a final thank you

I wanted to use this final update to extend a big thanks to you for supporting this process.

I have been getting overwhelmingly positive reviews from a wide range of people, from high school teens to my grandma's friends. I'm very grateful to have created something that I'm really proud of.

If you got your copy and would like to write a positive review, please do so on itunes - the more ratings and reviews an album gets, the more visible it is to the broader community. Or post a link on your facebook page.

You helped me get this far, help this album to reach the most people as it's all about word of mouth with us indie artists.

a few final shows, along with album credits and lyrics are available on my website www.asiamei.com

In a final conclusion, here's a video with snippets of the album's songs and fragments of our recording process and tour. 

My deepest gratitude again and see you on album #3!

on the road and on the web

if you have been following this blog, you would have by now witnessed the whole process from conception, to recording to artwork to finishing to.. release!

cd is out and available on bandcamp (cheapest and recommended) itunes and all the other online ways to get your music.

to celebrate, the official cd release party is happening next week in northampton, the place where it all happened. i probably wouldn't have had the drive or the time to complete a project like that if it wasn't for my move there so all in its good time and purpose huh?
if you're around western mass, come by! wed, june 29, 6:30 @ the yellow sofa. it's free, but buying a cd is encouraged.

so far the feedback from listeners has been really positive, and you yourself are welcome to send me yours!
my biggest effort with this music is to really touch listeners, to bring out a genuine emotion out of them, i hope i have been successful.

in an effort to broaden the awareness for the album, and to have fun - me and husband/guitarist andres went on the road last week. we played 3 cities we never played before and one old favorite - nyc.
it was fun to see my name in listings, meeting new people and old friends, to play every evening and to collaborate with fantastic musicians.
we also got a review of our philly show.

can't wait for round 2 in august.

until then, i go off to teach a summer arts program, and will concentrate on getting the cd reviewed in blogs and local press. if you have suggestions - shoot.

cheers!

pre-release and tour!

busy and thrilling week ahead!
"introverse" is officially releasing on Friday and the tour is kicking off next week!

all of this requires a great deal of logistics - press and radio for every show, blogs, finances, rally up friends and fans and so much more.

i decided to put up the album along with other goodies as a pre-release on bandcamp, and you can check it out right here!

here's a tour schedule, come say hi in person:

June 14 7:00 @ Brooklyn Coffee and Teahouse, Providence, RI

June 15 8:30 @ The Outer Space, New Haven CT

June 16 8:00 @ Rockwood Music Hall, New York, NY

June 18 8:00 @ Burlap and Bean, Philadelphia, PA

June 29 6:30 @ The Yellow Sofa, Northampton, MA (CD release party)

Aug 20 7:00 @ Bellefonte Cafe, Wilmington, DE

Aug 21 1:00 @ Bohemian Cafe, Baltimore, MD

Aug 23 8:00 @ New Deal Cafe, Greenbelt, MD

Aug 25 8:00 @ Ebenezer’s, Washington D.C

Aug 28 8:00 @ Teddy’s Uptown, New Yok, NY

the wait.. is.. over!

whew! on thursday I got my final master. DONE.

I'd love to pass out now, but no time...

The physical CDs are in production, the digital distribution is a matter of days (that's getting it out on itunes, rhapsody etc.), shirts and stickers in the mail and one bandcamp site where you can buy it all, direct from me.

you can also listen to and download "a bus to sunshine" (and preview amazing album artwork!) - 

no, that's not it because I already played my first tour date in Montreal this past weekend. make god laugh by planning, and me and husband/guitarist Andres found ourselves in a rainy weekend, playing a 1am slot (originally 10pm...) so no, it didn't go according to plan but we did have a good time, met good people and made a little mula to go into our upcoming shows in June.

crunch time? yeah baby.. watch out for more exciting news coming soon, and thank you all for support!

first single!

no, it wasn't according to schedule was it? that's life - try to plan and it throws a bunch of hurdles...

but, better late then never, and so I present to you the first single - "a bus to sunshine"!

this has been my signature song for about 4 years, and it's very appropriate to have it be the first taste of the album.
I also decided to have it be available for free because I'm hoping people will share it and get others exposed to what I do and the album that's coming...

so - enjoy, and share! your feedback is welcome.

takin' care of business

only 6 days to first single release!!

with mixing almost done and artwork complete, i am moving away from the artistic process i enjoy and into the business promotion side i don't.

but, even so, i decided to embrace that aspect of a record release in order to ensure that the hard work i have put in to it will not go to waste and will actually reach people, and hopefully even get me paid... 

so, #1 - booking a tour. 

i played a lot of different types of venues. some make you be an entertainer where you need to fight to grab the audience's attention, others let you be an artist and feel comfortable expressing yourself in an honest and intimate way. there's a time and place for both, but for this tour i wanted to find the right venues for what i do as an acoustic performer. there's nothing i hate more then singing a personal ballad while the guys at the bar watch football and yell out in the middle.  

throughout the process i have encountered so many booking people; from the condescending ("well i like your attitude, so why not") to the overwhelmed ("i will get back to you in two months" and a 3 month later response of "we're closed that day") the flaky, to the nonexistent to just plain frustrating. there have been a few that were actually nice.

after 2 months of research and hundreds of emails, i have 10 dates on the east coast, during June and August, with a few more pending. to me it's a huge achievement, and so far the most extensive tour i've done.

check out my website or facebook for the schedule, and to see if i'm coming to your area.

