The Small Voice Record, Vol. 5

IT'S FINISHED! Mastering the album with Nick Moon of Tone Proper I’m both overjoyed and relieved to announce that the record is finally done! My voice healed up in time to finish the recording process in full strength, and then it took us the next two months to mix and master the work. We spent time in Colorado mixing the songs with David Wilton at his St. Ida’s studio, and then I had the pleasure of working with my old friend Nick Moon on the final master here in Portland. I’m so pleased with the final product, and I can honestly say that it wouldn’t have been possible without the overwhelming amount of support, prayer, and friendship that was extended to us from start to finish. THE RELEASE The album release is scheduled for June 15. But here's the catch: IT'S FREE! We've really felt the Lord asking us to give this album away for one year, and it's our joy to do so! So beginning June 15th a full digital download of "Love & War & The Sea In Between" will be available for free on my website. When downloading the album you'll be able to choose from various file formats, including full CD-quality. You'll also receive files containing the album art (designed by Chris Tobias), liner notes and lyrics. At some point in the coming year we'll begin "selling" the album in its final hardcover edition, as a beautiful hardbound book (details below). But in the meantime, if you'd like an actual CD in hand, come on out to one of my shows and you'll get a free Garrels family original (think cardboard sleeve + rubber stamps). In grand Portland style, it's DIY! We’re going to press thousands of these limited edition hand-stamped CDs and give away as many as we possibly can in one year. It’s gonna be fun! PARTNERSHIP Your generosity has paid for this album, and we are so grateful! Not only have all the collaborators been paid, but mixing and mastering costs have also been covered. This is the first time we’ve not gone in debt while making an album! The only remaining cost we have is album manufacturing. This includes the limited edition albums we're giving away for free as well as the hardcover editions we'll be giving to donors, selling in music shops, bookstores and Amazon, and submitting to digital aggregates like Pandora and itunes (since the DIY-version won't cut it there). Any money earned from the sale of the hardcover album and itunes downloads will either be given away or used to manufacture more copies to give away. We want this to be a “year of jubilee"! If you'd like to contribute towards album manufacture, so that we can blanket the world with music + God's love, you may do so here: You can send a check to: Small Voice Records c/o Josh & Michelle Garrels P.O. Box 11500 Portland, OR 97211 Or you can donate electronically by clicking here or by visiting the "Store" section of my website. Thank you for all of your love & support during the course of this year-and-a-half-long project. Your prayers & encouragement have sustained us. We can't wait to share this music with you! Be blessed, Josh & Michelle Garrels

©2011 small voice records | P.O. Box 11500 Portland, OR 97211

The Small Voice Record, Vol. 4

Greetings, friends!

It’s been a long and frustrating, yet ultimately fruitful winter of work for me here in Portland. Frustrating, because I was struck down with wave after wave of sickness for almost four months, resulting in my singing voice being rendered fairly useless for recording. Although physically healthy now, my voice still isn’t restored to the place it needs to be for me to record these new songs. I’ve never felt so incapacitated, especially during a season in which I would have hoped for optimum health! Needless to say, this has created a sort of crisis within my process, and forced me to exercise trust and faith that all things will in fact work together for good... and in the right timing. I’ve been praying that the Lord would be my physician, and I’ve been trusting in His promise that, “those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall rise up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary; they shall walk and not faint.” As humbling as it is to feel a sense of powerlessness in regards to my mortal frame, I take heart in the words, “Not by might and not by power, but by my spirit says the Lord.” I’m confident this album will be completed, but only with the help of God's strong arm. In the meantime I’ve felt like Noah, toiling away in the desert, building a big boat with the expectance of the coming rains. For months and months I’ve been building and collaborating in recording all of the instrumentation for the album. Each song’s been built from the ground up using my initial scratch vocal tracks as the guide, and as it stands, nearly all of the instrumentation is completed for the entire 18-song album! Now the music is just waiting for the voice. Let it rain!

Recent Studio Guests Video : "Words Remain" Three of the songs on my next album were headed up by a gifted production team called Mason Jar Music. They’re a group of composers, music engineers, videographers, and musicians, all working together in Brooklyn, NY. This past summer they invited me out to shoot an orchestral version of my song “Words Remain”. It was such a magical night, and I was so impressed with their work, that I asked if they would consider doing some orchestration on my next album. To my excitement they said yes! Here’s the video from that night in New York. Timeframe I’m down to my final four weeks of recording, and my wife Michelle is working hard on the album art! Our plane tickets are booked, and we’ll be flying out to Boulder, CO to mix and master the album with David Wilton on April 10th. We are still hoping the work will be in production by May and in our hands (and yours, too!) by some point in June. Prayer Partnership Here are ways you can pray for me right now: That my voice would be healed and restored to the health needed to finish this work with excellence. That I’d continue waiting and working in faith and trust, and not give way to fear and anxiety. Financial Partnership God has been faithful to carry us through this project with the help of friends. If you feel led to contribute towards this final sprint to the finish, here's what your gift will go towards: The final costs of mixing and mastering the album in Colorado with David Wilton. Art production and overall album layout. Manufacturing of the first pressing of 2,000 copies of “Love & War & The Sea In Between” You can send a check to: Small Voice Records c/o Josh & Michelle Garrels P.O. Box 11500 Portland, OR 97211 Or you can donate electronically by clicking here or by visiting the "Store" section of my website. Thank you for all of your love and support! Warmly, Josh ©2011 small voice records | P.O. Box 11500 Portland, OR 97211

