Correspondence

What is this project?

Correspondence is a collaboration. I've asked some queer folk musicians, including George Sansome, Alex Garden and Matt Norman, to send me a new or unreleased self-penned tune, then I've written a companion tune to precede or follow each tune to make a tune set. Then we'll record each pair of tunes. Essentially it's a collection of duets, with a tune supplied by each musician. We'll also be releasing a tune book of all of the tunes so that others can learn them and there will be T-shirts and tote bags with art inspired by the project too.

Why?

I wanted to embark on a project that would engage my compose-y brain but would also allow me to collaborate with creative queer people. I'm working exclusively with LGBTQIA+ musicians, so the result will be an explicitly queer collaboration, resulting in a collection of tunes all written by LGBTQIA+ people.

I think that currently there are powerful forces trying to erase queer people from the public eye, airbrushing our queerness away, undermining our identities and eroding our rights and other minorities are facing similar treatment. As a trans woman I'm at the sharp end of that wedge at the moment and I wanted to create a positive and hopeful record that demonstrates the amazing things queer people can do when we unite and work together. I hope that Correspondence will be a little beacon of queer hope.

I don't believe that folk music is static or that it lives in the past. These brand new tunes will form another stepping stone in the ongoing evolution of this vibrant and expansive genre.  I'd love for you to be part of that journey.

Support this project now

How am I funding this

I've applied for a grant which will certainly help if my application is successful, but it's people like you who will really make this project possible. So I've launched a Kickstarter! If you decide to support this project you're paying for something that will definitely come to fruition, but your money will directly affect the scale of the project (i.e. how many musicians I can afford to involve, so consequently the number of tracks) and the quality of the recording, by helping me cover studio costs rather than having to record in people's living rooms. It'll also ensure that I can pay people fairly for their contributions.

Check out the Kickstarter page for Correspondence: a little collection of queer tunes