So our Kickstarter campaign is well underway – thank you so much if you have already given to help make our new album a reality! How are we doing? Well, with 10 days to go, we need just under 10,000 Swedish kronor to be fully funded – that is roughly $1,100 or £720.
That’s right – we’re 65% of the way there! Here are a few ways we’d love for you to be a part of our new album, ‘Echoes Of Wonder’, which with your support, we plan to release at the end of October…
- Back the project on Kickstarter: how about a bamboo USB stick, an awesome tote bag, or a signed CD (amongst many exciting rewards)?
- Share our music or Kickstarter campaign with your friends
- Join with us on Facebook or Instagram as we continue on this musical journey together.
Doing this one-off fundraising campaign has been such an encouragement to us. Many generous and unexpected people have given to our music making, and we are SO grateful for all this support.
So thank you again.
With every blessing,
Anita x
Many of us like things to be unique. To tell a story. We want art. Creativity. Beauty.
If you have been following me, you will be aware of our current Kickstarter campaign. But this post is not about us. This post is about other independent creative friends who have interesting projects I am choosing to support. They have all chosen to pursue their passion (often in place of steady, stable jobs) which is truly admirable. So if you want to support independent artists…here is a good place to start!
Independent Books
Jess McGlynn – Secrets of the River
Independent author Jess McGlynn has released her first independent book for download on Amazon. I am currently half way through and enjoying the plot twists and turns immensely. As it turns out…some secrets just can’t remain hidden…
Way to go Jess!
Independent Film
My ex-colleague and friend, Joseph Bentil, has taken a career change of late (although he has always been involved in acting), and has played many supporting roles in Independent films. I have yet to download the independent film Sweetboy, which they have had success in being shortlisted for San Francisco Black Film Festival in June 2015 and the 2014 American Black Film Festival in New York. This is just awesome!
You can also support the Kickstarter for one of his latest projects, The Receptionist.
Music
The extremely talented Mara Simpson, who we knew from our university days, is going from strength to strength and celebrated the release of her debut EP this year! You can support her by buying her music from her online store here. We’re looking forward to the next chapter Mara!
Music – CEDM
If this is more your thing, you must must must check out the incredible giftings of CEDM producer Levi Whalen. We were fortunate to collaborate with him (from afar) when he remixed one of our tracks earlier this year. His latest release, Timelines is not to be missed!
Artist
Mercy Kagia is an artist and friend, who we met in London, during the five years that we lived there. unique style. Her artwork captures the most important details in its simplicity. Beauty in its fullest. You can find Mercy on Facebook. Oh…and we may have commissioned her to do a portrait for Salt of the Sound! Coming soon…
You guys are inspiring. Never stop chasing your dreams! x
Photo credits: All the artists’ own work.
I feel that it’s time for an update on summer in Sweden….or rather…the lack thereof! Yes…the weather has not been on our side so far this year. (This picture was captured on a rare day!)
People keep on asking if we have been away this summer and the answer is…we haven’t. But don’t worry – we’re not too hard done by as we did head to the Austrian mountains and Salzburg in May for over two weeks and we’re heading back to the UK a couple of times in the Autumn.
We have been doing other things instead…more about that later.
In and amongst this, we have taken a couple of trips within Sweden; explored the town of Sundsvall (which is 4 hours north of Stockholm) and took a road trip to camp out in a bear hide…twice. (And although we didn’t see any bears, it was a great experience!) We’ll be heading back next year to try again for sure.
Our summer focus
Our real focus this summer has been (and still is) working on and finishing up our second full length album which is due for release this Autumn. I don’t think I’ve ever been quite so excited about a release and I feel that this material is the best we have written to date!
For this release, we decided to do a Kickstarter campaign and in just 1 week, we have reached over 50% of our goal. A huge thank you to all who have joined with us in bringing this closer to reality.
What’s in it for you?
Ahhh…that age old question. The good news is…a lot!
If you choose to support us in in our crowdfunding campaign, you are not just donating. You can exchange your donation for a whole range of rewards, such as:
- Getting our music before anyone else (with exclusive bonus tracks!)
- An exclusive limited edition ‘Salt Of The Sound’ bamboo USB stick with all our music on!
