Confused Confessions...
16th Artist Has Raised 50K on SellaBand
In the early morning of Sunday March 2nd, Confused5 joined the elite group of SellaBand Recording Artists. Spokesperson and driving force behind their SellaBand account, Markus Melms, was kind enough to spend his Sunday afternoon to write the story from their perspective. The Road to 50K in their own words and, equally important... what happens next?!
By Markus Melms
"A day in a life - 50k on Sellaband after 9 months"
All "50k Artists" get an invitation to write something about their feelings, their experiences and of course their plans, in the Tribune. Can you really write all this down, most likely not, but lets give it a try. :-)
Right from the start - which dates back to May 28th of 2007 - we knew, that ConFused5 wouldn't be something like a skyrocket thing on SellaBand, we had to work our way to the goal, like a good old steam train. Packed with some good advise from MaWa we began our journey and Brian the Vegas Dragon beat everyone to become our first Believer. The first big surprise came right on the next day, when we were featured by Adam Sieff and got our 'Apple' - we never expected this early attention.
During the Summer we tried to get acquainted with the Sellaband community and we were busy converting friends and family members into Believers. We are quite proud, that many of them are now also Believers of many other artists and have found a place in this community. From very early on we already connected with SolidTube and Docnik and we began organising "Roll over Austria". On the field of music advise Peatnik joined in and together with MaWa's strategy input our train picked up more steam. We were all aware, that "Roll over Austria" would be the decisive point, either going for the 50k or staying a known but stagnant page 4-6 artist. We had the great honor to welcome a lot of Believers in Salzburg, yes, we did it: presenting a great show together with SolidTube and Lorraine Jones (feat. Pieps) - so we really picked up speed.
When you are entering page 1 and are further climbing up ... you realise, that you can do it, maybe ... and than you're getting closer ... and closer ... and you're getting more and more nervous ... and at the finish line you are a nervous breakdown yourself - we will never forget these last 30 hours (also thanks to the Weightwatchers) and the thrilling final in the last hours.
Seeing MaWa's name in blue as the one who got the last parts in us gave this journey a perfect ending and was almost overwhelming.
So, now to business and to our plans: We know, that we are working with the money of other people, which have put a lot of faith into us. So, we are all set:
Everything is prepared
- We will record 10 songs at the "Sonic Flow Studio" in Salzburg, from March, the 15th, until March, the 24th.
- Pete Strobl is head of the production team and as he is with us for already quite a while, he knows all the songs
- He will partner up for the mixing process with Gary Miller, who worked with artists like David Bowie, Lionel Ritchie, Simply Red, George Michael and Kylie Minoque
- For mastering the team will be joined by Ron Hitchcock, who e.g. produced no less than 7 Platinum albums with Neil Diamond
- The LeCD will contain a couple of extra features, like our 50k video, video coverage of the recording process and some more extras that will make the 'numbered' shine
- The CD will be presented first time live on July, the 4th, in a concert at the Rockhouse in Salzburg, together with no less than 2 other SellaBand artists. Please note the day in your diary, we hope to see as many of you there as possible (Meet & Greet the day before)
Anyone left without a part? (Hello Dreb ;) ) - Feel free to order our CD in the believer shop closest to you - available from the 4th of July on..."
T-Ka: California Dreamin'
World renowned producer Sylvia Massy steps on board...
T-ka. (Photo by Sarah Bastin)
Our lovely and talented T-Ka's search for the right producer is finally over, and we are delighted to announce that the celebrated producer/engineer Sylvia Massy will be at the helm for her SellaBand album. Sylvia's credits cover a vast range of talent including Tool, Green Jelly, Seal, Johnny Cash, Aerosmith, Skunk Anansie and Tom Petty.
