What's not to celebrate?!

Help us celebrate ten years of writing and performing our original music! We are thrilled to have reached this milestone and we want to celebrate with you -- our supporters, our listeners, our friends. 

Over the last decade, our cello/violin duo The OK Factor has survived cross-country moves, new jobs, babies, an ever-changing music industry, and a global pandemic. We think that's worth celebrating, so to mark this anniversary we're going big. And we want you to come along!

Here's what we have planned: 

• OKX, a brand new full-length album of original music featuring special guest collaborators 
• OKXmas, a limited edition vinyl record featuring the best of our holiday music 
• an anniversary party in Minneapolis, MN
• a fall tour with our Swedish friends and musicians, Jaerv
• an album release show in the spring of 2023
• new branding, stickers, etc.

A little more about our album title, OKX: 

Late last year, we played a show at Icehouse in Minneapolis. Our tech guy, Raymond, was incredible -- a super nice guy, great at the soundboard, just an all around pleasure to work with. When we were telling him our plans for 2022, he said "Hey, you should call your album OKX, like an airport code for a destination! And X is 10, so it works out!" 

We looked at each other and immediately knew that was it. Our new album would be called OKX. A new full-length album marking a stop on our journey and a milestone to celebrate. 

Olivia had the brilliant idea to gather up all the photos (mostly selfies) we've taken over the last ten years and organize them for the cover of the album. Below is a draft of what we're thinking the final product will look like.

What We Need

We're asking for your help to cover the cost of a few specific items: 

• CD Production with Noiseland Industries ($1300)
• Vinyl Production with Solid Merch ($2500)
• Publicity, Promo, and booking with EFS Publicity ($1500) 
• Session Musicians ($2000) 
• Digital Production & Admin -- CDBaby, licenses, and copyrights ($400) 
• Indiegogo Processing Feeds ($300)

The production of CD and vinyl continues to be costly, but it's important to us to have a tangible representation of our work -- especially for this anniversary -- and we hope it's important to our listeners, too. While we're working with an online vendor for vinyl production, we are thrilled to support our favorite local and trusted vendors for CD production and publicity. 

What You Get

What's in it for you? 

We've got all kinds of exciting perks and rewards cooked up for you all, including the obvious -- a copy of the new CD and/or vinyl. Aside from that, take a look at what's coming your way: 

• VIP ticket to our 10th anniversary party
• Pre-order links for OKX and OKXmas
• Digital download of OKXmas with O&K commentary
• VIP Meet & Greet with O&K at OKXmas show
• Private house show for you and your friends 
• Vintage swag bag with nostalgic OK Factor merchandise from over the years 
• Private livestream concert 
• Personalized mixtape of our favorite original tunes from the last decade 
• Curated Spotify playlist of the music that initially inspired us to write and continues to inspire us today
• OKX album producer credit

You'll also received the good vibes and warm fuzzy feelings that accompany supporting musicians you love. 

We've coordinated the perks to go along with our journey, one for each year we've been together. Scroll through and see what might be for you!

The Impact

We haven't released a non-holiday full-length album since 2016. Though our recording process is much simpler this time around, the cost of producing an album and all that goes along with it is significant, and we need your help.

Many of the tunes on OKX have been never been formally recorded, even though we've been playing them live for years. We're excited to finally get solid recordings in the hands of people who have grown to love that music.

More than "just" helping us produce an album, though, you're helping us produce meaningful art that we feel should be shared with communities across the country, and dare we say, across the world. Artists need music in order to tour, and when we tour our goal is not to play a show and leave; we actively invest in communities through residency work - for example, clinics with students that provide them with a new perspective on what a musical life can look like. Or, visiting hospice houses or nursing homes to chat with and perform for community members who are unable to get out to the show. That's the impact that new music can have. 

Risks & Challenges

There's always the chance that we won't reach our fundraising goal. Should that be the case, our plan is to put the money that we do raise towards album production. Our Plan B will be to go completely digital with the album, saving both time and money on everyone's part, and release the album via iTunes, CD Baby, Spotify, and more.

Our timeline is such that we will be finished recording by the end of June and into post-production in early summer. Ideally we'll have our finished product in hand by August 1 - in enough time to send copies to our press contacts and market the heck out of this album before our fall tour. 

Other Ways You Can Help

We know contributing financially isn't always an option, so here are some other ways you can help us with this project: 

Share our campaign on your favorite social media platforms! We can always use more help getting the word out. 

Be on the lookout for OKXmas show dates and the official release of OKX in the Spring of 2023!

Thank you so much for everything you've done to support us and our music. We can't tell you how much it means to us that there are people out there who value and appreciate our art. 

Big OK love to you, 

O&K