What do myself, Josh Pyke, Vance Joy, Washington, Gossling and Kate Miller-Heidke have in common?! Well, the secret to this conundrum lies but a few paragraphs away:

Friends, it's been a while since Alister helped me knock out some tunes up in the Adelaide Hills, and a lot has happened since then. Following a couple of trips to music conferences in North America, lots of touring, and lots of fun, we launched the album 'A Spark in the Dark' in August last year:

TheMusic.com.au thought that it was ‘an album worth remembering’ providing ‘more than meets the eye.’ Whereas, for Melbourne’s Beat Magazine ‘the album is characterised by heartfelt vocal performances that send out an emotive invitation to the listener.’

https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/a-spark-in-the-d...

For the last six or so months I've been toiling away in the music room on some new songs. I've road tested them at shows recently, you might well recognise a few, and I have had some great feedback. So! The time is ripe to get back into the studio and lay some of these new songs down. Whereas 'A Spark in the Dark' was recorded DIY, this time a different approach is required.



And so we have arrived at the nub: this May I'll be fortunate enough to spend a week working with one of Australia's leading producers, Mr John Castle, who has presided over music made by some very great performers, such as those mentioned above, including the winning tune from last year's Hottest 100, 'Riptide'. This is a great boon for me, and I'm absolutely excited to see what happens.

'The Call' is the new lead single that is foremost on the agenda. This, coupled with some other songs you may have heard recently such as 'There is Nothing Else,' 'Sky Trails,' 'City on the Lake,' 'Icarus,' 'A Shadow of Myself,' and 'Painter's Lines,' are in the mix to be part of this project. Afew of those tunes I've played with using some of my own gear and can be streamed here: www.soundcloud.com/tomwest



However, this is only part of the grand-master plan! With a handful of (hopefully) great new songs under the belt, recorded to the highest possible standard, I'll be working hard over the winter with publicists to get the fruits of this labour out and about over radio waves, and over the net, around the country and beyond. On that foundation I'll be journeying back over to the US later in the year to pitch my wares in the big smoke.

This is a grand plan, to be sure! And it is where you come in, friends!

I've been working hard for the last few years, travelling, performing, composing and writing on weekends, whilst working my job during the week. I've arrived at the point where it is necessary for me to leave my day job and launch full bore into chasing this crazy idea; I'll be contributing everything I have toward this, but it's not quite enough! We're looking at top-notch production and studio time as well as serious publicity and more, and these services do not come cheap.

So, I'm politely calling on all you guys to see if you can get behind this and we'll see where we can take it. If this sounds like it might be up your alley, please don't be shy, there's no amount that's too small, every little bit will help and every bit greatly appreciated. Over the years I've really come to cherish all you guys who come out to shows, share my stuff online and support my endeavours in other ways - so I'm already eternally grateful to you anyway!

If you guys have have the ability to contribute to this campaign your contribution will go directly toward the following, and nothing else, the difference I will be funding myself:

Tracking, mixing and mastering: $5280
'The Call' music video: $1000
Production of physical stock: $750
Four month promotional campaign: $5500
Travel to and from the US for CMJ Music Marathon 2014: $2000

Total: $14,530.00
I'm seeking your help for half of the total cost which is: $7265.00

As an independent, self-managed, act the biggest challenge is getting noticed among the hubbub. If we can pull this project off it will go a long way toward that end.

For this project, if I don't manage to rustle up the funding, I won't be able to proceed with with the plan in totality which will compromise the likelihood of getting the most benefit out of it.

However, I've heard what you guys think of these new tunes, I know that you'll like the finished product, and I know that with your support we'll be able to achieve some very cool things!