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Soul of the World: An Album Between Civilizations (2025 Release)

  • Soul of the World Release Date!

      24 November 2024

    It's been a little while, so wanted to give a near-final update here and to those who helped support the creation of this project.

    Soul of the World, the 10 track album, will be released into the world on January 1, 2025. I will be in Antarctica when it happens, offline. And that feels exciting.

    The last couple months have been busy ones and we resumed studio time in the last couple weeks. The last 2.5 weeks consisted of all the post-production, mixing and some final recording.

    The tracks will be mastered and ready to go by Wednesday.

    We have some new sounds that have joined the album: a banjo, NASA's sound of the black hole M87, and the birdsong on the land of Highden Temple in New Zealand.

    I am going to release Temple Floor as a single, probably in the next week or so.

    The album will be available on all streaming platforms and I'm also going to set up pre-sales on Bandcamp at a sliding-scale, from $1. Every sale tracked on Bandcamp gets sent to the national charts, so this is a great way to spread the word and build momentum. The more people get the album on here, the better.

    Ultimately, though, I have no idea where this album is going to go when it hits the world.

    I hope these songs and myths spread far and wide. I am so grateful for all your support. It feels like only the beginning and there's no time I'd want Soul of the World to come out other than now.

    Thanks to all of you for making this happen and let's see what comes next.

    Love,

    Jonathan

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  • Last 6 Days: $821 to go

      29 July 2024
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    Final 6 days of the crowdfunding...$821 to go.

    Calling in the final stretch now - please share if you feel inspired to.

    The meeting with Nigel in the studio a few days ago brought the album fully to life.

    We've finalized the arrangement of all the tracks (12 in total). Some tracks are coming to life as a more folk-arrangement (fiddle, mandolin, double bass) and others are going to be more atmospheric. Some songs will have a full band, others will have more soundscapes and more digital production.

    We are starting to reach out to all the musicians as we turn toward production.

    I'm going back in the studio on August 13 + 14, and then Sep 9-13 and Sep 16-20

    Track Listing

    1. A Long, Long Time

    2. For the Landing

    3. Temple Floor

    4. Grandmother’s Letters

    5. Nine Heads

    6. When We Went Dark

    7. A Poem

    8. Alone Together

    9. The Oldest Song

    10. Soul of the World

    11. The World Ahead

    12. The Seventh Chord

    I am so insanely grateful for the process of Soul of the World coming alive through the support of such a vast web of humans globally.

    J

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  • Final Stretch, the Tracks...

      18 July 2024
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    Just a little more to go with my goal for this album - and anything received beyond that will start the fund for the first 200 vinyls (later in 2025).

    Track Listing (for now):

    1. A Long, Long Time

    2. For Landing

    3. Alone Together Here

    4. (Poetry Soundscape)

    5. When We Went Dark

    6. Grandmother's Letters

    7. Nine Heads

    8. Soul of the World

    9. (Poetry Soundscape)

    10. Temple Floor

    11. The Oldest Song

    12. Seventh Chord

    13. If I Go, I'm Going (cover - copyright pending)

    14. Time I'm Alive For

    15. A World Ahead

    As I start to piece Soul of the World together it's proving to be more tracks than I thought — it feels almost like one song, one myth, one note in liminal space between worlds.

    There is going to be the occasional short interlude between tracks as well as some landscapes of poetry spoken at a couple different points. It is getting to know itself more and more as I get closer to the studio time.

    I go into the studio on July 22 (Mary Magdalene Feast Day!) to record vocals and guitar, and then we begin to send samples off to other musicians (percussion, brass, strings, bass...)

    Thank you for all your continued support — and I've already had some requests for vinyls...if you're one of those people who wants one of the 200 vinyls, do let me know.

    From one cell of the Soul of the World to another,

    J

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  • And So It Begins!

      9 July 2024
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    Getting very close to reaching the goal here. Thank you for being part of the DNA of this labor of love!

    I had an awesome consultation with Nigel today in the recording studio. I love this man's heart, his creative vision, and the values behind this non-profit studio really touched me. They've been around for 35 years and have grown solely from grants, donors and public support. At one point, he shared about the importance of reminding everyone of the music they can create. He said: "There's nothing that we don't consider music."

    The consultation with Nigel today opened up totally new creative pathways around this album. While I have 10 of my songs on it, I am also in the process of bringing in beloveds to this project to include their instruments, voice, etc.

    I imagine interludes of voice and instrumentals, almost as if this album is just one recurring chord from one cycle to another, honoring the birth and death that comes with it.

    We also spoke about the potential of releasing 200 vinyls at some point in 2025. More later on that.

    I also am thrilled that my friend Eliška is doing the album art - so thank you in advance for the funds from here that will also support that.

    I'll have a full day in the studio on July 22, recording voice and guitar.

    And I've officially blocked out two weeks in September (magically timed right before the next Temple Training here at Highden Temple) to record the whole album of what already IS, ready or not - Soul of the World.

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  • Soul of the World: An Album Between Civilizations (2025 Release)

      7 July 2024
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    FYI I have increased the goal by $500 to include the 5% processing fee ($500) taken by Givealittle.

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