"The Future Looks Viral" is a weekly series where we profile the people behind an innovative, new online project, be it a parody Twitter account, web series or artsy Instagram profile. They all have one thing in common: the potential to go viral.
Today's artists have nothing on Kim Boekbinder. Though a standard major label album typically has somewhere between 12 to 16 songs, Boekbinder is currently in the process of creating an album that could have any number of tracks, from one to 1 million.
The Canadian-born, New York-based musician, who goes by the stage name The Impossible Girl, launched a fascinating project on Kickstarter last month, her 19th on the crowdfunding website, in fact. For every $100 that the Kickstarter raises, Boekbinder promises to write a one-minute song. In the end, every song she writes for the project will appear on a new album called Infinite Minute, which will only be available to backers. So far, 698 backers have donated $11,508 to the campaign, which ends Dec. 16. In case you can't do the math on that one, it means Boekbinder will have to write at least 115 songs for this album.
When she's not feverishly writing songs for Infinite Minute, Boekbinder keeps busy by making videos, creating zines and collaborating with some of today's edgiest artists. She's worked with the likes of Molly Crabapple, Amanda Palmer and, most recently, Veronica Varlow. Boekbinder spoke with T-Lounge via email, which was lightly edited for grammar and style below, about the inspiration behind Infinite Minute, the key to writing songs quickly and the wonders of space.
What inspired you to create the Infinite Minute album? Why did you want to take on a project like this?
Most music Kickstarters are actually about funding an album through selling CDs, posters, T-shirts, etc... Those are great. I like doing them, but they are also stressful, very expensive and generally don't pay me anything. I raise money to record my album, but all the money goes to paying a studio, paying supporting musicians, manufacturing CDs and T-shirts and shipping.
This is the first Kickstarter I've done that's just been about music. It's amazing.
I was inspired by my friend Zelda Devon's "Sponsored Speed Paint" project. [Boekbinder commissioned speed paint from her.] For $40 to $60 people would give her two words as inspiration, and she would paint something in 20 minutes and give them a digital file of their piece. The illustrations that came out of it were great! And people who would normally never hire an illustrator got custom art. Everyone was winning. I wanted to do that for songs but struggled with the concept for a bit because if I pay a studio, a song costs me anywhere from $600 to $3,000 to produce and that's not something most people can afford. The Infinite Minute Kickstarter is raising funds for my home studio so I can record songs on my own and can afford to offer them for $100.
And just let me say — they will never be this cheap again. This is really crazy. One hundred dollars for a custom song — even for a one-minute song? Take advantage of this while I'm doing this crazy thing. A custom song is something you'll have your whole life. They make amazing gifts. I've already written two podcast themes. If you think you will ever need a song, this is your time.
When did you first realize that you could write so many songs so quickly?
In January 2009 I wrote, recorded, and released a song a day for 31 days. Since then I've known I could write and record songs quickly. And I've gotten A LOT better since then, both at writing and at recording. I'm really happy with the quality of the Infinite Minute. By nature of the project I can't spend too long on each song so I have to let them go without tinkering away on them for weeks. Sometimes you want to keep working on something until it's perfect, but at $100 a song I just can't afford to.
My friend Jonathan Mann has been writing and recording a song a day for 6 years! I couldn't do that. I can write 10 songs in one day and then none for a week, but I can't force songs out every day. My song-a-day project only lasted a month, and it was much harder than the Infinite Minute, because I can work a lot on this and then take a break. It's more natural for me to work in fits and starts.
How many songs have you written so far?
I've written 22 songs so far. Most of them are secret songs for now — people commissioned them for Christmas presents, so I can't release them publicly until after Christmas. I love being part of people's lives this way — I'm writing love songs and songs for kids and spouses and best friends and families. People are really happy. Most people will never get a custom song written for them, so it's a really nice process to be involved with.
What's the longest amount of time it has taken you to write a song for the Infinite Minute? The shortest amount of time?
