Overview

Hello world! My name is Kyra Baskin and I'm an artist from Maine and based in Brooklyn.

I’ve always had a love for music and a fixation on lyrics. In high school I’d write the words of whatever song was stuck in my head on school assignments, notebooks, and even my arms. I started writing my own music seriously after a painful and eventful time in my life as a way of coping and understanding. Writing music has become vital to the way I process, communicate, and grow. I remember writing, after the dust had settled, that“I’d like to make something beautiful out of all of this.” 

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

This campaign is raising funds for my professionally recorded album with Mike Davidson in Boston, MA. Mike is a seasoned Boston-based producer and engineer with experience working with both established and up-and-coming musicians. Together, Mike and I are digging into my 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 “Mercy,” and you can check it out below!

While I’ve been able to fund the recording process for "Mercy” on my 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 my project:

1. Pre-Production: This is where everything starts. Mike and I 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!

I am so appreciative and grateful for any support you can lend to this campaign. In exchange for your generosity, I'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 my life.

Music–listening and creating–has helped me through my lowest points. It has brought light and understanding to incredibly hard times. This project will be a manifestation of my pain and growth. I hope it feels as intimate as a late night conversation in my bedroom. But most of all, I hope someone feels seen and understood, even if that’s just me. The very existence of this project is a success. Words by themselves can be limiting, anchored by the confines of predisposed ideas, definitions, and associations. While combining these, with music a heavy beat, an ethereal echo, allows us to transcend the standard mode of communication. 

I have struggled as a woman to create space for myself. This project not only is a tribute to my experiences but an acknowledgement, an allowance, of a space for myself. By doing this, I am saying to myself that I am worthy, I am worthy of not only my own time but others’. This is a deeply personal step of growth that’s goal is not to appease you. This is not meant for you, this is meant for myself and I honestly don’t care if you love what I am doing. But that would be sick if you do, a lovely byproduct. I think much of music and expression can look like preying on trends, appeasing ideas and what is conventional. I like what I like, I feel what I feel, and I will create. The impact on this may not be wide reaching and grand, it may solely serve myself. It may only help me further develop my confidence, purpose, and self but I’d hope you’d see the value in that. 

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 I’m so grateful for all your support.

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

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