between.
I’ve got an amazing team of musicians on board, including a beautiful string section and my loyal backing singer Phoebe Sanger, who many of you have probably heard harmonising (flawlessly, I might add) with me at gigs over the past few years.
I’m also very lucky to have Nick Huggins producing the album (Open Swimmer, Kid Sam, Hello Satellites). I’m really excited about collaborating with Nick, and every time we meet over a cup of tea to talk about making this album together, I leave feeling elated and can’t wait to get in the studio. Nick is sensitive and creative and totally gets that this record is about making something that really communicates to people.
Once we finish tinkering and tracking, we’ll hand over to Lachlan Carrick (Gotye, C.W. Stoneking, Spender) who will mix the record and make sure it sounds like honey to your ears. Lachie is Lior’s front-of-house engineer, and after having him mix my live set so many times whilst touring with Lior over the past few years, I just wouldn’t want anyone else to mix this album. This guy just knows how to make things sound really good.
This album-making caper isn’t cheap though, and after careful budgeting, I’ve estimated the overall cost at approx. $23,000. This includes production and recording, studio hire, mixing and mastering, manufacture, promotion and musicians fees. Thanks to the help of a grant from Creative Victoria (as well as my own cash) I’m already most of the way there, but I need your help to raise the last $5,500 to make this project happen.
So if you’d like to support my music and you’re excited to hear the album, I’m asking that you pre-order a copy through this campaign and I’ll use the money to bring it to life in the studio. I’ve also thought up a heap of other rewards you can choose from if you’d like to treat yourself to something special, or you want to contribute more to the project (thank you).
All rewards over $15 include a pre-release digital download of the album, so you’ll get to hear it before anyone else (oooooh!) and you’ll also receive exclusive updates from me as we make the album.
Thanks so much for being a part of this project, and helping me turn this exciting idea in my head into a real-life album.
$2,500 towards the cost of recording with the exceptional Mr. Huggins
$2,000 towards the cost of mixing with deluxe sound extraordinaire Lachlan Carrick
$1,000 towards the cost of pressing, to make all the sounds into actual CDs with bright, shiny covers
Along with my own hard-earned cash and the Creative Victoria grant, your help will get me over the line and make this project possible. If you all get really excited and pre-order loads of albums and other rewards, then we might even make more than the goal!
If this happens:
a) you’re all amazing, thank you so much
b) I’ve got a bunch of ideas about how to use the money to make the project even better, including collaborating with a film-maker to create an awesome film clip for the first single off the album, or using the cash to give us extra time in the studio for creative epiphanies.
In 2013 I released my debut EP ‘Little Dreamer’, made with the help of acclaimed producer Tony Buchen (Megan Washington, Tim Finn, The Preatures). It was my first venture into recording, and I’ve been blown away by the responses from people. I’ve sold out of two runs of the CDs since then (you guys rock!) and I’m so happy that people connect with it.
It’s also given me the chance to exercise my backing vocals chops, singing harmonies in Lior’s set. Being a backing vocalist is the funnest job ever!
Seeing as I haven’t actually had a baby before, I don’t quite feel qualified to validate that particular comparison! But it seems pretty unanimously agreed that making an album is usually emotionally, creatively and financially challenging. As well as incredibly rewarding and inspiring. After pouring your heart and soul into writing the songs, and labouring on the musical arrangements, there is a whole lot of letting go and trusting the process and the people you’re working with. This can be really hard when you’re a perfectionist like I am, but that’s really when the magic happens.
With your help through this campaign, I can hopefully smash down those financial challenges from the get-go. As for the emotional and creative challenges, I’ve surrounded myself with a wonderful team to help me make the album I really want to make, and to ensure that the process is creative, playful and rewarding. I’m also gonna do a whole heap of yoga and gardening to keep me sane!