It’s only been a few days since local musician Ben Thomas launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund an album of hymns, and he’s already surpassed his $10,000 goal.
Thomas, who you might know from Orchard Community Church, or maybe you’ve seen him play at Culture Stock, Alley Art Festival, or just around town, has been working on the new album for quite some time.
“For the past two years I’ve been rediscovering a handful of beautiful, forgotten hymns – mostly songs I had never heard before – and reinventing them from the ground up,” Thomas said.
Thomas has been traveling the country – making photocopies of hymns at libraries, and doing other research to preserve old hymns and bring them back to life. He admits he’s not the first, but “I do have the sense of urgency in me that only an artist fully understands – to birth these songs into a waiting world and allow them to do their work.”
Thomas is working with musicians Andrew Schroeder (Ghastly Menace) and Andrew Vogt (Humble Organisms); the trio recorded the tracks in early 2014. Now it’s time to mix and master the record.
As per the Kickstarter campaign, Thomas plans to release the untitled project in 3 separate chapters, culminating with a full album release in the Spring of 2015. Each chapter will contain 3-5 songs and be available for digital download. The full album will be available for download or on CD.
Thomas offers pledge levels from $5 to $2,000 on his Kickstarter campaign. The $20 pledge level with a CD as the reward is currently the most popular with 22 backers. The campaign is live through Nov. 15.
To view the campaign, or to make a pledge, visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/benthomasonline/the-ben-thomas-hymn-project.
