‘Coalition’ and the feelings that come with it. The process.

Hello folks,

I’m sitting here blankly staring into the air, listening to the wind blow through the trees and wrestle a few leaves off that are ready for the fall. At this point, I kind of feel like one of the leaves that is hanging on for dear life even though my colour is changing and it’s time for me to fall.

I just got out of the studio…13 days recording the new album ‘Coalition’. I’m hit once again by the overwhelming changes you never see coming and ever evolving sound that is part of being a musician I guess. An identity crisis that needed to happen. This next album is…insane. It’s huge. It’s different than anything I’ve ever done. It’s everything I’ve always wanted to do. It’s bluesy, it’s pop, it’s roots, it’s Americana, it’s hard to define. It’s Susan Tedeschi meets Brandie Carlile, meets Alabama Shakes, meets The Black Keys, meets Whitehorse, meets gospel, and a hummingbird just flew up to the window and that’s a really good sign they say. I find I can’t sigh enough these days. I just never have enough air in my lungs because I keep holding my breath.

Sometimes when I think about the album, I get a slightly nauseous and overwhelming feeling throughout my body. Then other times, I am filled with such excitement and hope that I feel as though I could jump through the roof. Mentally and emotionally, it’s quite tiring, which is why I find myself staring blankly at the wall or a computer screen these days. All I keep thinking, is I need a band. Thankfully, the musicians that played on this record are incredible and amazing people. They also make pickles and are willing to bring them to rehearsals I’m sure.

This record was full of amazing people from all different directions and colour palettes. People I could not have done without. People with such great ideas and all coming from different directions, but holding down the fort was producer, Chris Kirby, while I was panicking in the corner. I typically deal well with stressful situations but I guess I carry a lot of weight with this album. Codapop Studios was the headquarters with Keith Mullins on drums and crazy percussion instruments I’ve never heard of, Kev Corbett on bass, Jason Mingo on electric guitar, Chris Kirby on producer and I play everything, Erien Eady-Ward on engineer and the computer. It was us for days, until the end when the rest of the gospel choir showed up. Charlie A’Court and Reeny Smith, joined by Keith Mullins and Chris Kirby again. Carmel Mikol, my musical sister, showed up for harmonies, comfort, and pizza/beer night. Keith and Chris climbed down the hill in the back of the studio to the train tracks with Keith’s sledgehammer, and recorded Keith nailing railroad ties. Keith had 30 feet of heavy chain wrapped around his body at times, trying to get the right sound of chain hitting cement. He also pounded on his chest creating a low vocal bass throat singing effect, which I’m surprised did not leave bruises. There were days when my vocals were failing and I had to belt out one more tune, so I resorted to a few sips of bourbon. They were 9-13 hour days that consisted of way too many life altering decisions in my opinion, so I could not have been more grateful for Chris Kirby, who seemed to take these decisions with ease. Chris Kirby seriously was an incredible producer who brought to life things I never thought would exist on an album of mine.

This is an album that I want to run screaming down the streets with and throwing out free copies just so people can hear it and so it kills me to have to sit on it till February. It also kills me that I can’t throw free copies out the windows. But I am relieved to have the time to do what I need to with this album before it comes out. There is a timeline, but I am not behind, nor will I be rushed. It is a time for me to learn from past mistakes and rise above them. It is a time for planning and for independence. I greatly appreciate all of your support and excitement for this new album and I am sorry for the wait period. I hope you understand why I need this time and that recording is the ‘easy’ part (and by the quotations, I mean to say that this album was the hardest recording process I’ve ever gone through), and that the hard part has just begun. The mixing, the marketing, the ideas, the funding pre order campaign, the video, the design, the tour, the people, the connections, the publicity. It all starts now.

I’m taking a little break until the middle of October. I’ve got a lot of thinking to do. I’ll share some songs with you soon and in November, the pre order fundraising campaign will start and at least that would get you the album by Christmas time. I hope your summer’s were all you hoped they would be. I hope you got one weekend to spend away from everything and if you didn’t, you should consider it. A reset for the fall is essential. It’s never easy to leave, but once you do, it’ll be hard to go back to the chaos.

“And sometimes you just need to get away to see. Sometimes you just need to step out into the woods, step out into the world, shut off the noise, shut off the power, shut off the lights, sit in the darkness and stop being ignorant for once in your life. This is where love lives, and this is where love lasts. And love likes simple, so why we gotta complicate it?” -’Love Likes Simple’-By Kim Wempe

September is still summer for most of us. Soak it up before the leaves start falling and we all go into an identity crisis. Well that’s what happens every fall in my world anyways. ‘Thankfully’ this album started it earlier. Yay! I’m going camping this weekend. Camping is the cure for everything.

Can’t wait for you hear it folks. For now, I just need some thinkin’ time and a bonfire.

Much much love folks…

Kim

P.S-There is a photo album on facebook of the album process if you’d like to take a look at what we got up to https://www.facebook.com/kimwempe