33, Single & Broke

I wrote my third studio album during lockdown in the pandemic. As a full time musician, all of a sudden, I was out of work. On top of that my relationship ended unexpectedly. I found myself - ‘33, Single & Broke’. I had a really hard but also really creative period of isolation in my apartment in Berlin. I have a little balcony and I sat outside with my guitar, singing out my fears and my worries. Reflecting through pain and humour.

As I spoke to others about what I was creating, I came to realise that a lot of the pressure I felt as a result of being single and broke in my mid-thirties was pressure felt by many women around me - many people around me - all feeling somehow deficient. So many of us suffer in silence on these topics - there is so much shame surrounding them, and I don't think there should be. So I dedicated this album to telling my story honestly, in the hope of providing some solidarity, awareness and understanding.

I wrote every tune on this record and arranged them together with my wonderful band. We spent 10 days completely isolated from the world in the studios of the aptly named band ‘Isolation Berlin’. The experience felt a bit like what I imagine the Laurel Canyon, California in the 60s and 70s was like - with Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash and the like sitting in a room together - creating and cherishing each other’s company. The forced isolation and the hardships of the pandemic brought us closer.

I produced this record myself - a big milestone for me and I couldn’t be prouder of the result. It’s folky, warm, organic but still modern and edgy. It is a very pure and honest product - and I knew the packaging had to do this sentiment justice. It was really important to me not to wrap this beautiful, authentic record design in wasteful plastic - so I’ve gone all in for a more ecological packaging system - including recycled vinyl records.

The project goal is 12,000 Euros. That might seem like a lot but it’s only a fragment of the complete costs of a professional album production. I’ve already funded the pre-production, studio recordings, mixing, mastering and promotion myself. This campaign is crucial for me to be able to afford the last steps in the process - and to do them with a continued sense of quality and ecological standards.

This project is grassroots. It’s been a very hard three years for musicians. The industry is still reeling from the whole experience of the pandemic. Ticket sales for concerts are currently at about 30% of pre-pandemic sales. Our tour income was crucial to us, and it’s getting more and more difficult to live from our music and make quality music for you.

I have gone all in on this production. Most of the costs I have already funded myself. This crowdfunding is to help me cover the last 12,000 Euros of costs. Helping me to do this means I can move forward with my next creative projects and keep making music for all of you without leaving mountains of debt behind me. I work incredibly hard to make high quality productions like this a reality, but I can’t do it all by myself.

The merchandising for this album was 50% more expensive than standard options because I made a decision to be more ecologically friendly. The vinyl and CD are completely packaged in recycled paper. The vinyl record itself is also recycled from old broken down records! Each one is unique with colourful swirls and so much character.

Making my merchandise in this way was very important to me. I was sick of removing unnecessary, wasteful plastic every time I signed a record at a concert. I wanted to do everything in my power to reduce my product’s carbon footprint and to inspire change in the music industry. Even in a time of crisis - perhaps especially in a time of crisis, i think it is important to live by our principles and raise the bar!

The funds from this project will be used as follows:

Vinyl Pressing/Printing: 5000 Euro
CD Pressing/Printing: 2000 Euro
Graphic Design and Photos: 2000 Euro
2 Music Videos to promote the album: 3000 Euro