Crowdfunding Campaigns of the Week: Bronwen Exter, Van Morrison, and Mail the Horse
Chris Griffy
Posted On July 23, 2017
After a week off to attend the Sloss Festival in Birmingham, I’m back with a new batch of crowdfunding campaigns just waiting for your pledges. While summer continues to make the choice of new campaigns lighter, things are beginning to pick up in the crowdfunding world and this week I can give the re-issues a skip entirely for three brand new albums.
Bronwen Exter- Snakeskin, there
After garnering significant critical acclaim with her second album, Elevator Ride, Bronwen Exter is preparing her third, Snakeskin, there and launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund the independent release. After paring the initial 25 songs down to 10, Exter has recorded the basic tracks and overdubs, so the campaign is for mixing, mastering, artwork and duplication. Exter says her experience as a new mother and artist heavily influenced the writing of this album, which she describes as “lullabies disguised as rock songs.” Backer rewards include behind the scenes updates from the album’s production, including a discussion of the album’s lyrical meanings, a t-shirt of the album’s artwork, a “singing telegram” delivered via Skype, and a house concert.
Van Morrison- Roll With the Punches
On Sept. 22, just days after playing a sold out show at the Americana Music Festival and receiving their Lifetime Achievement Award, British legend Van Morrison will release his 37th album Roll With the Punches. The album is heavily influenced by the blues and includes covers of blues classics from the likes of Bo Diddley, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Lightnin’ Hopkins, all interpreted in Morrison’s signature raw and intimate style. There will also be five original songs on Roll With the Punches, giving Morrison a chance to lend his own original voice to the style. This is not a crowdfunding campaign (Morrison is long past the need to raise funds for his albums), but a direct-to-fan pre-order so there are no backer rewards offered, but you can pick up Roll With the Punches on CD or vinyl.
I got to catch Brooklyn’s Mail the Horse while covering Bonnaroo 2016 for No Depression, you can read about it here, with the band on stage while their new EP Magnolia was being released. Now Mail the Horse is back and raising funds for their next album, a full-length one. Blending folk and psychedelic rock with elements of indie and grunge, Mail the Horse is a high energy outfit that promises to be one you hear a lot more of in the coming months. Backer rewards include signed copies of the album on either CD, vinyl, and even cassette for the five of you who still use them (I’m waiting for the 8 track revolution, you know it’s coming), a signed setlist, a digital mixtape of demos, and a “social media takeover” where the band will post fun things to your social media accounts for one hour.
