Alumna uses Soundcloud, Kickstarter to launch global tour
Open gallery
Four years ago, Abigail Press BA ’12 created a Soundcloud account to share her “atmospheric vocals” with a far-flung audience. From that audience emerged a global network of electronic musicians with whom Press began collaborating almost immediately.
“Collaboration happens organically, just by contacting an artist whose music I enjoy or responding to someone who likes my music,” Press, a German studies major, explained.
After establishing a shared idea about how a track should sound, she and her collaborators combine lyrics and beats. They then exchange edits and comments until both are satisfied with the final product.
While a lack of face-to-face interaction with colleagues has not hindered Press from achieving success, language barriers and time differences have proved challenging. These difficulties, plus a growing list of distant peers who she hoped to eventually accompany in performance, got her thinking about the possibility of a European tour.
“My year of study abroad in Munich also helped me feel that Europe was within my grasp for my first music tour,” Press said. “During that year, I worked on my music and was featured on SoundCloud’s blog for the city of Munich. I also had an internship at DOK.fest München as a PR assistant, which gave me an inside look into the massive amount of work that it takes to manage a film festival. The management skills that I took away from that internship definitely translate into how I managed this tour.”
Press eventually took her dream to Kickstarter with the hope that it could become a reality. Soon, 55 supporters had donated $2,860 to help offset travel expenses.
Following a launch party in Portland, the Wavy tour began in London on September 18. It continued from the United Kingdom to stops in the Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, and Italy.
“The whirlwind itinerary brought me to places that left me breathless,” Press said. “It has been really rewarding to reach new listeners, learn from my collaborators, and expand my horizons overall.”
Looking back, Press credits Lewis & Clark for giving her the tools to achieve her musical goals.
“Electronic music classes with Instructor in Music Jeffrey Leonard advanced my skills in composition software,” Press said. “Before these classes I had only dabbled in GarageBand and hadn’t really ventured into other music production. In the two years that I took electronic music, we learned the ins and outs of a program called Reason which really catapulted my interest and passion in production and helped me develop my own sound as an artist.”
Katrina Staaf ’16 contributed to this story.
Abigail Press on Soundcloud Foreign Languages and Literatures
