All posts by Esther
Stay Warm MP3 downloads are ready!
Digital downloads of the new CD Stay Warm are available as of today! Just click on over to either CD Baby or Bandcamp.
Here’s the enticing short description:
Adventurous mountain dulcimer, flute, & a sincerely expressive voice. Artful lyrics & entrancing multi-genre instrumentation. A love song involving a nectarine & an avocado. Esther’s 3rd CD is a real gem for creative souls.
Both companies allow you to choose audio quality (file type) for your downloads. (FYI: CD Baby keeps a smaller portion of the total for themselves, but Bandcamp allows you to pay a little extra if you want. I think they’re both great.)
Thanks to all who’ve already ordered physical copies of Stay Warm. I’ve been mailing them off with joy and gratefulness.
I’m curious to observe a changing world. When I released Unfinished Houses in 2007, the vast majority of purchases were for the physical CD. Digital distribution of music was still in its infancy. Now, I wonder how many of you actually prefer downloading your music. I’m about to find out!
By the way, full-album downloads will count toward my 2000-album goal, and thus will help uncover the mystery painting. Thank you!
Stay Warm (Part 4 of 4): IT’S HERE!
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$14.99 plus shipping |
Stay Warm – a BRAND NEW collection of songs! Hear audio samples in player to the right, read description here. [wp_cart:Stay Warm CD:price:14.99:var1[Want it signed?|Unsigned (unopened)|Signed (If special, tell me at checkout)]:end] |
Esther’s previous CDs are available here. |
Stay Warm (Part 3 of 4): The 2,000 Album Goal (And a Mysterious Painting)
- Tomorrow, Monday, May 6th, is the release date for my new album Stay Warm! Parts 1 and 2 of this series describe the contents, recording experience, and cost. And now for Part 3!
- Where the funding came from: I didn’t use Kickstarter or any other crowd-funding source to raise the $21,000 for Stay Warm. Nor did I borrow. The funding for Stay Warm came from my business bank account. From money earned and saved performing and selling my first two CDs plus financial support from two highly dedicated patrons-of-the-arts (thank you Mom and Dad!)
- The 2,000 album goal: I’d like to earn back what I spent on Stay Warm by selling 2,000 CDs, either physical or digital. Simple as that. I can’t do that unless you (and 1,999 other people like you) buy them!
- Let’s have fun getting there: I’ve created a webpage with a hidden painting that’s very dear to me. It’s an oil painting that hangs in my childhood home. There’s a neat story behind it. For every 20 full albums sold (including any/all of my three CDs), I’ll reveal 1/100th of the painting! Gradually, we’ll all get to see the painting emerge as we reach the 2,000-album goal. When the entire painting is finally revealed, we’ll all pop open a bottle of celebratory beverage and I’ll tell you the story of the painting in a video. And I’ll sing you a special song! And I’ll say thank you for your support with all my heart.
Stay Warm (Part 2 of 4): What does it cost to record a new CD?
On Monday, May 6th you’ll be able to order my new CD Stay Warm. It contains eleven tracks I’m very excited to share with you!
Independent musicians often crack jokes about their “job”, implying how hard it is to make a living, but rarely discuss the actual numbers. Since most people don’t know what’s involved, I thought you might find it interesting to see what it costs to produce a high-quality record like Stay Warm.
Of course, CDs can vary immensely in cost and quality. For example, recording solo voice/guitar is much less expensive than recording multiple voices/instruments. I layered (overdubbed) quite a few vocals and instruments. In my experience each layered part can add about 1-2 hours of studio time, including tracking, editing and mixing. Bands who record all their instruments simultaneously rather than overdubbing individual tracks save considerable time and money. Some musicians record on home computers, some find small studios that charge as little as $25 hour, some go for top-of-the-line big-city studios that charge $100+/hour. There’s a huge range.
The biggest expense, by far, is the recording studio – so musicians must choose carefully.
I returned to 10th Planet Studio in Fairbanks, Alaska because I love working with engineer-musicians Pat Fitzgerald and Robin Dale Ford. Professional equipment and skills are just the beginning. Pat and Robin contribute terrific drums, guitar, bass and banjo. They work their butts off to make projects shine and provide smiling encouragement (and strong coffee!) every step of the way. Their studio is crazy cozy – a log house in the woods. After long studio sessions, we’d take late-night hikes in the endless daylight of Alaska’s summer.
For this Alaska-themed project and the musical palette I wanted to paint from, 10th Planet Studio was a perfect choice.
I suspect Stay Warm cost a little above average for a solo singer-songwriter layering musical parts on top of each other. I can’t be sure because money taboos prevent most musicians from divulging the cost of their CDs.
So what DID the new CD cost?
Stay Warm cost about $21,000 to make.
Here’s the breakdown:
$15,644 | Studio time ($75/hour for tracking/editing/mixing + per-track cost of drums/bass when played by engineers) |
$975 | Mastering |
$1280 | Paying musicians |
$49 | Music notation software subscription (used to write cello parts, harmonies, etc) |
$69 | CDBaby registration (host for MP3 downloads) and UPC code |
$364 | Mechanical Royalties to writers of 2 covers |
$35 | US Copyright fee |
$600 | Graphic design for CD artwork |
$2,060 | Manufacturing 2000 copies |
Incalculable | My own lodging, travel, composing, arranging, notating, organizing logistics, rehearsing, tracking, listening, etc. |
Stay Warm (Part 1 of 4): I’ve Got A New CD!
