Help Marica Complete Her Second Album

May the 4th be with you! I’m turning 36 today and for my birthday this year, I’m asking for help raising funds to complete my 2nd full-length album, “Chrysanthemum.”

Out of all the work I’ve ever made – this album is the closest to my heart. It is inspired by my own journey with grief, sudden death of a parent and loss of close friends, the video game Gris, and a handful of my favorite Japanese ghost stories.

It’s my sonic expression of what makes the heart beat, what makes the heart break, and how we heal and repeat that cycle. I’ve been working tirelessly on this record, fully producing and arranging it myself, which is a new step for me technically as a musician. I am in the last stages of finishing this record, and I can’t do it without your help.

Your contribution will not only help me pay for featured musicians, mixing, mastering, legal, distribution and marketing fees, but it will also help take my music to the next level as an artist and a business.

MY STORY:

I played my first paid gig when I was 16 and have been hustling as a full-time artist since I was 21, with all of the heartache and joys that come with it. I feel proud that I’m still here doing what I do, independently, and I want to celebrate more than 15 years of consistently creating original work across many mediums. This includes directing and producing award-winning films like “Owl” and “Zoey & the Wind-Up Boy,” writing and producing my first album, “Shapeshifter,” and giving hundreds of live performances as a professional singer, cellist, dancer and actor around the world.

As grateful as I am for the projects I’ve been able to work on, it's not easy being a full-time artist. Behind the scenes are countless hours of training, schlepping gear, instability, extreme highs and lows, and long stretches of time away from loved ones. You truly have to have nerves of steel and the will of an ox to continue choosing this path. It also leaves little time to pursue a second career that might allow me to fund my original music in a conventional way.

WHAT YOU’RE FUNDING:

At $5,500

Pay for contributing artists and mixing engineers, including Bay Area’s own: Marcus Stephens (flute), Brendan Liu (trumpet), William Cenoté (keys/engineer), Travis Kindred (bass), Natalyn Daniels (multi-instrumentalist), Hector Larios (drums), Andrea Wang (voice), Alan Chen (violin), Khalil Sullivan (voice), Akiyoshi Ehara (engineer) and more.

At $7,000

Pay for mastering, legal, and distribution fees.

Stretch Goal: At $9,000

Pay for marketing, outreach, and releasing the album in the way that I envision.

I hope you’ll consider helping me bring this album to life. Thank you everyone for following me on my creative journey and cheering me on. I can’t wait to share this record with you all.

with love and gratitude,

Marica

girl swallows nightingale

Photo Credits: Mogli Maureal, Rudi Tcruz

Art Credit: Jon Sun/Jyun