From Dreams EP
My EP From Dreams has been released into the world! Listen on Bandcamp here.
Over the last year or so, I have been teaching myself to record music–both vocals and harmonium. As someone with ADHD and very high standards, learning new technical skills is a real challenge. Friends helped, recommending gear and offering inspiration for recording sessions. I was even able to rescue some of my darling dad’s old gear to incorporate into my setup. He’s a lifelong musician, though Alzheimer’s has dissolved his relationship with the gear that used to live in his recording studio. One of his old condenser mics is the mic I used to record every bit of this EP. Thanks, dad.
The most time consuming and emotionally exhausting part of the whole process? Fighting myself over how publicly imperfect I am willing to be. I recorded this music myself, in my bedroom, at my altar. God mixed and mastered it. I have finally willed myself to share it anyway because the truest part of me believes that it’s okay to start somewhere, and that this music, acoustic and raw and with the occasional mic pop!, is a sincere representation of the phase of life it grew out of. I wrote one of these songs over six years ago, and all four have been close companions for years now.
My friend Clair reminded me that we are now in a process of shifting from yang to yin energy. Seasonally, we are turning inwards and it’s my hope that the four lullabies on this EP of mine, which is called From Dreams, help you find the stillness and space to cozy into yourself and remember the preciousness of creation.
On Bandcamp, you can pay any amount to download my songs to have in your personal collection. I heartily welcome you to pay $0 and download my EP for access anytime. The story of what will happen with any money you do share is also a story of lineage and respect:
33% will go to The Hope Project in Nizamuddin Basti in New Delhi, as a means of humbly acknowledging the traditions of Sufism, Islam and Hinduism which have given me precious devotional forms. Without India, there would have been no Hazrat Inayat Khan or Neem Karoli Baba (look them up!). The Hope Project is run by Sufis and supports a very impoverished community in a Muslim neighborhood with food, education, job training and more.
33% will go to the Portland Audobon Wildlife Care Center near my home on Cowlitz land aka Portland, Oregon. So far the best thing I have come up with as a remedy for the harm “civilization” is causing creatures and the natural world is to do everything we can to protect, honor and praise the preciousness of creation.
33% will go to me.
Thank you for reading, and for listening <3
