I Ascend in the Bright Flame of Marigolds 🔥
over 1 year ago
– Thu, Nov 17, 2022 at 02:08:45 PM
AWESTRUCK
What an incredible few weeks! When I initially conceived of doing this Kickstarter campaign for my forthcoming record, it was really just as a way to explore a way of releasing this new physical incarnation of Ascend Ascend—and see how this platform might serve to do that (having run an unexpectedly successful dungeons & dragon Kickstarter in 2020 and a tremendously popular one earlier this fall). I set my expectations low because I really wasn’t sure what the interest level would be for the hyper-niche genre of “live mystical poetry with experimental cello published by a metal record label” … on vinyl. But as the project flowered into a new round of performances with Atlas Obscura—and all the beautiful printed ephemera designed by David V. D’Andrea—my curiosity has ignited into full-blown excitement!
And that ignition is entirely thanks to all of you! With nearly 200 people backing this project, we’ve already placed more copies of the album into excellent homes than most books sell in their entire lifetime!
So What’s Next?
Now that the Kickstarter is over, we have a good idea of the full press run for the record beyond the limited edition Blood Marigold vinyl, so we’re locking in the final details with Third Man Pressing between now and Thanksgiving. Next comes test-pressing and final layout and design of the record sleeves.
In the meantime, the artwork for the art prints, meditation cards, and bookmarks has all been sent off to Monolith Press already. Once the screen-printing is done on those, they’ll be shipped to David, who will sign and number the art prints before sending them to me to sign as well.
While all of THAT is happening, I’m having regular meetings with Atlas Obscura to finalize our dates, details, and venues for the Spring 2023 tour!
We are shooting for a record release date in April 2023, at which point all rewards will be mailed to backers.
At each step along the way, as we hit milestones in production, I’ll be posting project updates here.
Pledge Management and Add-Ons
About a month from now, I'll be sending out email links to the pledge manager (BackerKit) where you'll be able to do a few things:
- Select any add-ons that you may now be having FOMO on, including: additional copies of the album, the t-shirt, Mithras candles, the art print, meditation cards, the bookmark.
- Let us know the postal address you want your rewards sent to.
- Pay the associated shipping fees.
If you didn’t grab a ticket to one of the shows, but you would like to: as exact dates and locations are announced for the four shows in Boston, NYC, LA, and Seattle tickets for those will become available from Atlas Obscura via Eventbrite and I’ll post links to that in the project updates.
If you did pickup a ticket to one of those events, you’ll eventually get a message from Atlas Obscura confirming your attendance and any additional ticket info you may need to gain entrance to the show.
Digital Downloads
All digital rewards will be sent out as links to download at a later date, once they're ready. You can expect them sometime around April 2023.
When and How?
I'll be announcing more details on fulfillment and the pledge manager in updates soon. I’m sure there are lots of questions about how exactly this is all going to work, but please hold tight until the announcements, where I'll provide full details.
One More Time
This project means so much to me and I am beyond excited to get you all your rewards. Thank You, again, thank you.
🔥🖤🔥 ~ Janaka
Creative Independent + Breaking $10K + New Bookmark!
over 1 year ago
– Mon, Nov 14, 2022 at 06:51:21 AM
Hi all, I've been deep in the weeds writing over the past couple of weeks so I'm just catching up on some exciting updates... First of all:
We Broke $10,000 in funding!
That means we are now over 10x the funding goal for this project, which is just incredible to me.
Thank you 🔥 Thank you 🔥 Thank you 🔥
I had mentioned in a previous project update that I was trying to think of a $10K stretch goal, and now I've found it:
New Bookmark 📖
David V. D'Andrea has designed a beautiful bookmark that will be screen-printed on the same fine paper as the art print, also in a limited edition of 150. All Early Bird pledges and anyone receiving the Ascension Bundle will automatically receive this bookmark now; others can add it onto their pledge for $5 if they'd like!
Creative Independent Interview
Finally, the fantastic Elle Nash interviewed me for the Creative Independent on using ritual to guide one's work in the creative process. I talk about this record project, the ceremonial performances it sprang from, and my personal experiences working with meditation and occult elements. That interview went live this morning if you want to check it out!
Love, Janaka
A Personal Note on David's Art
over 1 year ago
– Thu, Nov 10, 2022 at 06:38:24 AM
Hey All!
While I’ve talked about how excited I am to have a record coming out with music by the incredible Lori Goldston, I haven’t talked much about how personally meaningful it is for me to have the associated artwork illustrated by David V. D’Andrea.
