Final Days!
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Oct 08, 2024 at 10:11:41 AM
Dear Windborne Backers,
Short version: YOU ARE AMAZING, we set records, tell your friends, digital files in a few weeks, shipping late November, make sure to look out for a survey when the campaign closes, come see us live! Plus-Do you want VINYL?
The full version:
Wow, this has been quite the journey, and the four of us are all still a bit in shock at the warmth and enthusiasm with which the world has received
To Warm the Winter Hearth! We’ve poured our love and work and creativity into this project for so long and to see thousands of people from all over the world talking about it and getting excited and preparing to listen to (or sing!) these songs are truly a dream come true.
In these last days of the campaign for To Warm the Winter Hearth, we wanted to take a moment to stop, catch our breath, and send you a warm and heartfelt thank you. Your incredible support has filled us with deep gratitude for how this community has come together, and feels like a reaffirmation of the power and place of traditional music and vocal harmony in the world today. Your belief in our music and mission is the best gift we will receive this year, and we are beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to share with you all the music, artwork, stories, and magic in this book
The project has also set new records in the crowdfunding world! Not only is it the #1 vocal album ever, but it is also the top Folk Album, and the top Seasonal Album! In fact, if we get 700 more backers, you will have made To Warm the Winter Hearth the 5th most-backed crowdfunded album on any platform. Incredible! Thank you.
As we work to cross the finish line, we ask that you help us. If you have friends or family that might resonate with our music and mission, please do share our campaign (
this link can help!). The best way is often a direct email, but you can also share the page with them and encourage them to watch the video to hear the music! We really appreciate the word-of-mouth recommendation, it’s the highest compliment a musician can receive.
Some Important Info!
Digital files: We just approved the final master for the album so we’ll be sending out those files in the next few weeks to everyone in all pledge levels!
SURVEY: After the campaign ends on the 13th of october you will receive a survey to collect some important information, most importantly your shipping address.
Reduce plastic waste: A CD is included by default in most pledges, but we know that many people don’t want them or have no way to play them. To reduce waste, if you opt to not receive the disc we will give you a $5 credit towards any other Windborne merch!
Add-ons: You will also have an opportunity in the survey to buy more albums at a highly discounted campaign rate. This will include our other books and albums, tshirts, sheet music for choirs, and more!
Shipping will begin late November, to make sure you get your copies in time for the holidays!
Thank you again for being part of this journey! We hope to see you at a show sometime You can find subscribe to our schedule and find our events at:
windbornesingers.com/concerts If you want to join us year-round, our
Patreon community is where we share our works in progress, behind the scenes stories, and other fun stuff.
Thanks again for being such an integral part of the Windborne team. We can’t express how much your support means to us.
In harmony and gratitude,
Jeremy, Lauren, Lynn, and Will
Livestream Hangout Sept 22 at 7:30!
over 1 year ago
– Mon, Sep 16, 2024 at 04:07:25 PM
Hello you wonderful backers! Wow, the response to this campaign has really gone beyond our wildest dreams! We have poured our time and love and attention and heart into this project for the past several years, and to see all of you getting excited about our particular take on midwinter musical traditions and art has been honestly very moving. It is rare that independent musicians get to have such supportive communities of listeners, and we are incredibly touched by the support you have shown in getting the album for friends and family, choirs, students, and communities. The idea of so many people listening to these songs and enjoying the book this December is thrilling!
To show our gratitude for your support and to celebrate, we are going to be having a little
livestream hangout/chat/concert on Sept 22 at 7:30 ET! We will be sharing a bit of the process of making this whole thing come together as well, and answering questions in the chat and giving some sneak previews of the songs!
You can watch on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1160514961692032/
Or on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@WindborneSingers/liveHere is the invite below:
Join Windborne in celebrating our newest project: a book & album of music for midwinter called To Warm the Winter Hearth. Filled with lush vocal harmony and packaged inside a full-color book, it’s our most exciting project yet!
As a thank you to everyone who has supported us so far (3600+ and counting!) we will sing songs, tell stories, and give you a sneak peek behind the scenes of the new project. Admission is free for backers, and we encourage you to share with friends so they can preorder their copy (at a discount and free shipping!)
You can also join us year-round on our Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/windborne
Art Update!
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Aug 20, 2024 at 04:18:06 PM
We are 75% of the way to our initial goal - Thanks to everyone who has been sharing the project with friends! We are just wrapping up the book this week, and wanted to give you a little peek at how the art progressed from initial idea to the front spread!
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One thing we are most excited about with our new album,
To Warm the Winter Hearth, is the artwork! We've spent months collaborating with the incredible illustrator
Matt Spencer, who truly brought our vision to life in ways that far exceeded our expectations!
The songs on this album come from a variety of midwinter traditions and celebrations that are rich with characters and symbols, and from the beginning we knew we wanted the art to depict as many of them as possible, all mashed up together in a giant party! We think of the artwork as a bit of a Where's Waldo or scavenger hunt for all the hidden gems and special meaning, and we wanted to share some of those secrets with early backers.
In the cover spread above, you can clearly see us leading the procession of revelers towards the house on the hill. Just behind us, the four men in colorful costumes are the four members of Nowell Sing We Clear, a group that was an integral part of our holiday celebrations as we grew up and inspired so much of our album (and include Lauren's dad Fred, playing fiddle)!
Many of the images come directly from the lyrics of our songs: the red fox is featured in our first track Here We Come A-Wassailing, and Derby Ram in the righthand corner has a whole family of songs dedicated to his legend. By the ram's feet, you can see a timid hare like the one mentioned in Time to Remember the Poor. There are people beating on pots and pans and dancing around a bonfire from Welcome In Another Year, and just above the ram's head you can see Satan falling on his nose as he does in Satan Es Ben Estonat!
There are also some images that are more of an inside joke among us. Do you see the camel with a rider playing an instrument? This is also a reference to Satan Es Ben Estonat, but not because a camel is actually mentioned in the song. One verse of the song has the line, "Enflatz la calamèla," and when we were first learning the song, we joked that it must mean "inflate the camel!" The verse is actually about playing the cymbals and the chalumeau (a clarinet-like instrument) to celebrate Satan's downfall, but when it came time to brainstorm imagery for the book, it seemed fitting to include our imaginary friend the camel in this scene as well.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to "easter eggs" hidden in the art. What other references can you spot here? Do you have questions about details you notice? We're happy to tell all the stories!
In harmony and celebration,
Lauren, Jeremy, Lynn, and Will
Please do keep sharing and thanks for your support <3