T-Ka describes how it all came together: "I would never have thought that finding a producer could be so hard! We originally went looking in London but it was in my CD collection that I finally found...her. I was listening to Skunk Anansie's Paranoid Android and saw Sylvia Massy's name on the cover, so I googled her name and found a way to contact her on MySpace. I also discovered in her discography that she had worked with Prince on Diamonds & Pearls and tons of big names in the rock field. She answered my approach with tremendous enthusiasm and we started planning how we could actually work together. We've never met physically but we spoke a lot on the phone, talking about the soul-pop roots we wanna give to the album."
Sylvia Massy
T-Ka continues: "Sylvia has converted an old theatre in Weed, California into the incredible RadioStar studio complex and that's where I'm gonna be recording with her, my bassist Tibo and her team of musicians from March 15th to 27th. Then we will be mixing the tracks from March 28th to April 6th and then back to Paris."
The recording will take place in RadioStar's Studio C with musicians including drummer Stevie D (David Gilmour, David Crosby) and guitarist Jeff Pevar (Ray Charles, Rickie Lee Jones), and horn and string arrangements by Lisa Haley (The Zydecats, Sir George Martin, Keb' Mo'). Sylvia will then mix the album in Studio A on RadioStar's classic Neve console.
Sylvia says: "I am excited about working with T-Ka on this SellaBand album. I believe the SellaBand concept is the future of the music industry, bringing the artist directly to the fans, where the fans support the making of the CDs and help bring the artist to a world audience. I am honored to be a part of this groundbreaking idea! T-ka is extremely talented and should be known across the globe. Her voice expresses true emotion and her songs thread stories of life in an embracing style."
And as T-Ka says: "The adventure starts here... I can't wait..."
T-ka. (Photo by Sarah Bastin)
Adam's Apples (1)
Sanya Budna
A London based singer originally from Serbia/Montenegro who along with her collaborator Jez Prior has recorded some excellent songs in an ambient jazzy cool beats style. Everything is structured around her sensational voice which mixes the exotic and traces of Billie Holiday with real style and skill.
Playlist; Sister
Andy Stroke
Andy is a DJ, music producer and remixer from Poland who cuts some really good dance tunes built around his solid production and infectious grooves. It’s about time the dancefloor got some support on SellaBand and I’ll book Andy for my party anytime.
Playlist: Trust In Me
Johane Exen
This is just beautiful. All we know about Johane is that she comes from France and has only posted one track on SellaBand. But Loledin is simply great and I can’t wait to hear more. And neither will you.
Playlist: Loledin
Q + A
Chapter 9
Marc Verwaerde is one of the more active members of our community. He is open minded and friendly, very communicative and also quite outspoken. More importantly, he happens to be the mastermind behind a rather talented music group called Chapter 9. It is about time we gave him room to speak his mind in the SellaBand Tribune...
Tell us something about Chapter 9 that we don't already know.
"Most people don't know that the name for the band stems from Chapter 9 in the book Alice in Wonderland, the best part of the whole story! When we were deciding on a name, we hesitated between that and Revolution 24. That should give you clues to our influences!"You have been with us for quite a while. What's your best experience so far?
"I still remember my first chat with Logical-One… and I remember thinking how foolish I was for not seizing the opportunity of SellaBand at first! My best experiences so far have been meeting fantastic people whom I can consider to be real friends now. Most of all, those people tell me the truth, and they give me precious pieces of advice on how and what I should do to bring Chapter 9 to the next level. I've always been eager for thoughts and advice… Guess I will be an eternal pupil!"Anything negative to report as well?
"Apart from the fact that I was foolish not to jump on the wagon before…? No, nothing else to add. And anyway, all of my 'why don't you do that?' talks can be seen in the forum…!"
How much of your time do you dedicate to SellaBand?
"I have decided to go part-time in order to dedicate a lot of time to Chapter 9's song writing and promotion. I've found SellaBand to be very, very addictive and, thanks to the forum, I've also found some people who were willing to help me out with my silly questions. There are so many great artists, so many nice people who are indeed there to listen to your tunes and not just add up numbers... It's not Myspace!"What inspires you to write and make music?
