PREORDER PORTALS RIGHT HERE!!
PORTALS is due for release January 2016.
The Porcelain Princess music video is complete and can be viewed here:
https://youtu.be/KptG3ONbYe8
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Imagine, if you will: An otherworldly carnival, traveling in and out of mystery, magic, the unexplained. You feel the hair raise on the back of your neck as a motley band of skillful and possibly dangerous musicians brandish their bows, their voices, their tambourines, and open portals to the realms of the fantastical! You thrill to the charms of seductive sirens, pixie pirates, steampunk sailors, metal warriors, witches and wanderlings, as a mighty cast of characters wield their mightiest mojo in a Theatre of Enchantment crafted to delight and awe!
WHO WE ARE:
- Our names are Sharon Knight and Winter. We are internationally touring musicians, specializing in a myth-infused Celtic hybrid style we call Neofolk Romantique.
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We have 8 studio albums to our credit and it's time for number 9. We want to make a big splash, with a gorgeous CD, music video, and art book.
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Over the course of our touring life, we have befriended numerous outstandingly talented musicians, filmmakers, and artists. With the Portals Project, we want to incorporate their talents to create a project much grander in scale than we could do without them. And we want to pay them, that they may continue to thrive and create beauty for us!
For as long as I can remember, I have yearned to be part of a thriving artists’ community, one that lifts each other up and shines a light on each another’s talents. With the Portals project, we plan to do just that.
Our last recording, Neofolk Romantique, featured a pared down, intimate, acoustic sound, representative of our duet performances. Portals is envisioned as a traveling Carnivale of Curios, boasting a large cast of characters comprised of many of our touring musician friends, people we share the road with throughout the year. Through this project, we mean to convey the feel of life on the road, part of a traveling circus of performers who live in the realms of magic every day.
Portals will be a gorgeously produced album with a lush, full band sound, presented in an artful trifold ecopack CD jacket with a multipage lyric booklet. We envision a folk-world fusion sound in the style of Loreena McKennit and Faun, with a bit of Americana grit mixed in, a la The Civil Wars.
Siren Song and Snake Oil, if you will.
We will seal the presentation with a professionally produced music video of one of our most popular tour songs, Porcelain Princess!
THE VIDEO
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We have cinematographer Paul Nordin, of EMB Studios, on board to film our video! His cinematography is world class (he just did a movie with Fairuza Balk, yo), and we’ve already come up with a concept that I am very excited about! In keeping with the old world mystery circus vibe, of course! Want to get psyched about how gorgeous this video will be? Check out his reel, here:
http://www.embstudios.com/cinematography.html
If we reach our stretch goals, we will also create a hardcopy art book featuring original art from several myth-inspired visual artists, as well as lyrics and stories about the songs. A true collectors’ item!
THE GUEST MUSICIANS
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Our guest musicians are all fantastic artists in their own right! You can visit each of them and hear their music at the links below. You may even recognize a few of them. SJ Tucker (Tricky Pixie)
Betsy Tinney (Tricky Pixie)
Alexander James Adams (Tricky Pixie)
Sonja Drakulich (Faun, Stellamara)
Dan Cantrell (Beats Antique, Fishtank Ensemble, Stellamara)
Nathaniel Johnstone (Nathaniel Johnstone Band, Abney Park)
Heather Dale
Wendy Rule
Caith Threefires (Pandemonaeon, Heather Dale Band, Tempest)
Tim Rayborn (Pandemonaeon)
Mark Abbott (Pandemonaeon, Box Set, The Fall Risk)
THE VISUAL ARTISTS
Morpheus Ravenna
Laura Tempest Zakroff
Valerie Herron
Shauna Aura Knight
Maxine Miller
WHAT WE NEED:
$20,000 will get us a fully produced, designed, and manufactured CD with guest musicians AND a stellar music video!
$25,000 will get us more wiggle room with the video. And Sonja Drakulich will produce one of the songs with us!
$30,000 brings it into the visual arts, with the companion Art Book featuring the art of several artists from our creative community!
WHAT YOU GET (i.e the Perks!)
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Everybody loves the perks, and indeed they are what make the world of crowd funding go ’round!
You can view them over on the right, but we'll give you a few more details here:
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The $7 level is great for those who want to be part of the project but are a bit tight on funds. You'll get two songs currently only available to my Patreon subscribers. (Yes, I have a Patreon account.) Plus warm fuzzy gratitude beams send from my heart to yours.
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The $15 - $45 levels are pre-order levels. If you know you are going to want our next album, you can pre-order it through the campaign and we’ll throw in the 2 Patreon songs and the gratitude beams!
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The $65 level and above signifies you are part of our circle of creative allies. At this level and above, you get the core products: the CD, the music download, and the two Patreon songs, as well as a copy of the music video, (download or DVD), and insider participation in a secret FB group, where I'll be posting 1-2 times a week, sharing stories, "making of" videos, answering questions, and things like that. Through this group, you'll have a window into the creative process behind Portals.
Some of the specialty offerings we have are:
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A Portals key, which will be charged by moon, sea, and song. I will take the keys to the ocean beneath the full moon, and sing a spell of enchantment into them, that you may be awash in beauty and wonder whenever you hold it. It will serve as a reminder that we can all pool together to make something truly special! Only 100 of these will be available!
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Handwritten Lyrics, the song of your choice, written on beautiful paper, or done up as a full multimedia art project that we will design together.
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A Custom Song, written just for you!
- Movie Posters!
- A chance to be in the Music Video!
If we get into stretch goals, we will add new perks that feature the artists involved in that level of the project. New featured musicians and artists for the art book!
WHERE THE MONEY GOES:
Costs for this project are allocated roughly as follows:
- Musicians: $5,000
- Studio Costs: $5,000
- Music Video: $5,000
- Manufacturing, Campaign Costs, and Shipping: $5,000
What if we get less than anticipated?
1) Pledge early! Statistically, successful Indiegogo campaigns reach a third of their goal within the first 48 hours. Pledging early will help us build the momentum we need to reach our goal!
2) Share, share, share!! Along with pledging, helping us get the word out far and wide is the absolute best way to help us reach our goal. Even if you can't contribute at this time, you are still a huge part of what makes independent music and art go 'round when you share the news with your communities! So please share with all whom you think would love this project! If you have friends who are fans of any of the artists involved, let them know about Portals with this link:
http://www.sharonknightportals.net
3) Check out my Patreon subscription page! Want to stay connected to our creative process for the long haul? Patreon is a great way to do that. For as little as $1 a song, you can get new material as it's written. I likely won't release more than two songs a month, so it is very affordable.
https://www.patreon.com/SharonKnight
With your help we can do something much more magnificent than we could do on our own.
Shall we create something majestic? Magical? Wondrous?
I say yes! Please join us!
