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This is the most exciting, and terrifying, thing to share. It’s a bittersweet leap, though perhaps by the end you’ll understand why.

First, the sweet…

In Dec 2016, with the support of my amazing community and crowdfunding on Patreon, I raised funds to record my next album (well, it started as a 5-track acoustic EP, but it kinda expanded as I got more excited about it ).

The bitter is that I was in denial about the seriousness of my depression, chronic pain and burnout. I was using this new project as an escape from really looking at, and dealing with, the reality of my situation.

Over the early months of 2017, I began to show the strain. I found it impossible to settle on any decisions, going from ‘5-track acoustic EP’ to ‘full acoustic album’ to ‘recording 5 tracks in a studio outside London’ to ‘recording everything in my own home studio’ (which didn’t exist), to finally ‘recording one song a month until they’re all done’.

Fuck, it’s still kinda hard to write this. My throat closes up and I just wanna cry. I was in such a low space, y’all, and I wish I could have acknowledged it then. Slow learners raise your hand 🙋‍♂️.

the Patreon banner from the 2016 crowdfunding campaign, once we had reached all our goals for planting trees! Beautiful design by Alexis Aronson

Long story short (TL;DR)

I recorded five songs in 2017, they turned out frickin’ rad and I will now be releasing them as a mini-album called Echoes.

The exclusive presale on Patron will include signed CDs with the names of the original supporters printed on them, beautiful posters by my dear friend Alexis Aronson and a limited-print ‘Treebadour Monster’ sticker by the amazing Chris Ryniak…plus a few more unique rewards to be announced later.

Why Now?

I have tried to complete this release at least four separate times since 2017…and every time have ended up collapsing in despair (I don’t say that lightly, it was not pretty).

Thankfully, the times they are a’changing!

The two reasons I’m able to recommit to releasing this album now are:

  1. my dear patron, Melody, stepping in to offer her project management skills. She also understands mental health challenges and so we are supporting one another in finding our way. Read her personal intro below, and support her on Patreon (cos she’s rad, and also so she can keep supporting me)!
  2. me finally acknowledging the seriousness of my situation and asking for help earlier this year. I’ve been supported by my beloved Carly, family, patrons and friends in getting the help I need. Therapy, self-care, breathwork, etc! It. is. (slowly but surely). HELPING.

Details about the Echoes release

NOTE: Everyone who pledged in December 2016 will have their names printed on the physical albums (of which there will be a limited print run) and original rewards filled!

Timeline

  • 02 Sep – 02 Oct: exclusive pre-sale on Patreon, where you will be able to pre-order limited-print CD’s, signed posters, exclusive stickers and more!
  • 05 October: you will receive your digital rewards, including the bonus ‘stories of the songs’!
  • 5 Oct – 21 Dec: fulfilling physical rewards (including the remaining rewards from the original 2016 crowdfunding campaign)
  • 21 Dec: Echoes goes live to the world on Spotify, Apple Music, etc!
  • 22 Dec: Nate goes to sleep for a week 💤

Melody’s Words

Hi everyone!

Melody here. I’ve been a Nateive since 2015, and have, in that time, been working on treating/surviving/recovering from PTSD while still having a fulfilling life and career. As I’ve watched the saga of this album unfold over the past few years, I have deeply empathized with Nate’s struggles, so I am beyond excited to have a hand in bringing his project to completion. In a way, we will be supporting each other through this step in becoming who we are – two embers burning together in the fire.

I grew up in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and currently live in an apartment in Seattle with my two rescue cats. I love how green everything is here, how easy it is to get lost in nature without straying far from home. I’m also a passionate knitter, and very active in the online knitting community. As far as work, my tech career came to an abrupt halt a year ago, when a series of panic attacks showed me, very clearly, that something needed to change. I was lucky enough to be able to drop everything and focus on saving what was left of my life. My yarn people have been especially helpful in this regard. As I started to heal, I found myself reaching to writing for solace, and now have a Patreon where I write about mental health, knitting, and the absurd overconfidence of mediocre men. There are also frequently pictures of my cats. While I’d like to be able to support myself entirely through writing, I enjoy my part-time job as a bartender with an amazing women-run event staffing company.

As project manager, I will be keeping Nate on track for all the deliverables for his upcoming album release, as well as keeping all of you updated as to our progress. Health and energy levels allowing, we’ll be meeting weekly during the magical time that is my Thursday and his Friday, and I will send him a paragraph or two to include when he emails the rest of you. If something comes up, well, we’ll keep you posted about that and how we’re working around it. You’re more than welcome to contact me if you have questions or want cat pictures.

If you would like to read some of my writing and support me supporting Nate, you can find me at

patreon.com/melodywrites

All the love and best wishes,
Melody

A final note from Nate

As I said in the beginning, this is both the most exciting and terrifying thing I have taken on in quite some time.

It would be entirely impossible if not for YOU reading this right now, so thank you to you who have been a part of this journey. No matter how great or small your part, you make the trying worth it.

Mental health is a serious fucking deal, y’all, I could not have made it this far without you.

Thank you.

With love
Nate

PS: the album pre-sale will be launched early to existing patrons, and anyone pledging will get the rewards related to their tier, so if you’d like to get on this early, PLEDGE NOW.

https://youtu.be/gzKO8SYyT3E

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