Hi Friends!

My name is Dylan Charles and I am a songwriter/producer based in NYC. I am raising funds to help complete a new full length album of original songs called "Redemption".

This is a record I have been wanting to put out for a long time. These songs have been written over the past 5 years and chronicle my journey through some very difficult times into a period of immense joy and serenity. They are reflections on perseverance through adversity, my journey through addiction recovery, facing my shadow self, finding love, and nurturing healthy relationships, both romantic and with family and friends.

I have recorded a lot of album already on my own, however, I need some financial help to get it over the finish line. Funds would go towards hiring session musicians and paying for studio time including mixing and mastering.

This record is already 5 years in the making as far as some of the songs go, and if I fund it myself it may take another 2-3yrs before it's totally finished. I don't want you to have to wait that long for new music. I have already had many people ask me about where they can listen to some of these songs online and it's such a heartbreaker to tell them there isn't anything recorded yet!

Though I have recorded a lot of pieces on my own like guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals etc., I need to use other studios to record things like drums, and I sometimes need to hire other musicians to sing or play parts that I can't do.

Amazing musicians like Emily Kay Shrader, David Melton, Jake Reed, Kait Dunton, Erin Zindle and TJ Zindle all helped make my last record TRANSMISSIONS into something far more amazing than I could have ever done by myself. But of course, I paid them for their time and energy.

They were thrilled to be part of it, but as professional musicians we unfortunately can't live off the joy of creating alone. Some of these folks offered their services free of charge, but I refused. In an industry where far too many people are expected to work for peanuts, I am unwilling to perpetuate that broken system, even if I can barely afford to pay my bills, I will always pay my musicians.

I am capable of mixing as well, but when it comes to my own music I find I get too close to it and need another set of ears to help me complete the process. I plan to work with Tony Calabro of Pitch Pine Recording in NYC. He did an amazing job as co-producer and mixing engineer on "Transmissions", and I know he will help make "Redemption" the most enjoyable listening experience possible. He helps me make the right decisions, and comes up with game changing ideas that I never would have thought of by myself. He genuinely loves my music, but just like the session musicians, he can't work for free.

I also plan to work again with Matt Graff as a mastering engineer. He mastered "Transmissions" and he's exceptional at what he does.

I know with this team we will make a record that will be the best it can be, and I believe something that you as the listener will deeply enjoy.

I recently completed a new song called WILD WINTER WIND which will be the first single released from "Redemption". After recording most of the song myself, it still cost me around $500 to bring the song to completion between hiring musicians, paying for studio time, and paying for mixing/mastering. Using this metric, I have estimated that to finish this 10 song album it will cost roughly $5,000. This is the goal I am setting for this campaign.

Thank you for any help you can give to making this dream come true! Every penny helps.

With love and gratitude,

Dylan