I can write a song in about 10 minutes. However... recording and perfecting the song takes much longer. I generally record the basic track and a rough vocal idea, then I save the file and don't even look at it for at least a day. A lot of work gets done in the back of my mind while I'm doing other things. I always find it helpful to take a break and come back to something later instead of trying to force it all to work right away. Sometimes songs just come together in half an hour — but usually they linger for several days, but maybe 20 to 30 minutes per session. So it's probably realistic to say I spend one to two hours on each song. Some more, some less, but most fall into that one to two-hour range.
You're asking backers to send you two words as inspiration for their songs. How did you determine that two words is all it takes to inspire you to write a whole song?
Two words is a good title length. And it's enough of a seed without being bogged down by too much information. I also write full custom songs for people, but those take many days or weeks and a lot of research and thought, I also charge a lot more money for those songs.
Most people who are backing the Infinite Minute are actually giving me more than two words to work with. I love the detailed info, but sometimes it's too much. If I know a lot about a subject I want to make the song perfect. And I really don't have time to do that for 115 songs and counting!
But mostly I just want everyone to be really happy with their songs.
Can you describe your songwriting process? Where is your favorite place to write? What do you use to work out a song (an instrument, pencil and paper, audio recorder, etc.)?
I write so many different ways, on different instruments. Sometimes music comes first, sometimes lyrics, sometimes it all comes together in an instant. Sometimes — as I mentioned above — I linger over a song for days, whittling away at the details a bit every day until it really shines.
You've used Kickstarter quite a bit throughout your career, from funding your debut LP to pre-selling tickets for your U.S. tour, according to your bio on your website. What is it about the platform that you like so much?
It funds my work. That's honestly the most important thing. I can't work without money. I wish I could. Some Kickstarter projects are more fun than others. This project is the best project. Probably ever. It's pure art and pure joy. I'm happy, the supporters are happy. We all get lots of music out of it. And I don't have to ship anything. I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner.
The best Kickstarters are like a great conversation at a great party between the project creator and the backers. Everyone feels like they're winning. Backing a project and watching it succeed — first financially and then artistically — is a great feeling. Having your Kickstarter project be successfully funded feels like winning the lottery — but a lottery you worked really hard for. The whole process is super gratifying for everyone — backers, creators. Crowdfunding works because it's a relationship instead of just a transaction.
How would you say your Mission Control website compares to Kickstarter?
Mission Control is my monthly subscription website that I run myself. People support me for some amount of dollars ($2 to $100 per month — their choice) and get access to my behind-the-scenes creative process. I write a lot of things that don't get published: blogs, songs. I make little videos. I talk about what music and art I'm inspired by. It's a really cool little community. And for me it's a steady monthly income. It's not a huge income, but it is very, very helpful. And for an artist, having a steady monthly income is life changing. Mission Control makes so much more art possible because I have a solid base to work with. Kickstarter funds the recording and manufacturing of my albums, Mission Control pays for me to live while I write the albums. They're both vital and I'm so grateful for both.
Speaking of Mission Control, it seems like space is an interest of yours. You also wrote a one-minute song inspired by the Philae landing as a preview for Infinite Minute. What is it about space that interests you so much?
My last album was all about space! I've always loved space. I'm interested in science in general, but space is a great canvas to project the future onto.
I mean, Earth is great, I love it, but everyone else is writing songs about Earth. So I wrote a space album.
Though my next album is all about normal Earth things like love and sex and adventure. Gravity and oxygen enable us to do all those things and more. Even when I write about love and sex I'm being nerdy.
What else influences your work and inspires you?
EVERYTHING! Space! Earth! Cookies! Sidewalks! It will take too long to list everything in the known universe so I'll assume that the reader gets the gist.
What are you planning to work on next once you're finished with Infinite Minute?
I have a few exciting commissions and art projects. Definitely some more writing/storytelling.
And!!! My next album — To The Wolves. I'm ridiculously excited about the album, and I can't wait to get at it. Luckily I get to write 100+ songs first — which, as day jobs go, is pretty great.