- An exclusive ‘Salt of the Sound’ tote bag.
- In fact, there are 17 DIFFERENT REWARDS for you to choose from.
By backing us in this campaign, you will be supporting us as independent music artists and in our music ministry.
So…if you feel that you can spare just 90SEK, $10 or£6.60 or more (yes – the exchange rate is very much in your favour if you don’t live in Sweden at this time), you can get one of our great rewards and we will be eternally grateful to you!
Why kickstarter?
You can read and hear more about why we are doing this over on the kickstarter page and take a sneaky peak at the video below.
Thank you all for your continued support for our music ministry. Having you join with us means more than you know.
Anita x
Last week was somewhat bitter-sweet for me if I’m honest.
We took a group of youth from Immanuel International Church down to Holsby Brunn in Småland, in the south of Sweden for their annual summer camp. It was a time of laughter, worship, outdoor activities, big games, prayer, talking, thinking, eating…the list could go on. It was great to learn more about what is happening in the lives of these young people, and how God is at work – through the good and through many challenging situations they are facing.
So why bitter-sweet?
This camp marked the last big event where Ben and I would lead the youth in this way…and this was continually on my mind. While originally, we were only stepping into this role temporarily, the youth have had a huge impact on my life. (And I have learnt more from them than they probably have from me!) It is incredible to see how they are already growing into such great leaders & thinkers – I have no doubt of the many positive differences they will make to this world in years to come.
Why the change?
I feel that I should say (for my own processing as much as anything) that we love the youth of our church dearly and the reason for this change is not that we don’t want to be in their lives anymore. Rather…
- Now more than ever, we feel in a big way that God is calling us to music ministry (both as Salt of the Sound) and as worship leaders, and we feel a strong conviction to focus on that.
- Originally we were only filling in the youth position for a couple of months (which extended for various reasons) and now here we are… 15 months later.
- This is also in part because we have felt for a while that there is someone at this time who has a greater calling and gifting for the youth ministry of Immanuel International. (And if last week is anything to go by, she is going to be awesome at it!)
But to all the youth of summer camp…if you were ever to read this. This is what I would want you to know:
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God will use you in ways you never thought possible if you let Him.
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So stay open to Him and His plan for your life.
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You are amazing. Dare to be…you!
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The Summer Camp centre we go to is part of Torchbearers International and is one of twenty-six Torchbearers Centres across the globe. They offer fantastic bible school programmes as well as great venues for retreats and conferences – if you haven’t heard of them, you should definitely check them out!
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: After our trip to Hallstatt, we savoured a few lazy days in and around where we were based. We took small ventures out to the local town of Zell Am See and the surrounding areas but nothing too strenuous. On Friday, we decided that we would head to a gorge but a 45 minute drive revealed that the walkway was closed for maintenance. Instead, we re-routed ourselves towards Bad Gastein – a town with a rich history, having been made famous by its hot springs and radon-laced waters which have been believed to contain many healing qualities in times gone by. We stayed for a short while and enjoyed the urban waterfall that runs right through this place.
Saturday: After packing up, we headed to Salzburg where we had two nights booked in a hotel. Temperatures were soaring into the late 20s and, after checking in, we headed into The Old Town. Having purchased the Salzburg card which gave us free entry into many of the city’s attractions, we headed up the cable car to the impressive fortress that lies at the top. This was a great lesson in history, architecture…oh, and the views were pretty impressive too!
Sunday: Wanting to get our money’s worth from our Salzburg cards, we accomplished a lot on this day. It began with a boat ride on the River Salzach, followed by a visit to Mozart’s Birth Place. After lunch, we went in search of some of the film settings for the Sound of Music that didn’t lie within walking distance of the Old Town. It turns out that the ‘Sixteen going on seventeen’ pavilion was located right by the zoo…this led to a conversation in which we realised that we have never visited a zoo together…so we did. After sightings of rhinos (see below), bears and other fun critters, we detoured to the famous Sound of Music house before heading back to the Old Town for a final evening in Austria.
Reflections: Visit Austria if you have the chance. From the scenery and architecture to the friendly locals and tasty cuisine, there is so much to love about this place.
And…as promised…here is that baby Rhino:
Anita x