I’ve been a longtime fan of David’s work for some of my favorite bands, wearing shirts and hanging posters with his art on them years before we personally connected. During the first six months of my son’s life, I used to change his diapers several times a day on top of the dresser in our bedroom—before we eventually moved him to a proper changing table—underneath a tour poster David created for the band OM. (Here you can see me trying to rock Eli to sleep sometime after midnight with the makeshift changing table and OM poster in the background)
So when David agreed to work on the album art for this record I was deeply grateful and incredibly excited. While I love and admire the work of so many great artists whom I’ve collaborated with, I honestly can’t imagine any other artist being a better fit for visually representing this project than David.
Beyond the record sleeve, David has created a couple of silkscreen & letterpress meditation cards, as well as a beautiful six-color silkscreen print, which will be signed and numbered by David in a limited edition of 150.
After the Kickstarter is over, I won’t be offering any of these prints directly until after my tour dates are completed in 2023 (if there are still any left at that point). So if you love David’s work as much as I do, and you definitely want one of these beautiful prints in your own home (they are great for entertaining babies with dirty diapers!), I recommend grabbing one through the project before it ends.
Love, Janaka
Introducing Retailer Bundles!
over 1 year ago
– Thu, Oct 27, 2022 at 05:26:20 PM
Over 8x Funded 🔥
When I was planning this project I never thought that on Day 3 we would have hit our funding goal more than 8x over! To celebrate, I am brainstorming a $10,000 stretch goal which I hope to announce by Halloween. In the meantime, I do want to announce...
Retailer Bundles!
For any indie retailers out there who want to stock some of the records and maybe pick up some of the additional ephemera, I've created two new pledge tiers:
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Retailer Bundle - Yellow Marigold ($125). This gets you 10 copies of the Yellow Marigold edition at 50% off.
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Retailer Bundle - Blood Marigold ($99). This gets you 5 copies of the Blood Marigold limited edition at about 50% off. Originally I hadn't planned to sell the Blood Marigold edition to record stores, so this pledge is limited to just 5 backers (and the copies will not come signed like the ones being sold to individuals).
Backers of the Retailer Bundles will be asked for proof of retailer status after the campaign is over. If you have a favorite record shop (or other sales boutique) that you think would be interested in this project, please loop them in! Speaking of looping people in ...
If you've already backed the project, and you want to continue supporting us the best way to do that is by helping us spread the word! Here's where you can me online:
- Tag me on Instagram 🔥
- Tweet at me on Twitter 🔥
- Email your friends, fellow poets, metal-heads, mystics, anticapitalist warlocks, stoner witches, and righteous ritualists to tell them about what we're up to 🔥
Thank you and have a beautiful night!
Love,
Janaka
Day Two Updates + Lori Goldston on Tour!
over 1 year ago
– Wed, Oct 26, 2022 at 05:12:52 PM
Day Two
You all continue to amaze me with your support of this project! On Day Two we:
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SOLD OUT of the VIP tickets to the Boston show! 🔥
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SOLD OUT of the Early Bird Ascension Bundles! 🔥
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EXCEEDED 7x our funding goal! 🔥
There are still a few VIP tickets left for NYC, LA and Seattle for anyone who might be considering upgrading your pledges. The excitement being generated around this release and subsequent performances has really been incredible to see, and I'm more eager than ever to get back out there and be with many of you in-person again!
Speaking of in-person...
Lori Goldston On Tour
Lori just kicked off her own tour yesterday, with a first stop here in Boston, performing a live soundtrack to the silent cult classic, Häxan—a fictionalized documentary film from 1922 Sweden about the history of witchcraft. I got out to the show, and it was the first time we had been in the same room together since our Seattle performance in 2019. She's got a few more dates lined up. If you can, do yourself a favor and go hear her live:
If you can't catch her live, definitely check out her new album, High and Low, that just came out this month. More on Lori Goldston:
Classically trained and rigorously de-trained, possessor of a restless, semi-feral spirit, Lori Goldston is a cellist, composer, improvisor, producer, writer and teacher from Seattle. Her voice as a cellist, amplified or acoustic, is full, textured, committed and original; her work explores the outer edges of the instrument’s color, texture and expression.
A relentless inquirer, her work drifts freely across borders that separate genre, discipline, time and geography. Lori Goldston's collaborators include Earth, Nirvana, Mirah, David Byrne, Terry Riley, Cat Power, and many more. Her work has been commissioned by and/or performed at the Kennedy Center, Sydney Festival, Cineteca Nacional de México, Tectonics Festival, Frye Art Museum, Bemis Center, Time Based Art Festival (TBA), WNYC’s New Sounds Silent Film Series, The New Foundation, Paris Fashion Week, Northwest Film Forum, On the Boards, Seattle International Film Festival, Seattle Jewish Film Festival, Bumbershoot, Crossing Border Festival, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, Joe’s Pub, the Stone, University of Chicago Film Studies Center,, and venues large and small throughout North America, Mexico, Australia, and Europe. Lori's new album High and Lowwill be released in October.
