Christine White Album

Long title. Big album. 30 years in the making, you could say.

It began with the grandiose, evocative and purposeful melodies of the pentacostal Baptist movement and moved through the raw, smoke-filled, beer-smelling couches, gay/lesbian festivals and bars, hometown pubs and city cafes of 1990s New Zealand. The visceral power of melody combined with a strong back-beat and the evocative twang of the electric guitar.

I began a parallel career in music teaching and delved into writing musicals and music for children's theater (I've composed for Tim Bray Productions for 10 years now). I developed an appetite for non-traditional music-making listening to bands like STOMP .Through an album collaboration with Steve Garden I was introduced to contemporary New Zealand music. The works of David Downes and John Psathas exuded an exciting energy and melding of sound texture with intensity.

A degree in Sonic Arts Composition at Victoria University brought about a massive shift in my approach to sound as a compositional tool and allowed me to explore creative process more deeply. For a time it even led me to question the validity of songwriting. But life back out of the academic institution and a break-up put paid to that, and began a year of grief and emptying out on a number of levels.

This new album gathers not just my own personal heartbreaks but the various creative methodologies I've used and appreciated over time. Through images and symbols of conveyor belts, Russian dolls, turnstiles, and creatures of the deep, I've allowed myself to move through the world of metaphor. I stuck pictures up on my wall and I mined them. The pictures became collages, and the collages gave way to songs. The songs gave me the sense that the deepest parts of me had been heard.

I am very grateful to have received funding from Creative New Zealand for half of the project, and I am now asking for your help to complete the mastering and production of the album along with a simple video. If 234 people gave $30.00 I'd be all set. But of course, feel free to give less, or more, or just pass on this link. I'm grateful for any and all support.

A huge bouquet of gratitude to Tommy Morum-Kelly (tmorumkelly@gmail.com) for his stupendous work on the video. He has totally captured the essence of the song in conveying the heart of this project to you.

I want very much to share this collection of songs with others, especially those who have experienced loss. It's easily the most personally true, heartfelt, and complete body of work I have ever produced. This album is a reminder for me, and I hope, a gift to all who want to listen.

Thank you for your support.