"That's the tricky question! I'll lay on the sofa for that one if you don't mind…! I guess I need to tell things to people. I need to express feelings to the rest of the world. Plus, it's so nice when someone tells you what you do is awesome that I just couldn't stop. I mean… I think that the music Chapter 9 makes is more relevant than picking up the phone and saying: Do you want to buy my product? (This is my other part-time job…)"
Any idea why French artists have been so successful on SellaBand?
"I have no clue at all! My personal favourites are Daniel Ward-Murphy, Kane Sole, and Cris Tanzi and they aren't French. So for me, it's more about genre than country of origin. And it's also about working hard. T-Ka's work to raise the 50K was tremendous, terrific. She is an example to follow. And actually, I've begun to do the same kind of promotion she has been leading all this time. We'll see if it pays off!"
At one point you had plans for a SellaGig in Paris. Is this still likely to happen?
"Indeed, the "Sellagig in Paris 2008" line-up was awesome… T-Ka, Second Person, Daniel Ward-Murphy (and of course Chapter 9) and the venue was fantastic (the hottest venue in Paris). I had it all planned for months, but sometimes even the best laid plans fall apart! I certainly would like to try and organize something in a smaller venue in the upcoming months. I know there's nothing like live shows to bring some attention from the press, and I think it would be great to have more press coverage about Sellaband in France!"
What are your ambitions?
"For 2008, I've placed high hopes in Chapter 9. I want our music to reach as many people as possible. We're planning to release an original song every month. The song "Monkey" is the "February song". And, of course, at the end of March there will be another original song, and again in April, etc. The next step for Chapter 9 is playing more live shows. I'm trying to get my hands on a great acoustic booking agency in order to tour around Europe during the second half of the year for the purpose of promoting our music and Sellaband. If this plan works out, it will be easier to raise the needed $50K to record a proper album and then, maybe bring the full band on tour across Europe and the rest of the world!"Why should people Believe in Chapter 9?
"Because the trip to Wonderland is wonderful, just ask Alice!"Still Going Strong
Originally from New Zealand, he lived in Korea when he joined SellaBand and has now moved to Melbourne, Australia. Over to: Kane Sole.
Hi Kane, how are you?
"I'm still adjusting to life without a beach! Melbourne is a great city in terms of the arts, there's always something going on, but if you're the kind that likes to frolic around in the waves on your down time it's not the handiest place to be. That's something that I'm finding a bit hard to deal with living here. On the flip side though, it leaves a gap in my time that hasn't previously been there and enables me to write more. We've been here for about three months now, so far it's been a fun scuffle of job hunting and house hunting, and all the other pleasantries that go along with relocating to another country. Short answer…I'm all good."
What's been going on in your world, lately?
"Like I said, I've been writing a lot. I'm really happy with my new material and am finding my process of songwriting is becoming more accurate. Rather than having a vague idea of the direction of a song and seeing where it takes me-which is a lot of fun too- I'm able to express my initial intention more accurately these days. My website is now up and running www.kanesole.com, I'm very pleased with that. I've been auditioning some great talent to support my live act, and am very happy to say I've finally got a drummer. I'm hoping to start rehearsing soon so I can get into some more lively venues. I love to get people up and dancing to my music! The solo gigs I've had over here have been really well received, and my new songs are going down great. It's cool doing the solo thing, but working with other musicians and getting a good vibe going onstage is unbeatable."
Are you still motivated to raise $50,000 on SellaBand?
"Hell yeah! I've been on here for a while now, and have accumulated a loyal believer following. I am keen as ever to deliver my team the best SellaBand album I can. The messages of encouragement I receive from my believers is so inspirational, it's just such a nice thing to have people out there believing in what you do. I'm always plugging SellaBand at gigs, trying to drive more traffic to the site (via my page of course haha) The release of the Vegas Dragons' and Mandyleigh's CD will be some great SellaBand promotional tools in Australia too, and Rey Gamba did a great job with the Tour Down Under."
