Sellwood Station: An Indie Album by Wiseacre

Sellwood Station: An Indie* Album by Wiseacre

*Indie, as in Independent. Every aspect of the creation of this album was done in-house, without a label's guidance or funds, and was spearheaded by me.

Hello friends and family,

I am fundraising to complete my first album release, "Sellwood Station," under my musical moniker, Wiseacre.

Gratitude moment and why I did this project that took the entirety of my early 20s to complete:

The journey of creating this project has lasted the better part of the last three years and could only be completed with the help of many incredible musicians, who all happen to be my dearest friends, and the support of my family and loved ones. I've been guided by the hands of many teachers, both professionally and personally. I wouldn't have been able to create this work without the help of many.

Sellwood Station is an album I wrote over two years and recorded for the better part of a year; over half of the songs were written in Sellwood, at my mother's home in a small room on the second story. I filled the room with instruments and spent many days of solitude there, singing, writing and practicing. That studio, suspended amongst old-growth maples and walnut trees, looked over an independent train track, inspiring me to name the studio "Sellwood Station," which eventually became the album's title. The other songs were written after my move to Seattle, WA, where I now attend Cornish College of the Arts. Starting fresh and contemplating the recording process ahead of me, I altered my original directions completely, re-wrote and reshaped the narrative to center around the motif of coming and going, moving away and standing at the station between new life and passed.

I approached Jantzen Carter, my best friend and one of the best producers I know with my concept and asked him and his sister Krista Liana Carter if they'd be willing to take it on. They accepted, and after the home studio was finished being built by Krista, we moved into the first stages of production.

How it was made and who made it happen:

Recording for Sellwood Station began in January 2022, with Jantzen and me in our home studio. We would spend many hours recording, carving out whatever time we could find between my work and full-time school schedule. In April, we spent three days recording in Mount Vernon with Krista, the most extended period we had to record in all eight months of production. There we worked on My Version of Junk, Glass & Arrows and Be Weary, which is the first song I ever wrote. Cristian Salyer also began working on the production of the album, spearheading So Long, Farewell, the final song on the album, and co-producing Sapling Song, Be Weary and adding touches on Farmers Market. String arrangements were produced and performed by Aidan Lowery, who added gorgeous swells and pads to Tsunami Bowling Alley and So Long, Farewell.

The photography for the album was shot by Coco Simone, a once Portland-based, now New York-based photographer and artist. We built a set in my old studio in Sellwood with the help of my mom and shot entirely on film.

Amelia Delgado made cover designs. The first time I saw them, I cried tears of joy because the visual aspect was suddenly real, and it had finally semented in my brain that I was going to embark on my first studio release.

Cost Breakdown and Plan of Action

Out of respect for the artists who worked on this album and their graciousness in working within my budget, I will not give specific breakdowns for each element but rather group them. So far, the album has cost me:

Production: $6,000

Visuals: $1,065

Fees on Releasing Platforms: $200

I am fundraising to help pay the final payment for mixing and mastering, which is $2,000 and the rest to replenish some of the savings from the money I spent to make this happen. With the money left over, I can buy groceries (we love to see it) and advertise the album upon its imminent release.

The album in total, including future and past payments, with fees for release, production and artistic development, will cost $9,500.

This cost excludes time of unpaid labor from my end, writing and performing this album. I chose to pour my heart into this project as an investment for my future and to give you all a body of work to listen to. Not only that, but this album has a piece of my being in it, and any donation will help further my career and this project.

I also believe paying young artists at a time when streaming provides unlivable payments is so important. Your donation will help me continue to pay artists for their incredible work and build a strong music community in Seattle, WA. The network of artists who created Sellwood Station with me will continue to be a part of Wiseacre's releases for the foreseeable future. I hope to foster that growth with friendship and compensation for their excellent work.

We are in the final stages of production! I should be receiving the masters in the next two weeks, which will then be uploaded and released within the next two months. It's go time!