- The new CD, Stay Warm, is finally done! I’m so happy to announce my new collection of eleven songs entitled Stay Warm. Woo-woo-woo-hoo! You can order it as of Monday, May 6th, 2013. In anticipation, I’m writing a series of four articles to give you a behind-the-scenes look at how Stay Warm came to life.
- Wow! When did this happen? I recorded it in Fairbanks, Alaska in the five months between April and August, 2012. I collaborated with many fantastic musicians. Shortly after the audio was “in the can” I began the next chapter of life by moving to an amazing Connecticut town called New Haven. The five thousand mile transition from Alaska to Connecticut took so much time and energy that Stay Warm had to await patiently in its little can for another four months. I returned to the project in January, 2013, taking care of mastering, graphics, web presence, and mechanical production, and … four months later … finally(!) … Stay Warm is out of the can and into CD form. Here’s a long-arm self portrait taken just days ago under a New Haven cherry tree:
- What songs are on it?
1. Overjoyed (Christine Kane)
2. Nectarina & Avocado
3. Fireweed Ladies
4. Yula (Borrina Mapaka)
5. Where is the Field
6. Echo Point
7. Chokecherry
8. What Can I Say
9. Face
10. Wintered In
11. Stay Warm
- Why Stay Warm? The cold is no myth in the far north, and Alaskans frequently depart with a cheerful “Stay warm!” I wanted to express this sweet sentiment with my music. The album weaves together my 15 incredible years in Alaska with songs of wilderness, whimsy, snow, and sunlight…
- Musically, this is my most diverse CD. Stay Warm mixes folk, pop, rock, funk and world with intimate vocals and harmonies. I play the mountain dulcimer and tons of flute, and I play power chords (yes!) on a solid-body electric dulcimer. I employ two djembe players, two cellists, and a classic funk clavinet player named “Mighty Dave”. I stroke wind chimes. I sing in the Lari dialect of the Congo. Just sayin’…
It’s been quite a journey. I’m thrilled with the results and think you will be too.
New Haven 375 Celebration
Esther Golton Solo Concert
April 17th Concert in Hamden, Connecticut
There’s nothing like a move from Alaska to Connecticut to cause a long hiatus from gigging. April’s daffodils have inspired me; it’s time to open up again.
I’m giving my first official concert here in CT on Wed, April 17th, 8PM at Best Video in Hamden.
Best Video? Yes, it’s a video store! And they offer a delightful listening room venue amidst shelves full of moving pictures. They also have a coffee-beer-wine bar, and snacks. You can even buy a pint of gourmet ice cream from the freezer, as well as locally popped kettle corn. What more do you need to enjoy an evening of music with me? It’s really a funky, unusual, cheery atmosphere.
If you’re new to my music, this show is just an hour long, so it’s a great intro for the curious. I’ll tell stories and include songs from my forthcoming new CD Stay Warm, plus a few from Unfinished Houses, and I’ll also spin an on-the-spot improvised flute painting of the northern lights.
If you don’t live in New Haven, but know of someone nearby who might enjoy my music and stories, please share this post with them. What can they expect? How ’bout an evening of laughter, whimsy, insightful observations, and musical expansiveness…
Here are the details:
What: Esther Golton – Solo Concert – Songs with Mountain Dulcimer & Flute
Where: Best Video Performance Space, 1842 Whitney Ave, Hamden, Ct
When: Wednesday, April 17th, 8 – 9 PM (just one hour)
How Much: $5 venue cover
What it looks like, video shelves and all:
Elegy for a music teacher
Today I received news that my childhood piano teacher, Maureen Hooper, died this morning. With tears in my eyes, as a ripened musician, I tell you that I truly love my music teachers.
Mrs. Hooper was the first.
I dutifully attended weekly lessons at her house a few blocks away from the age of 6 to 16. She gave me the basics of music. How to read. How to apply music-theory. How Chopin was romance, Debussy was a paint brush, and Mozart was ecstasy. How to understand emotions and phrasing. “Now, again, with feeling!” she’d say. And oh how I remember the incessant command to my 6 year old self: “Curve your fingers, dear!”
I admit I got away with a lot as a relatively talented student. I didn’t practice many days, and became very good at tricking Mrs. Hooper into thinking I had labored through the week. Cheerily, she placed a check mark on each exercise or piece I’d learned to her satisfaction, or placed a new date next to the tunes that had not been mastered. When I did work hard and shined with progress, she would chirp, with her wonderful British accent, “Well done, Esther. Well done!”
I don’t play the piano much these days, but I still know my scales. I curve my fingers. I sight-read with slow delight. I lean my weight into the keys. I shape a phrase with passion.
And I carry every bit of musical technique and wisdom she taught me into my singing, dulcimer, flute playing, performance and recordings.
My favorite bit of wisdom from Mrs. Hooper, which I will always cherish:
“Esther, you mustn’t practice your mistakes.”
Goodbye, Mrs. Hooper. I will miss you. You were a great teacher and human being. Well done. Well done.