On Tuesday July 6, local musician India Blue launched a crowdfunding campaign to help raise the necessary amount to fund her debut studio album titled ‘The Circus Came and Left.’ The campaign was launched on the crowdfunding site IndieGoGo which enables the backer to receive a ‘perk’ in exchange for their donation; these include pre-sales of the physical CD, sheet music and lyric books, private gigs and even the original, framed artwork: an oil painting by Karl Terry ARSMA.
India has been writing and performing since she was 11, from busking outside Knoops in Rye, to performing at various local festivals and events around East Sussex and Kent, before moving to Brighton at 16 to study songwriting and continue performing all over the UK. Most recently, accompanying Guy Chambers at the Hastings Piano Festival and being a part of ‘Resonate’ at the De La Warr Pavilion at Bexhill on Sea.
Her delicate and poetic music is described as ‘faerie-folk’ drawing upon inspiration from folklore, nature and spirituality, to create heartfelt tunes played usually on her harp, piano or ukulele. The pandemic meant that all festivals had to stop and India’s usual vocation of playing live seized up. She decided it was the right time to record an album; so after moving into St Leonards on Sea as the country started to open back up, she started recording her first ever studio album titled ‘The Circus Came and Left’.
‘The Circus Came and Left’ has been described by India as “13 tracks exploring themes of present storytelling, past lives, and the hereafter” Its sound is a little similar to Vashti Bunyan, Joanna Newsom or Kate Bush. India has an intimate and dedicated fan base spread out all over the country from many summers of festivals, but the lack of gigs through the summer means India is reaching out to the wider public to help fund this album’s creation; from recording, mixing and mastering, to session musicians and the whimsical album artwork photographed by Natalie Wyborn and illustrated by Lily Gould.
India has big plans for this album and to help with its fundraising you may even see her performing at local gigs, or even out busking with her harp and fairy ears!
Image Credits: India Blue .