BY SEÁN P. FEENY
POPULAR Donegal performer Little John Nee has reached his target on an online crowd-funding campaign to release his very first LP fulfilling a lifelong dream.
Thanks to their Fundit campaign, Little John and The Caledonia Highly Strung Orchestra will now be able to complete their album Songs from the Lough Swilly Delta.
“When I was a young fellow, making an LP was a very big deal and a big dream. At school I played in some bands, most memorably Hemlock.
“I have had a most fulfilling career in performance since then, beyond my wildest dreams, but I never made the LP. Now along with the great musicians of the Caledonia Highly Orchestra it’s finally happening. Happy days,” said Little John.
Fundit is a service used by artists to raise funds for projects. Crowd-funding is now used by almost all independent theatre practitioners in Ireland and many bands and musicians making debut recordings. In this case the public were invited to buy copies of Little John’s album featuring Jeremy Howard, Fionn Robinson and Orlaith Gilcreest. The songs are all taken from Little John shows such as The Derry Boat, The Mental and Sparkplug.
To create a bit of atmosphere and to allow everyone to get involved there was one reward for €5, Little John would skim a stone on Lough Swilly and shout out your name. As a mark of gratitude the band have decided that all those who made this pledge will receive a download of songs, as well. Everyone who funded will receive their reward upon completion of the project in the not too distant future.
The next phase will be the completion of mixing, the mastering, the package design, and the pressing of CD and Vinyl as well as recording some additional tracks for a bonus limited edition thank you recording.
Little John said: “Sincerest and deepest gratitude from us all for being part of this project, hopefully your limited editions will be worth a fortune in the future and you can now say you’re an executive music producer. Thank you to everyone who helped publicise the campaign and all those who showed goodwill towards the project. Songs from the Lough Swilly Delta” is on the way!”
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