Hey there, Rachel Maria Cox here! For those of you who don't already know, I'm a Western Sydney Raised, Newcastle Based Singer-Songwriter. I write what I'd describe as 'emo-pop' music. 

I've already released 2 EPs and the time has come now for me to tackle a big ol 12" Vinyl LP. Which is why I'm starting this campaign - I need your help to make this happen! I've got a bunch of sweet rewards for pledgers, from digital downloads all the way up to singing lessons, house shows, DJ Sets and even your tattoo idea on my skin! Plus, all pledgers will get to come behind the scenes as the record is being made, hearing teaser tracks and seeing artwork and designs before anyone else.

Recording this LP is going to be hugely exciting for a number of reasons. 

Firstly, in 2016 I finally got to start playing regularly with a band (You might have seen us as 'Rachel Maria & The Cox') and this will be my first chance to take songs I've written with this band in mind, work on them with the band, and record them with the band.

 If you don't already know them, 'The Cox' are:

• Joshua 'Gummo' Gibson - Lead Guitar (You might have seen him in Safe Hands or Coma Lies)

• Jack Lundie - Rhythm Guitar (Maybe you've seen this guy play solo, or maybe you've seen him in Adeline Pines, or maybe even in Caverns)

• Wil Houlcroft - Bass (You've probably seen this dude playing in Paper Thin, Adeline Pines or Postal)

• James 'Edgy' Edge - Drums (Currently also being a legend in The Treehouse Children, and formerly of Forever And A Day)

The way I've been writing has changed significantly to work with the dynamic of this band and I think you'll really like how the new material sounds - but we've got to record first to find out! 

Secondly, I'm going to be working with some other incredible personnell. Joe Andersons will be recording and mixing the record - I've been lucky enough to record with him when I did guest vocals on the most recent Suburban Haze release (a band he also plays in) and he's also done an amazing job on the latest release from Jacob. 

And speaking of guests, I'm really excited to be working on a track for this LP with Maddy and Rhyan from Jackie Brown Jr., which all things going to plan will be the first single to be released from this record. 

Michael Sale will be Mastering the LP. He mastered my second EP, I Just Have A Lot Of Feelings, and did a fantastic job as well as being an absolute star to work with, so I'm very keen to be working with him again! 

Thirdly, I am very excited to work on an LP with both thematic and musical cohesion. The 'I Just Have A Lot Of Feelings' EP could be summed up thematically as being about vulnerability. The songs for this LP are about strength and growth. I won't give too much away - you'll find out more in the pledge updates! 

Finally, I'm really looking forward to touring this new record. As it'll be released on Sad Grrrls Club Records, all the shows will be gender diverse and I'm looking forward to playing with a lot of really cool bands! 

SO HOW DOES THE CROWDFUNDING WORK?

Down the right-hand side there you've got a bunch of pre-order options for the record. You can get combinations of digital downloads, socks, caps, tees, totes, and LPs all bundled up at increasing price points. Past $40 your name is going in the liner notes as well. Think of this as being like a pre-order system - you're just pre-ordering something that you then get to see get made from start to finish!

There are some more expensive options too. All of these include the biggest merch bundle, but also have some really cool extras - you can get my lyric and chord journal, a home recorded covers EP just for you, acoustic versions of all the LP tracks, you can book me for a solo show or DJ set, you can book the band for a set, you can get singing lessons, and you can even get me to get a tattoo! For some of these you should email me first to chat about it - shoot a message through to [email protected] or message me on Facebook. 

The most important thing about Pozible is this - if we don't reach our goal, you're not charged, but we're not getting any of the pledges. So it's a big risk for us, but I think it's worth it! 

SO WHAT'S THE PLAN FOR THE LP?

I'm glad you asked!

February - Rehearse to make sure all the tracks are good to go so we can make the most of our studio time. I'll also be really promoting this crowdfunding campaign so expect to see some fun videos cropping up here and there.

March - Recording, mixing and mastering

April - Hopefully a single, plus some full band shows to launch the single while we send the vinyl off to be pressed

May/June - Waiting for vinyl, which means I'll be working on all the extras people have got through this campaign - covers, acoustic demos, writing out my lyric journal, and organising any shows from this campaign! 

July/August - Hopefully we'll be able to have the record released by August! By this point all the merch should be getting shipped out too.

August/September - LP Launch tour!

SO WHY SHOULD I PLEDGE?

Here are my top ten reasons to pledge 

1. You really like supporting my work and me as a person and think our music is pretty good as a band.

2. You like vinyl and merch and want to get a bunch of those things pre-ordered

3. You really appreciate the "Rachel Maria Sox" pun

4. You, like me, really like mid-2000s pop music and so of course you defintiely want me to DJ at your next party

5. You really want to know what it would sound like if Smash Mouth's All Star was a slow piano ballad performed by me

6. You think I should get a wrestling tattoo. Or a tattoo of your band. Or a full back piece inspired by Bee Movie. 

7.  You really appreciate hearing the acoustic versions of songs and listening to the evolution of a track

8.  You want me to play lips of an angel at your cousin's 12th birthday party

9. You are interested in what inspires my music so you really want to read that in a journal, as well as have all my chords so you can see just how little I actually can play guitar

10. You want to see this LP get made

Thanks and big love to you all! I can't wait to share this journey with you!

Recording

7 days with Joe ($250 a day) - $1750

Mixing with Joe - $500

Mastering by Michael ($30 a track) - $210

Vinyl Pressing

150 copies on 12” recycled vinyl with printed jackets - $2475

Other Merch (Merch will be ordered based on how many pre-orders we get for each item)

250 Stickers (Austep)  -  $250

50 Pairs of Socks (Loco Socks) - $500

50 Caps (Austep) - $500

50 Totes (Superspecial) - $500

100 Tees (Superspecial) - $1100 

Pozible Fees - 5%

TOTAL GOAL - $5000

(Anything extra will go towards covering merch costs + touring the LP)

The biggest and obvious challenge is this - hitting our funds target. Pozible doesn't charge anyone for their pledge until the target is reached so this is a pretty big risk for me, but also no risk to you so hey! 

Aside from the obvious challenge of raising all the funds, a big challenge for us will be sticking to a very strict time frame to allow plenty of time for the Vinyl to be pressed. I want to get Vinyl pressed with Austep music, who use 80% recycled paper products as a default, and they say to allow 7-15 weeks turnaround time for Vinyl Pressing, which means simply waiting for vinyl will probably be the longest part of the process. 

Finally, this is a totally new experience for me in a lot of ways. For the first time the band is involved in the writing and recording process, I've got my first ever artist feature, my first full length release, my first vinyl release, and my first crowdfunding campaign. This means I'm very nervous about messing it up and disappointing people, but that's just going to be an extra push for me to make the best possible LP I can make! Not only that, I'm very excited to be able to update pledgers on the progress of the campaign - I'm setting myself the challenge of (if the goal is reached) posting weekly updates including videos, demos, sneak peeks at artwork, and heaps more, so you can really see exactly what's happening as it's happening!