Is 2008 going to be your year?
"It'd be great to hit 50k this year, and I'm going to work my hardest to get it. I'm in this for the long haul though; I've never expected SellaBand to be a quick fix in realizing my musical dreams. This is a great platform to extend your reach, but you can't just sit on here and wait for the 50k to come."
What would a Kane Sole SellaBand CD look and sound like?
"The artwork itself will reflect the aesthetic of the music, at this stage it'll have a similar look to my website. I don't want my SellaBand album to have an overly produced sound, I want it to have a live feel, like I'm there in the room with the listener. I like that, a polished 'no mistakes' album to me lacks feel. Damien Rice's 'o' album is a great example of this live sound and is something I'd like to replicate with my SellaBand album."
Adam's Apples (2)
Noir
From the heavy metal valhalla that is Miami Florida comes Angelique Noir and her extremely well presented Gothic/Emo soundscapes. Angelique has a nice enough voice and a strong presence but it would be useful to know exactly what else she’s contributing to these tracks. And what’s the story about the “other” Ms Noir with terminal wardrobe problems?
Playlist: Evermore
Weekly Update
Chart Analysis
February Facts: The Best SoFar
February 2008, our 18th full month in business, has been our most successful so far. Not only did we welcome 2 new Recording Artists, also, over 2,500 people signed up as Believers, and over $150,000 new money was invested in unsigned artists on SellaBand. Coverage via (amongst others) CNN and CNBC caused a healthy increase in traffic as well and let's not forget that we have been able to premiere no less than 3 brand new SellaBand albums in February as well.
Advertising revenues were quite healthy too: a little over $6,000 has been added to the Artist & Believers balances. The only downside is, it now has to be split between Believers of seven acts...
A late delivery
Very understandably, we have been getting e-mails asking: Where is my Clémence album? and: Why haven't I received my Mandyleigh Storm Cd's? Well, the answer is: Because they are still being manufactured. Or rather: because they are being manufactured at last. For the extra content menu on the Limited Edition Cd's we had to switch to another company and it turned out that the between them and the factory, the content that was provided was not compatible for Mac.
According to our system, about 9% of our community visit SellaBand with an Apple computer, so we could not ignore this problem. Both albums (Clémence and Mandyleigh Storm) are expected to arrive at our office on Tuesday March 11 and will be sent out, straight away. Lily is another story. The parts (elements required to manufacture an album) were handed in late and we will let you know as soon as the factory has given us a delivery date.
The Week That Was
It was the week in which we welcomed another SellaBand Recording Artist -which is something we have been getting used to, lately- but also the week in which we experienced our first serious down time -which, fortunately we are quite new at. In the early hours of March 1 (European Time) SellaBand was difficult to access, unless you weren't hit by a banner from Weightwatchers. A mistake from our ad-agency (responsible for all bannering on SAB) who uploaded a corrupted file. We're still talking to them how this could happen, what we can do to prevent this from happening again, and if (and how) they can compensate for the fact that our site generated no advertising revenues during the weekend. Thank God the mood and spirit of the community was hardly affected. A crowded chat room for C5, some very interesting discussions on the Forum and an avid Believer pushing the limits of how far people are prepared to go to have other people support her favorite artist. Sounds like business as usual, doesn't it. But it's good business (see February Facts), SellaBand is definitely on the rise and that is a great position to be in. Before we forget: it was also the week in which some of our finest talent shared a stage together at a London watering hole called Ginglik.
Nick from Francis Rodino's band and Maitreya performing at the Orchard gig
Kaitee Page, Daniel Ward-Murphy, Francis Rodino and a special guest slot from Maitreya (due to illness of Second Person singer Julia) all playing a blinder of a set. Both Daniel and Kaitee are performing in London again tonight, by the way (Tuesday, March 4). Check their respective pages for details. In case you cannot attend, you don't have to be bored tonight. Forget about Champions League football, join Utterly B Groovy for his 'Tribune 72 Chat' here...
