Courage to Be
New Music by JennyRebecca
Welcome to a Grand Experiment!
This is possibly the FIRST ever Virtual Album Experience in the world?!
What is a Virtual Album Experience, you might be asking?!
Well... probably, if you are reading this, you already purchased it and so you know a little bit about it!
But here is the backstory...
This idea was birthed out of necessity...
In this age of Spotify and streaming platforms, (and the subsequent death of the CD player)
musicians need to have a product they can sell.
In the summer of 2023, I tried to organize a strike against Spotify. Sadly, very few musicians were interested in participating. Some were honest enough to tell me they were too afraid of the repercussions.
So with only a handful of musicians willing to give it a go, it was a pathetic attempt at going against a system that has essentially made it impossible for independent artists to make a sustainable income....
it was like throwing a pebble at a very large fortress
(or as my husband, Andrew J. Ronning said, it was like "putting my shoulder against the wheel of time"...
Let's just say it was a feeble attempt to try to make change that unfortunately didn't make as much of a ripple as the strike that the screenwriters and actors in Hollywood made.
HOWEVER, when I was trying to think of something I could create that would be a product that artists could sell - other than a CD, since most people don't even have CD players anymore - and something more than just what you could listen to, since most music is available on streaming platforms for free these days... I thought, wouldn't it be amazing to create a Virtual Album Experience... so that people could experience the album not just the way we do on streaming platforms but in a variety of different ways. It could be the artist's personal take on the stories they want to create, it could be a way for people to respond creatively, or emotionally, or simply get back into the practice of listening to an album all the way through, offering a different approach to the way we consume music and media.
And so, this, my friend, is something I am very excited to share with you!
And I would LOVE to hear about your experience with it and what it brings up for you!
My Patreon is the best place to share your responses and you can join and share there for free: www.Patreon.com/JennyRebecca
Enjoy!
There are SIX ways you can choose to experience my new EP, Courage to Be...
Experience Numero 1: Old School... aka: The Way God Intended
Remember when we used to listen to CDs (or even cassette tapes?!) and scour the lyrics in the liner notes?! This experience of the album will lead you to experience the album, simply listening to the songs, in the order that I chose to put them on the EP, with the lyrics right there. OG style. And please... take your time. Let's all make a conscious choice to consume media and art consciously. Let it marinate. Lie down on your floor if you want and just listen all the way through.
Experience #2: Choose Your Own Adventure
In this experience, you will get to experience the music videos but in the order you choose. You will listen to the first song, and depending on how it makes you feel, you can then choose which song comes next by pushing the button to lead you where you want to go.
Experience #3: Director's Cut, Behind the Scenes
The stories behind the songs, the making of, video footage taken while these songs were recorded in Berlin and LA with Matt Flynn, drummer from Maroon 5, Jon Button, bassist from The Who, and audio engineer, Pete Min (Feist, Vulfpeck, Andrew Bird).
Experience #4: Creative Activation
Based on the qualities of each song, you, as the listener, will be prompted to respond with different creativity, journaling or expression prompts. This will hopefully inspire you to go deeper with the lyrics and the melodies but also within your own creative process.
Experience #5: Emotional Intelligence Immersion
This is a personal choice, but I, personally, love to go deep with people. I love to ask questions and I love to be asked questions. All of my songs come from an emotional place, but this EP in particular has a concept that has to do with the different ways we express love. This experience will prompt you with some questions as you listen to each song to reflect on your own emotions and the way you have experienced love thus far in your life.
Experience #6: The Mindfulness Experience
Use these songs as an active form of meditation and prayer. In this experience, I will guide you into mindfulness exercises and prompts to help you connect more with the divine, in and around you, as you interact with the songs.