John Allen - Friends & Other Strangers

Two years after 'Ghosts' it is time to discover a new shade of darkness to see if their are cracks in the walls that will allow some light to get in. In short: I want to build upon 'Ghosts' to tell new stories, sing new songs and to add another chapter to the musical story of my life.

Zwei Jahre nach Ghosts ist es an der Zeit, eine neue Facette der Dunkelheit zu erkunden und dabei Risse in den Fassaden aufzudecken, durch die ein bisschen Licht eindringen kann. Kurz: Ich möchte auf den Sound von Ghosts aufbauen und neue Geschichten erzählen, neue Lieder singen und meinem musikalischen Schaffen ein weiteres Kapitel hinzufügen.

Both is really hard to answer. The goal is to record a new album that sounds great, looks wonderful and will ultimately make everyone involved happy.
Over the last two years I have written a bunch of new songs that I would like to show the world and that I believe are really good. At the end of the day, the target group includes everyone who loves music and who would love to be part of a project that - without his or her involvement, would not see the light of day.

Good question! There are numerous reasons, I guess, ranging from "I like the music", "uh, the guy is cute" up to "we know him personally and feel morally obliged, after all, we're his parents". But the truth, I think, is that what makes concerts really special is the moment when people start to get involved, when to lines between audience and artist begins to blur and things get both, personal and emotional. As wonderful as it would be, I can't invite all of you to join me in the studio, but as for the production of the whole thing, we actually can blur the lines, you can get actively involved. If you support this project, you don't only support the courage of a traveling musician trying to live his dream, you don't only support a friend, relative or really cute guy. You are going to become an active part of the album and can ultimately claim that if it hadn't been for you, this album would not exist.

Should the campaign be successful, the money will be spent on renting a studio, paying my musicians, the producer, the engineers. Furthermore, the album needs to be mixed and mastered and promoted. Also a photographer / graphic designer needs to be hired to make the album look as good as it hopefully sounds. If we're really lucky, we might as well be able to make a video. I consider myself lucky to be working with top notch people from all fields, so I know that the money is spent wisely.