Dear Listeners,
I have written and recorded a new collection of songs, called How To Break A Fall. I am so excited to share this album with you. These songs continue to surprise me, comfort me, terrify me, and heal me. It was a wild feeling to record this album, because we started it on the exact same day that my first album, Adaptations, was released. I had been sitting with Adaptations since the summer of 2017, so it felt especially liberating to release that music and immediately turn inward to the studio and spend a week immersed in fresh music-making.
I am in love with the storytelling that is possible when making a record, and on this one, I stretched my songwriting in new directions, new perspectives, new voices. Much of this record was written last fall. I was working as a barista in Nashville, and then coming home and furiously editing and reworking these concepts and ideas at my kitchen table. The songs were coming from different directions and then connecting to each other in unexpected ways. I’m exploring a loss of balance, and reimagining some of the stories that become embedded in us in such invisible and powerful ways. As some of us learn how to take up less space, some of us learn how to conceal our tears. As some of us learn how to yield our power, some of us learn how to wield it. And sometimes we get caught in cycles and spirals, inside of these patterns and expectations. This album is a coming to consciousness – a reimagining of patterns – a step towards sovereignty – a walk towards wholeness – a commitment to forgiveness.
On paper, it is really, really expensive to record and release music. A very small part of this goes towards the actual manufacturing of the CDs – the most expensive part is the time and creative work of all the human beings who are involved in this process – from pre-production, to recording, to mixing and mastering! I have such respect and love for the crew that made this music with me. Dan Knobler (producer, guitar), Jacob Blumberg (engineer), Courtney Hartman (guitar), Ben Tanner (keys), Ethan Jodziewicz (bass), and Jason Burger (drums) dedicated 8 days to rehearsing and recording these songs with me. Our relationships go beyond the studio — these are all kindred musicians who uplift me in ways that I could never truly compensate with the currency of money. The choice to work with these individuals for this intensive series of days was an investment in each of their individual voices, and allowed us the freedom to discover and arrange the songs together in the studio.
I began this process on credit, and I’ve been working really hard to pull this off on my own, but there are still more costs ahead before I can release this music. It is very important to me to keep my freedom to work at my own pace, to stay true to my own creative center, and to maintain ownership of my work. So rather than seeking the support of a traditional record deal, I am here to seek your direct support as a listener and music-lover. It’s a long road to get art off the ground in a sustainable way, but I believe very deeply in this record, and I believe in my own work ethic and patience – for this record, and hopefully for a lifetime of records!
The total cost of this project will be over $30,000 – including paying for production, the studio, the engineer, paying the musicians, mixing the music, and mastering the album ($22,800), album/studio photography/video ($1750), design/layout/manufacturing ($3000), and publicity ($3000). If we are able to raise $20,000 here on Kickstarter, I will be able to release and promote this music in early 2020 (I’m aiming for the end of February/early March). If you choose to support this project, I sincerely thank you for putting your trust in my work.
I invite you to join this team at any level of support. Throughout this process, I intend to cultivate a relationship with you, my listeners, so that you feel empowered whenever you turn your resources in this direction, and that you feel inspired by your participation and support of the creative process.
Thank you so much!
Maya
The risk of this campaign is that we do not reach my fundraising goal – in that case, your credit cards would not be charged, and I would be faced with a slower timeline for the release of this music and would need to consider alternative avenues for funding.
If we reach my goal, I plan to release this record this winter (I’m aiming for end of February/early March!), and the advance copies will be delivered approximately 1 month before the official release date! If we reach my goal, I do not foresee any delays to this timeline, but I will keep everyone posted in the event of anything unexpected.
I also want to acknowledge the steady and true support I have had from my family, friends, and community – in this project and past musical projects – in material and non-material ways. Without this kind of support, creative risk might not ever feel possible at all.