#2 - starting a record label/publishing house.

as a DIY artist, this is part of the game. it's good to put a professional name and face (or logo) to the business side of things.

after voicing my frustration about not fitting a niche, and that there should be a "no box, just music" festival, i decided "no box music" would be a great name for me and what i do. hey, perhaps i'll sign on a few more artists down the road! one release at a time though...

check it out here

#3 promotion strategy. 

more on that next time, starting with releasing the 1st single, which i decided to give out for free.

join the mailing list (to the left) to get a free download.

cheers and 'till next week

- asia

photoshoot, darling...

if tyra banks has taught us anything, it's that you should squint your eyes, do a zoolander face and try to project an emotion from the inside...

as an introverted artists who prefers to let her sound do the talking, taking photos is not something i enjoy too much... my look is not part of my gimmick and my promotion doesn't exactly depend on selling sex appeal...
but nevertheless having a good looking image that suggest exactly what you're going to sound like is a huge part of a new release, and the photos are used on the CD, for press coverage, website and posters.
...and so once again i've embarked on a task i'm not so comfortable with.

a few lucky things fell into my lap:
- andres's school colleague, davey bendiksen is actually a fantastic photographer who likes vintage equipment and even breaks new cameras to make sure 60s lenses would fit. he most graciously agreed to photograph.
- after (with some balls) approaching the UMass concert hall for a photoshoot request, i was met with a surprising yes, since they were just going to take photos of the hall anyway for their website. and so, i was presented with a chance to photograph on an amazing stage. for free.
hurray resourcefulness!

i also asked a few girlfriends via internet (since none live in northampton) to help me out with wardrobe.
thanks ladies!

even though "blue steel" and making love to the camera has never been my thing, i am more then comfortable accessing all the needed emotions while playing and singing, without feeling fake or posy. davey documented a variety of expressions, angles and moods.

for a few shots, you're welcome to visit my facebook page or check out this video, #7 in my series of video updates:

now the cd artwork is basically complete, and i'm just waiting to finish mixing which hopefully will be done within the next couple weeks.
and then....


FIRST SINGLE RELEASE - APRIL 20!!!

The search for cover art...

I'm so glad that so much of the recording process is behind me, and I can start thinking about the next step of packaging - the artwork!

Since I'm a one woman project, I don't have an art advisor or a team, and I'm the one that needs to figure out what exactly do I want the cover art to look like, and it's pretty difficult. The options are endless:
graphics, illustration, photography. what kind? what do I want to portray?
I decided to go for a somewhat dark, surreal illustration.

But how do I find the right artist? With my nonexistent budget??

I'm a big fan of Threadless T-shirts, and find many of those designs cool, original and often stunning. So I had an idea, why not look through the designs, and contact the designers of the images I connected to.

Lucky for me, the creator of one of my favorite images, Chow Hon Lam a.k.a Flying Mouse wrote back. He ended up being very nice, liked my music and was enthusiastic about collaborating.
And, what he wanted in return was for me to write a song about one of his images.
That's a win-win, if you ask me.

The cover art came out looking amazing, but I don't want to post it yet, I want it to be a surprise.


But, the song is done too!  I wrote it about the image that first drew me to contact Flying Mouse, "Sky Thief".
You can listen download it for free:
  I Steal Stars by asia mei


and there's also a cool video too:

find this image on a:
iPhone4 Casing: http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/sky-thief
Tee shirt: http://www.threadless.com/product/2000/Sky_Thief
website - http://www.flyingmouse365.com

enjoy!

vocal video

(a short clip of the vocal recording of "a bus to sunshine")

it's... a..... WRAP !!!

After 5 months of recording and full time editing, the tracks are done!!

It's a huge milestone and a sense of achievement as I saw the project materialize in front of my eyes (ears, actually) and turned from my imagination into something I can hear.
It sounds great, and it leaves me happy, relieved, satisfied and excited for the next steps.

Now that the tracks are done they are being sent to mixing, where the tracks are worked on a more technical, sound level to bring the most out of each track. I also enjoy the post-production process of playing with different effects to enhance my vision beyond just live instrumentation.

I've also been moving towards cover art, photos, and booking a CD release tour for June which is no small task! the music clubs are so overwhelmed with submissions it's very hard to get through to them, and the more dates I schedule, the more clubs to chase down!! there are companies doing all the stuff that i'm doing myself, but i haven't cracked yet - bring it on!

shh! i'm singing here!

wow, vocals.

Recording vocals is my achilles heel. Not because I can't do it, but because singing in the studio psyches me out.

When I perform, I gather a lot of strength and momentum from the stage, and the piano. But in the studio, everything is different, it's just me and a microphone, thinking of so many different elements and details at the same time and having a hard time finding that stage momentum.
The fact that I'm producing the songs too makes it hard to balance that analytical part with the fact that singers sound best when they don't think. I've always struggled to bring out a good performance in the studio, and with this record being so important to me it amped the nerves and neurosis.

But, I wasn't going to let it consume me, so I went to get some outside help.
I went to get some vocal recording tips from vocal coach Pam Wolfe, teaching out of Brandeis University. Pam is very perceptive and can pin point all those little things in technique, attitude and psyche that can hold a singer back.
After a lesson with her I've been continuing to practice and record at home, trying to learn how to immediately tap into the right place in my voice, confidence and lack of worry.
Also, I made an effort to be in a good mood, joke and laugh during the sessions. it helped.

My practice really paid off, as session by session I've been getting good takes with less time, and with more satisfaction. Even Andres, my husband and partner in crime who hears me on stage and recording all the time, proclaimed that this is "the best he heard me sing".

Conquering my studio singing bug was another huge achievement that this wonderful project has brought to me.
And now, only 2 more songs remain before the studio wrap up and continuing to post production and mixing.  Hurray!

Alongside with the recording, I'm also starting to plan my CD release tour for June and starting to think about cover art, which is what March is all about. More on that next time.

Happy love day!

Strings...

Wow, recording in winter in the Northeast could be a nightmare!

We had 3 sessions canceled due to the snowstorms and me getting sick... That set me way past the deadline I have made for myself and the label rep in me is pushing the artist in me to get back on schedule. So fun being a one person project...

But, I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and the songs are shaping up so beautifully.

Our string session was on Sunday Jan 23rd, and the UMass grad school quartet did a great job putting some soul into the project. It all started with me playing a show in which Julie (violin) played a killer version of Michael Jackson's "smooth criminal". I asked her to come play on the recording right then and there, and to bring her quartet along.

I always enjoy writing strings. I am extremely grateful for my string arranging background from my NYC days and especially Annie Gallup's album "Weather" that elevated my skills and musicality to a much higher degree. I was very happy to turn that experience to my own music and hearing it all come to life.

next, I only have vocals left! I am half way done and am hoping to wrap up the recording stage within a week or two. Please don't snow anymore, sky!!

going to NY for a singing group

The premise of this particular session bears a lot of importance to me, and I was happy that the group that turned up to sing felt connected to this premise.

"the forgotten one" is a sad song. a song I wrote as response to a situation of Gilad Shalit, a kidnapped soldier who's been in captivity for over 5 years, with no apparent hope or progress of his release.
Those his name and situation often bears political opinions and associations, I wanted to steer away from that and focus just on his individual situation, and the frustration of most people, though sad, go on with their lives and forget about people that can't be as fortunate.

The idea was to have a group repeat the refrain "we all read and weep, and we all turn the page" like a mantra, to reinforce the message of how many of us are indifferent to other people's suffering.

I wanted to feature the voices of friends and fellow indie artists, and though some were away on MLK weekend, we ended up with a fantastic group of people from different spectrums that contributed wonderful energy and soul, and helped to create a powerful gesture.

Big thanks to Mor Mezrich and his Astoria studio, "Ears and Gears" and to the singers.

here's a video of what this looked like and a sneak peek of how it'll sound!

Give me some guitar!

always a pleasure working with this upstanding young man!

My First Listeners

Over the break, I had the pleasure to play the album in progress for two friends who came for a visit, my first 2 listeners!

I felt comfortable enough to share my half-baked recordings since the guys were generous contributors to my kickstarter campaign, were both artistic (a writer and an illustrator) and music lovers. They were my target audience, and I wanted to see their reaction.

It's very nerve-wracking to let someone hear something I wrote for the first time. So much of me goes into each song, production choice, piano part etc and it feels like I'm putting my whole self on the line for the impression of others.

I was relieved and excited, to see that not only did they love each song, but the music left them moved. I could see them reacting emotionally to something that I wrote and recorded. That feeling was so incredibly satisfying I could hardly sleep that night.

If I could move two people, I could move more. To me that's what this project is all about.
you're next.


We are resuming sessions next week with a very busy recording month, so plenty of posts to follow - watch out!