OK, we admit Kickstarter campaigns are hardly noteworthy these days–with the music industry in freefall as we speak, many musicians (and other artists) are turning to patronage as a source of funding. However, we were particularly charmed by Ocean Vs. Daughter‘s campaign to fund the recording of their second album, and we wanted to share it with you.
OK, we admit Kickstarter campaigns are hardly noteworthy these days–with the music industry in freefall as we speak, many musicians (and other artists) are turning to patronage as a source of funding. However, we were particularly charmed by Ocean Vs. Daughter‘s campaign to fund the recording of their second album, and we wanted to share it with you.
Ocean Vs. Daughter was founded several years ago in Prague, and came together around the songwriting of American-born singer/pianist Flanna Sheridan. Since those days, Sheridan has returned to her native United States, and now makes her home in RVA. Rounding out the current Ocean Vs. Daughter lineup are a few talented local musicians including Kevin Cornell (Glass Twin) on drums, Zak Bryant (Shy Low) on bass, and cellist Michael Knowles. The band recorded their full-length debut, Slightly Parted, with a different lineup back in 2011, establishing a sound that combines the moody piano ballads of early Tori Amos with the pop sensibilities of Feist and the neo-classical ambience of Rachels. Slightly Parted remains available for free download on Bandcamp–watch the video for its single, “Turpentine,” below:
Now Ocean Vs. Daughter are working on a new album, and they’ve taken to Kickstarter to pay for it. As I said before, this strategy isn’t exactly unusual, but what sets Ocean Vs. Daughter’s Kickstarter campaign apart from many that have come before is the entertaining way they’ve set up their dilemma. Assuming that you’ve heard the standard “musician needs money” story a million times before, Ocean Vs. Daughter instead present us with a fairytale backstory about an evil witch who has locked Flanna Sheridan away, Rapunzel-style, in the high tower of a remote castle. Meanwhile, the band’s engineer, Rob Girardi (Beach House), has been transformed into a goose. The band will be transforming each dollar they receive into a “magical musical note,” 5,000 of which will be enough to defeat the evil witch. Yes, it’s silly, but the band pulls off the narrative with quite a bit of panache (and pretty much no budget), so you really can’t go wrong by watching the video below.
Ocean Vs. Daughter have some pretty big plans for their second album, including a release on both CD and vinyl, unique album art by Richmond artist Nicole Renee Randall, and music videos from directors Arash Ayrom, Emile Rafael, Herb Hurni, and Liam Billingham. They’re offering elaborate rewards for contributions to match these plans, though. They’re not just offering the typical band swag such as CDs, vinyl, t-shirts, and prints of album art–though all of that stuff is really nice. However, for contributors who really want to go big, all sorts of rewards are available, including homemade cookies, instrument lessons from members of the band, a private in-home concert by Ocean Vs. Daughter–with the option of having the band provide dinner–and even being able to hire the band to write and record a song on the theme of your choice. These folks are really willing to go all-out to reach their fundraising goal, which is impressive. The deadline for contributions is Wednesday, April 2. With a little over two weeks left, the band is more than halfway to their goal, so it seems likely that they’ll have a new album to show for it in another few months. Make sure you get a copy (and maybe some cookies as well) by contributing to Ocean Vs. Daughter’s Kickstarter campaign at the link below:
