colleen

Here is the message I posted to my Bandcamp followers, and which I would like to share with you too here.

Dear everyone

I hope this message finds all of you as well as possible. 

I actually don’t “do” Christmas, for a mixture of family reasons and personal beliefs on so-called “celebrations” and “special days”. What I did do today – and I guess that somehow it *is* connected to Christmas – is send the money that slowly accumulated over the months I put aside the animal shelter initiative to an organization I have long wanted to support, Las Almas de Tara, in Ubeda, Andalucia, Spain. 

Earlier this month, the amount of support you gave to the “Special versions – Live at ACCA, Brighton”‘s fundraising for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (for those new here: more than 1500$ collected in 24 hours!!!) helped me muster the willpower to look at the small donations I occasionally receive for the FOR ANIMAL SHELTERS songs here on the platform.

Again, if you’re new here, this is how I started fundraising, in July 2023: just deciding I would give 100% of what you pay to animal shelters for certain songs that belong to me fully. I did it non-stop every month for nearly a year, then kind of burnt out and put it to the side, even though this is in perpetuity, so at any point in time, what you give I give.

Long story short: there was a total of 81$, and – I am very happy to tell you – this means that in total, thanks to your generosity, we have together fundraised a grand total of 2067.28 $ which I have sent to 12 different animal shelters.

Last night I chanced upon a reel by Las Almas de Tara, of 6 newly-born pups that were born early in the morning from a dog that they had rescued 2 days earlier. Spain has one of the worst European records when it comes to animal abandonment and ill treatment, with Andalucia being a particular hotspot, and most of the work is done by very small private organizations. Temperatures go down to – 3º Celsius at night right now, so keeping those puppies alive is no small feat for organizations like these, so today I sent your money and added a little extra to round it to 100 €. Isa, the lady who runs the shelter, wrote back immediately to say thanks (and apparently she loved my music too!).

Here is a portrait of her hugging one of the dogs of the shelter, taken by the mindblowingly-talented photographer Andrés López, through whom I have discovered many shelters here in Spain.

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A post shared by Andrés López (@andreslopezphoto)

As she so eloquently says in the video (reel below): “Ayer os pedía sensibilidad y humanidad. Os decía que los 15 euros que podeis gastar en una caja de gambas, lo invirtiesen realmente en estos ángeles que necesitan ayuda. Ese realmente debería ser el espíritu navideño: compartir lo que todos tenemos con los más desprotegidos.”
Rough translation: “Yesterday, I asked for your sensitivity and humanity. I was telling you that the 15 euros you can spend on a packet of prawns, you could truly invest in those angels who need help. This is what the true spirit of Christmas should be: sharing what we all have with the most defenceless.”

I am an atheist, but I strongly suscribe to this thought and feeling.

So I will close this message by telling you that fundraising here has been a highlight of my year – as it was last year too, but even more so this year with the human aspect of this year’s fundraising. I am sincerely grateful to all of you who have contributed, not least because through your own giving here, you are helping me get better at giving more, and more often. The fact that this is happening through my music makes it even more special for me on both a professional and personal level.

I will also add that you are very welcome to keep giving to both the animal shelter songs *and* the Special versions recording (next round will go to Lebanon), since Bandcamp have not indicated if or when there will be a new Bandcamp Friday. I personally think it does make a great “Christmas present”.You can also donate money directly to any of those organizations we have helped here in the past – if you live in Spain, a super simple and fast way to donate to Las Almas de Tara is through Bizum, as they are a registered charity (código de donación 02968), and they also have various Teaming projects where you can give 1 € every month.

And that’s it from me

Cécile (hard at work on LP9 too!!!), Sol and Klee (who are both sleeping next to me as I write these lines)

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A post shared by ALMAS DE TARA (@lasalmasdetara)

Dear everyone

Absolutely overjoyed to let you know the final results of this first fundraiser for Palestine Children’s Relief Fund’s Urgent Gaza Relief Fund: 1512.21$ which I will send early this week!!!!

This is way above all my expectations, although perhaps it would be more accurate to say I actually really didn’t know what to expect… THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

– any money sent from now on will be kept to contribute to the next fundraiser, FUNDRAISER #2 FOR LEBANON, which of course will be more difficult, since those of you who have donated to this first fundraiser most likely fall in my “hardcore fan category” and/ or are naturally enclined to give, and so the next fundraiser will have to draw in additional people.

– no indication has been given from Bandcamp as to whether or not they will hold another Bandcamp Friday, I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will, in order to maximize “your contribution to my donation” ratio (Bandcamp takes a 15% commission).

I’ll keep an eye out and when I do hear, will let you know over here.

If BC Friday doesn’t happen soon, I’ll just choose a day and campaign anyway.

I also don’t want to disencourage people from donating outside of Bandcamp Friday if they want to, as I know that sometimes, we may feel enclined to give now on the spur of the moment, and not in a few weeks time… and also maybe you want to have the music already (that’s also my hope, as I love this release very very much!!!)

Thanks as always for reading these messages, listening to the music and supporting in any capacity you can.

Special versions – Live at ACCA, Brighton is out today, which is Bandcamp Friday, meaning the platform doesn’t take its commission, making it an ideal day for fundraising! There are still 19 hours to go (it ends at midnight Pacific Time, 9 am on Saturday in mainland Europe) and so far it’s going really well, 320$ in just 3 hours!!! I would be overjoyed if you helped the initiative either through donating directly and/or sharing it around you!

This fundraising #1 is for @thepcrf PALESTINE CHILDREN’S RELIEF FUND‘S Urgent Gaza Relief Fund.

… + REFLECTIONS ON REAMPING AND RECORDING LIVE

Will you believe me if I say this version of “Les parenthèses” is one of my favourite things that I’ve done *ever*? Will you also believe me if I tell you I believe this is probably the best sound I’ve ever had on any recording of mine, courtesy of the stunning PA-and-room capture by sound engineer @kanearis at @attenboroughctr (put on your fav headphones or connect to your amp and speakers and hopefully you will agree)?

I couldn’t be more excited about the ramifications of this recording, because it ties in so neatly with my plans for LP9 and came at the *exact right moment*. Indeed, the older I grow, the more I believe (because I’ve experienced it first hand over and over again) that certain experiences come to us to show us that the seed of an idea is meant to grow and bear fruit. Reamping was already on my radar thanks to giving a hand to @molero___a on his beautiful second album Destellos del Extasis, on which the depth and richness of sound achieved through reamping is evident (in his case, in an empty swimming pool! I helped with the microphone placement). But also, one of the albums that has touched me the most this year is @colinstetson The love it took to leave you, which was recorded in live conditions: I heard it right after listening to Kane’s recording of my show, which had already sealed my decision I would reamp LP9 in a live space, so the timing of hearing Colin’s album couldn’t have been more perfect, like a voice saying “This is it, no room for doubt”. Believe me, for someone who has recorded their entire output in small spaces, this is such a super exciting decision for me, and even makes me feel like I’m starting all over again.

SPECIAL VERSIONS – LIVE AT ACCA, BRIGHTON: 6th DECEMBER BANDCAMP FRIDAY, FUNDRAISING #1 FOR @thepcrf PALESTINE CHILDREN’S RELIEF FUND
A lot of love went into this music and this release, so I sincerely hope you will like these new versions of the songs from my last album Le jour et la nuit du réel @thrilljockey as much as I do, and that you will join me tomorrow on this first fundraising for @thepcrf‘s Urgent Gaza Relief fund 🙏🙏🙏
This is a Bandcamp exclusive release in both audio and video (the entire show was filmed), with 100% of proceeds going to humanitarian causes in perpetuity (FULL TRACKLISTING AND CREDITS BELOW). LINK WILL BE ACTIVE WHEN BANDCAMP FRIDAY STARTS: midnight to midnight Pacific Time, 9 am Friday to 9 am Saturday mainland Europe.

When I developed those versions, I decided I would record them, just wasn’t sure where and when.
On that night at @attenboroughctr I actually didn’t know the show was being recorded, and the more I played, the more moved I felt by how the music sounded on the PA and in the room, even from the stage. If you perform live regularly, you will know what a special feeling that is, because not every concert is like that: you may be just concentrating on the “mechanics” of getting it right, you could be having issues related to yourself (your state of mind, stress, tiredness, health…), your instruments or a venue technical issue… but there are times when the miracle of feeling a deep emotion through the music while playing it happens, and on that night, on which I was exceptionally relaxed, I definitely felt it.
“I really wish this had been recorded”, I told the audience at the end of “Les parenthèses enchantées – Mvt IV – Swimming version”, so when sound engineer @kanearis told me, after the show, “It *was* recorded, with several mikes too”, I literally gave him a hug! So what you will hear is the sound from my mixing desk (where I mix the Grandmother and 2 delays), mixed with the sound from Kane’s desk and 2 ambiant mikes capturing the sound of the PA in the venue from 2 different locations.
I invite you to read @thepcrf home and FAQ pages to see how they are working on the ground to provide medical aid in many different ways to the country’s children.
🙏🙏🙏 @attenboroughctr @la_ducceschi @gomez_servin_andres for the artwork; extra special 🙏🙏🙏 @kanearis