Kaitee's going crazy...
... or even better: it's her Believers who are causing the kind of excitement we haven't seen here since, well... Nemesea, perhaps? So, we got in touch with Kaitee Page, earlier today and asked her: What on earth is going on?
"A woman never tells her secrets :)but i will say my Believers and i have mutually agreed that there's no sense waiting in line for the 50K. I think it could be that the types of people who like my particular style of music may share some interesting personality traits: unpredictability, spontaneaity, emotionally charged, addictive personalities perhaps, a penchant for risk and excitement, sprinkled with a bit of insanity of course, along with that competitive edge... and all of this may reflect in their investment patterns." When asked about a projected date of arrival, Kaitee responded: "March 14 is my birthday." But, judging by the the current pace, Miss Page's birthday might come a little early this year...
Office Powerplay
Alix: Ellie Williams - Firefly
Anna: Elsewhere (MG) - This Song
Boudewijn: The Sick Leaves - Across the Line
Chris: Civilized Tears - Story of Man (rough)
Dagmar: Civilized Tears - Black Rain
Dolly: The Sick-Leaves - Such a Waster
Johan V: Tony Richards & The Kman Band - What is my place in the world
Tirza: Civilized Tears - Black Rain
Julia Marcell: Album is ready!
"It's a classical dance punk record..."
This Tribune features artists in very different stages of their SellaBand career. Having just finished recording her album in Berlin, Julia Marcell is keen to look back on the whole process. Her album is being mastered, artwork will be done soon and we hope to be able to announce a release date in the next few weeks. Until then, enjoy reading about the joy of making music...
Fresh from finishing the recording process of your SellaBand album, how do you feel?
"Very excited. I know I did my job well during the recording and now I can focus on the things that still need to be done with this record (the visuals!) and the future of it. I am very satisfied with the outcome and I can't wait to present my first full-length album to the world."
So, tell us about recording with Moses Schneider in Berlin
"We recorded the album in Chez Cherie studio which is an unbelievably creative place - lots of paintings on the wall, all kinds of instruments lying around. So basically when we had breaks in the recording - we always would grab an ukulele or a flute and keep generating sounds. Then, after the whole day we would have a listening session of what we recorded plus other people's stuff to keep our minds fresh. Moses is an amazing producer who doesn't fit in any frames - he produces different types of music, always approaching each artist differently, but of course he has his rules. He records only live for 20 years - his experience in this area is unbelievable. And he's a great fun to be around! It was a real pleasure and honor to work with Moses and I do hope I can work with him again in the future."
How important was the role of your A&R person, Lars Grewe, in this process?
"Crucial. He handled all business matters quickly and with ease, definitely squeezed all there could have been squeezed out of that 50k. And if it wasn't because of him, I would never have the chance to work with Moses and other wonderful people who contributed to this album."
What are the most important things that you have learned with making this album?
"I learned that perfection is not a sum of perfect elements, but rather it lies in a whole. Sometimes a bad sound preceding a beautiful sound makes it even more beautiful because of the contrast it creates. All the moments - good or bad - in a song relate to each other and if you polish all the edges, you kill the emotional peaks. Sounds pretty obvious, but it can be hard to see during the recording because as an artist you tend to focus on details of your performance which are often irrelevant to the listener."
Without giving away too much, can you describe your album in one sentence?
"It's classical dance punk - raw in sound but emotional, very human, fun and basically like I described it in my 50k plan (and I'm very proud of that!)"
What's next?
"Now we're preparing the cover and videos and in the meantime I start thinking about a little tour. I want to go on the road to promote the record, it's important to take it directly to people, to have them experience the music on many levels."