After Edmund announces new crowd funded album
From local concerts and small town origins to a Grammy nomination in 2009 for their Hello album, After Edmund has been busy. Most recently they’ve self-produced, recorded and released a pair of EPs, as well as putting an explosive video on YouTube.
Such accomplishments have left this group of Georgia natives with a grass roots fan base stretching across North America. Self-described “super-fans” are checking in with the band regularly via social media from even as far as way as Europe and South America.
Their latest project has them raising money for a new album through the Kickstarter website, a platform designed to help crowd-funded different initiatives. Some recent efforts on the website include the reunited Five Iron Frenzy setting a record for most funded music project of all time – pulling together a whopping $200,000. Another success was the fan based fund raising to complete directior Steve Taylor’s screen adaptation of Donald Miller’s best selling book Blue Like Jazz.
In the past year After Edmund has written over 50 songs, about a dozen of which they plan to pick to include in their not-yet titled album due out this spring. Productions on several of those songs have already begun, with the band travelling to Nashville this month to record with acclaimed producer Rusty Varenkamp (Mutemath, Tenth Avenue North, Toby Mac).
“We are gathering together all our fans and friends to raise about $30 000 for this new album,” says lead-vocalist Mitch Parks. “We’ve wanted to do this for a long time, to give our fans an opportunity to be as big a part of this record as we are.”
Hopeful words that come at a time when the music industry is at its lowest point in years. Fortunately with the help of start-up companies like Kickstarter, independent artists have been able to create a strong-foothold with their fans in what has quickly become an over saturated market.
One of the things that Kickstarter brings to the table is that campaigns must reach 100% of their goal by a chosen deadline – in the case of After Edmund they are looking to raise around $20 000 by February 24th.
Setting the bar so high may be a daunting challenge for some artists, but After Edmund has already seen over-whelming support. Raising almost 25% of their goal in the first week, Parks is quick to offer up praises for supporters, saying “The progress so far has been incredible. I can’t believe it… from the bottom of our hearts we are blessed to have you guys as friends and as fans.”