Hey all,

I wanted to thank you for your kind contributions and attention to this campaign. A few things come up in the past 90 days such as the release of another record (seperate from this set), European tour planning and on a personal note, a break-up which was quite a setback. However, I really appreciate you taking the time to support this project amidst and among all the other cool things on Kickstarter.

1,415 is a great number, and I am working on a new way of how I can bring you closer to my studio world and this projects realization!

The campaign for the release of ANCESTOR II and III on vinyl will continue at http://thomaswatkiss.net on a subscription basis. In this way, you are welcomed to keep tabs on the production on a monthly basis--I will be posting new samples, photos (not available otherwise, elsewhere) and my monthly studio journal all about what's happening. This will only be available to subscription shareholders AND you will be kept in the inner-loop of other new product releases events and things far before the general public or press. This will be much more convenient than the last campaign and much more personal and rewarding for the both of us.

http://thomaswatkiss.net/memory.html

I plan to develop this more in the coming week and in the meantime, please forward me your contact details (I send out a quarterly letter and an occasional postcard or two). You are welcome to see what is new at http://thomaswatkiss.net. Just for your initial participation through Kickstarter, I will send you a COMPLIMENTARY copy of the ANCESTOR 7" with the order of anything else from the shop page!

http://thomaswatkiss.net/shop.html

Once again, thank you for tuning in to my work and I look forward to your continued patronage in the days to come.

Happy October,

Thomas Watkiss
t@thomaswatkiss.net

Hey gang,

I hope everyone had a great summer. Unlike planned, I wanted to take the summer off but it was probably my busiest summer yet. Not only was I compiling sounds and such for the release of 'Memory', I have been working to organize a European tour planned for late October/November. Details posted as confirmations arrive! Also, I finished another album, under a seperate name, in the meantime. I will be releasing more details in October when I expect copies to arrive.

I posted some photos below from my trip to Pennsylvania. These photos show where I have fetched most of the field recordings as heard on 'Phase I : Silence' and will be heard on 'Phase III : Memory'. The location you are looking at is part of the Appalachian valley in Southwestern Pennsylvania. It is about one hour Northwest of Falling Water, an hour Southeast of Pittsburgh and a half hour from the great Latrobe brewery : ) I do believe that I was able to get the sounds that I was looking for in both seasons of this area (as explained in the last posting) so now it's all about selection and arranging material from over 3 hours of recordings from the late Spring and early Autumn trips to this area.

Working on the music, I can tell you that am hearing a "fleshing" out of the sounds. Where as the recording of 'Phase i : Silence' had a very earthy and organic feel, and as 'Machine' had an almost skeletal and inhuman vibe, I am pulling together more fullbodied sounds for 'Memory'. Also, I have gone deep in the archive of sound files that I started with from 2007 when I recorded the ANCESTOR 7". I decided to use some of those dissonant guitar recordings for one track, to bring the whole record set to a full circle and finish the project off well.

..no more time for talking, it's now time for action!

Next week you can expect a set of "backers only" audio posts from the recordings thusfar. I plan to post a 2 - 3 minute track each week until the project is over. Totally exclusive to you, my backers, here on Kickstarter. Also, I am finally working on organizing photos for the layout, and I will be posting a link (once again, only available to you) so you can vote on which photo you want to see as the cover!

Once again, thank you for your kind support. As some of the other projects in the music category want you to fund the entire production: recording, mastering, layout and even buy instruments in some cases--I am only asking for support to realize the set on vinyl. 'Memory' will get done regardless and as planned. Where I need help however, is in completing the vision to have all three records on the 2xLP format.

Please continue to tell your friends. I have a few large contributions promised for the 11th hour, but regardless, I really think we can pull this campaign off by next month!

/Thomas

Alright,

I am off for a 5 day trip to the Pennsylvania countryside. I am taking some time off from the city to get some last photos and final recordings for 'Memory'. As I was there early in the spring, I recorded the sounds of migrating birds and the late spring/early summer "awakening" environment of the Appalachian mountain valleys. This time, I want to capture the sound from the same locations as the season is descending; the sound of cicadas, locusts and the "dry" aura of late summer. Capturing the sounds and spots with my M-Audio MicroTrack II and my Kodak P850. That's it.

The idea is to bring the seasons together in one of the last tracks on the record (I have a time slot for it as the first track on the d-side of the vinyl) that would bring a nice, coherent ending to the record and to the set as a whole. This would especially make a greater case in context , I feel, for the track 'Locust' on Phase I : Silence and 'Born From These Fields' from Phase II : Machine. After all, I am recording by the farmlands and valley regions from which I grew up.

As we are in the final stretch of this recording and in the last period of this project, I spent this evening organizing my studio space so when I come back, I can work with a clean perspective. The past six months have been an accumulation of this project and other sound and visual works so, I want the last few weeks of working to feel fresh and ultimately, I want it to sound that way.

Lastly, thanks again for backing and following this project. We have a long way to go, so please bring your friends and colleagues aboard!

Bests,
TW

Hi Gang!

Ok, I just bounced the first mix of A3: "Memory." Total time, as of now, clocks in at exactly 59:59. Naturally, the album will be grouped into four parts, each about 15 - 17 minutes each (for each side of the double vinyl album). This is very different to the creation of "Silence" and "Machine" where I focused on each track over time and then laid each track into an order, before making any needed edits.

The schedule now: edits and mixes of the four parts are planned for the coming month of August (August already!?), Each part will be continue to be developed and edited into the final "tracks". As I forsee it we will have a nice 8 or 9 track work with very careful contrasts of dense, technical parts complimenting some large, flowing ambient parts.

Next month I will post some samples of this process as well as a gallery layout of the artwork that will be used for the packaging. I will, before August is over, call for a vote for which image you may elect as the cover!

Thank you for following and supporting this work!!! : )

xo,
TW

http://thomaswatkiss.net/