The Small Voice Record, Vol. 3

Rest

I’m writing you this update from the woods of North Carolina, where we’ve been spending a few weeks visiting my mother-in-law during this holiday season. Being here has proved to be a much needed time of rest and reflection, purposefully refraining from work while being intentional about our time spent together as a family. This will be the deep breath before the final plunge. Work In a few days we’ll be flying back home to Portland, where I’ll begin the final push to bring this next album to completion. Although there’s still a lot of work to be done, I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel, and so I begin this last leg of the race with renewed strength and perspective. The process of creating this album has by far been the most rigorous mental and spiritual struggle I’ve known as an artist, so I’m thankful to be re-entering the process from a place of peace and purpose. The Logistics I’ll be in the studio recording through January and February, and then spending the month of March on the final mix and master of the album. This should make this album’s release May or June of 2011. Until then I’ll be working closely with a hand-picked team of collaborators that are helping build the sound of this album into something really special. The Team It’s my pleasure to introduce the cast of players who will be supporting the songs on “Love & War & The Sea In Between”: Jay Kirkpatrick Multi-instrumentalist and longtime friend. Jay’s playing can be heard on all of my albums; whether accordion or banjo, bass or melodica, Jay’s accompaniment has been an integral part of the “sound” on each album. Josh Green Drummer extraordinaire. The first time I saw Josh play was with the trip-hop jazz trio “Infradig”...and he was playing stuff live that didn’t seem possible. His drumming will add a new dimension to this current work. Mason Jar Music A start-up music production company based out of Brooklyn, specializing in orchestral composition and video work. I’ve done previous work with these guys (yet to be released!), and they’re currently composing music for several songs on the new album. Jason Brewer Electric and upright bass. Jason knows how to bring the funk, or create a tasteful upright thump. His work often inspires me to take songs in unexpected directions. Tim & Laurie Thornton Violin, cello, mandolin, and harmonica. I first met Tim and Laurie through their work with “Enter The Worship Circle” and “Blackthorn Project”, and have since had the pleasure of working with them a few times. I don’t know of anyone who can capture an old mountain folk sound like them. Colleen Davick Flute. I met Colleen when she was the flautist for the retro-hippie jam-band “Seeds”. We’ve been talking about collaborating for a long time. Annalisa Nutt Vocalist. Annalisa is a gifted singer-songwriter, but she’s also provided backing vocals for the likes of Grammy nominee Matthew Santos. She’ll be accompanying me on a few songs as well. Scott Frantz Electric guitar. I came into contact with Scott through his work on my good friend Josh Rosen’s albums. Scott’s one of those guys who specializes in making an electric guitar into an ethereal, ambient, and emotional instrument. Mike Garrels Trumpet and piano. My dad’s the one who nurtured the gift of music in my life, and, being a music teacher, he can find his way around on the trumpet and piano quite well. David Wilton Mixing and Mastering. Dave’s a gifted music engineer who’s worked with such artists as Aaron Strumpel, Sleeping At Last, Enter the Worship Circle, Blackthorn Project, and Josh Rosen. I’ll be flying out to his Studio--St. Ida’s, in Colorado, to complete the mixing and mastering of this album. Finances First, I want give the deepest thanks to all who have so generously given of themselves in prayer, gifts, letters, and finances. Thank you! Your response to our invitation has been moving, and we’re filled with gratitude for you. We have all of your names and information saved, and we’ll be sending each of you a pre-release of the album. Currently we’ve received about $10,000 in financial support towards the completion of this album! Guys, this is awesome. In the end, when all is said and done, the full cost of production will be approximately $20-25,000. This cost will include paying my team of musicians, investing in some production gear for my studio, mixing and mastering in CO, design work, and the final manufacturing of the album. If you would be interested in helping finance this final push, here's what you can do: You can send a check to: Small Voice Records c/o Josh & Michelle Garrels P.O. Box 11500 Portland, OR 97211 Or you can donate electronically by clicking here or by visiting the "Store" section of my website Sincerely, Josh P.S. Here’s a video of my new song “Farther Along” which will be on the new album, “Love & War & The Sea In Between”. ©2011 small voice records | P.O. Box 11500 Portland, OR 97211 Finances First, I want give the deepest thanks to all who have so generously given of themselves in prayer, gifts, letters, and finances. Thank you! Your response to our invitation has been moving, and we’re filled with gratitude for you. We have all of your names and information saved, and we’ll be sending each of you a pre-release of the album. Currently we’ve received about $10,000 in financial support towards the completion of this album! Guys, this is awesome. In the end, when all is said and done, the full cost of production will be approximately $20-25,000. This cost will include paying my team of musicians, investing in some production gear for my studio, mixing and mastering in CO, design work, and the final manufacturing of the album. If you would be interested in helping finance this final push, here's what you can do: You can send a check to: Small Voice Records c/o Josh & Michelle Garrels P.O. Box 11500 Portland, OR 97211 Or you can donate electronically by clicking here or by visiting the "Store" section of my website Sincerely, Josh P.S. Here’s a video of my new song “Farther Along” which will be on the new album, “Love & War & The Sea In Between”. ©2011 small voice records | P.O. Box 11500 Portland, OR 97211