Colouratura's "Unfamiliar Skies"
"Unfamiliar Skies" is the second album from Colouratura, an 'art rock' project by composer / producer duo Nathan James and myself, Ian Beabout. Nathan is the writer and primary performer on much of "Unfamiliar Skies", while I craft the sound design and realize the compositions.
"Unfamiliar Skies" is the inagural project from my 'ShedSounds Studio', a studio I built (with help from my family and Old Hickory Buildings in Bridgeport, Ohio). It was conceptualized, recorded, mixed and mastered in the 12x28 sized building, with a lot of help from local Wheeling, WV area musicians including Eric Holskey (Sabo Cat), Derek Pavlic (Van Gilder), Kevin Kalany, Nathan Lestini, Brandon Collins, and Chris Kuskey. It also features additional performances from Dave Newhouse (The Muffins, Diratz, Moonmen), Bret Harold Hart (Moonmen, Diratz), Michael P. Dawson, and Damon Waitkus (Jack o' the Clock).
Nathan and I decided, this time, to create an album that was everything the first wasn't. While we are supremely proud of the work we did on the first Colour album, it was kind of a side project during other college projects. It was an album we made while we weren't looking. By contrast, we were focused on the outcome of this record from the very start. We knew the tracklisting and conceptualized just about every single moment before even demoing any of the 7 tracks.
As such, it is a much stronger, much more 'focused' work. If anything struck us as even potentially uninteresting or a detriment to the 'song', it was immediately rejected. In a sense, this is our version of a 'pop' record, though it has a variety of styles including - progressive rock, folk / pop, stoner metal, psychedelic, electronic, funk, krautrock, and jazz.
Since we've put so much love and hardship, tears and joy into this recording, we would like to present it in the best way possible. Designer Eric Kearns is our album art guru this time and he is developing a beautiful packaged. We would also like to press it to silver discs this time, which will last longer than the CD-Rs the last one was pressed to and will overall be a much more professional presentation of our hard work.
To do this, we need something around $1500. It's a lot of money but it will provide is with around 300 copies, and a product you can hold and enjoy for years to come. Release date is still undecided, and a lot of that has to do with if we can raise the money. We'd like to see it in your hands mid-May, but the sooner we can be sure, the better.
Unfortunately, we can't offer too much in rewards beyond discs. If you donate $25, we will send you an advance digital copy AND a CD and print your name in the credits, with shipping covered by us. Under $25 and we will hook you up with a digital copy of "Unfamiliar Skies." The next tier is $50, in which we will send you signed copy, autographed by either Nathan James or myself, or both, depending on our availability (plus your name in the credits, shipping costs covered, and a digital copy). Above $100 and we will send you all the above rewards, plus some memorabilia. This could include a copy of the first album, a print of original photography that pertains to the album, a signed LP sized 'print' of the "Unfamiliar Skies" album art (perfect for framing). Along with these rewards, all contributions above $50 will have access to some additional digital content TBD, including non-album tracks, demos, remixes, and so on.
What we need more than anything is people who care. Friends who are willing to listen, share, and show their love for what we do. Any and all contributions will help us realize our dream of releasing new, independent music and distributing it to fans like you who can make a difference.
Again, thank you for all of your help! Let's make this a reality.
