Overview

Hello world! We are Evan Brende and Katie Leigh! Evan is a songwriter from Saint Louis Missouri, and Katie is a singer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

We met at the same music school in college, and quickly became friends. We both graduated in 2020 and unexpectedly lost connection during the Covid 19 pandemic. Evan reached out in April of 2021 about collaborating on a song he had written, and that song ended up giving us the idea for an album. Evan spent the next two years working on it and little by little sent demos to Katie to sing. It has been a long process: Katie started by sending back recordings from her iPhone, and then we got together in January of this past year to record a demo of “Over You” and a few other songs in her dad’s bedroom closet. (Closets provide good acoustics.) We are very excited and hopeful to finally finish the album in the studio.

The material is ready, and the musicians are waiting -- this Plaid Dog campaign is the final step toward creating our first ever, professionally produced studio album titled Matins.

This campaign is raising funds for our professionally recorded album with Carter Sanders in Boston, MA. Carter is a Boston-based producer and engineer with experience working with both established and up-and-coming musicians. Together, we are digging into Evan’s original material, writing arrangements, and reaching out to local musicians to bring the songs to life.

We’ve been able to cover the costs of recording and producing one song, which is ready for you to check out right here on this page. This first song is called “Over You,” and you can check it out below!

While we’ve been able to fund the recording process for "Over You" on our own, to create an album of songs of this quality, studio costs add up quickly. With that said, this campaign can give us a unique opportunity to collaborate and make great art together. Your donation will cover the following costs of our project:

1. Pre-Production: This is where everything starts. Carter and Evan will start crafting the arrangements for each song slated for the album. We’ll hold rehearsals to fine-tune the songs and arrangements and talk through new and exciting ideas for how to approach the recording process.

2. Recording: This is when we enter the studio and start capturing the music and where the songs become what you'll hear on this album. This campaign will play a huge role in making sure we have enough time to capture great performances for every member of the band.

3. Mixing & Mastering: Each track will get mixed to create the right balance between instruments, texture and color that make up a track. As a final step, the album will be mastered from beginning to end so that the listening experience is cohesive and carefully choreographed from start to finish.

And what will you get for your generosity and support? So many awesome things!

We are so appreciative and grateful for any support you can lend to this campaign. In exchange for your generosity, we've put together a really exciting group of gifts that are available exclusively through your participation in this campaign.

Check out some examples below and a full list to the right!

It's hard to express how much this project would change our lives.

We have been making music together for years, playing it for our friends and family. Plaid Dog Recording Studios is providing a wonderful opportunity to release our music professionally for many ears to hear!

For Katie: The success of this album means that my voice is being heard. I dream that others have the chance to hear the songs and relate to the story and emotions they produce. It has been very meaningful for me to make music with a person as talented and humble as Evan. I am so grateful and excited to be given this opportunity.

For Evan: This will be the first time any of the music I have written over the last 15 years will be professionally produced, recorded, and released–so this project would certainly be the fulfillment of my creative life so far. Specifically over the last two years I have planned out an album, fine-tuning the best songs I had already written and also writing new ones, to create a cohesive, thematic, and enjoyable 30-minute listening experience. Katie has brought another level of life to it, and now Carter has as well, and I am extremely excited to see it take shape and hopefully see it finished with your help!

If you're ready to contribute, just click the "Back This Project" button on the top right of this page! Every little bit counts, and we’re so grateful for all your support.

If you have folks in your network that would be interested in supporting us, please feel free to share this page with them.

Thank you so much for checking out our campaign page. We can't wait to share this music with you.