December Patreon rewards: "Unwrap With Caution EP" (Patreon Exclusive) + another LIVE ambient Jabun performance for the $10 patrons, 2 Apple Bottom Jeans Memes, World Beyond sales and bonus tracks + more project updates & news!

Hi everyone and hope you've had a great November since last time! Advent is upon us, and it's time for another Newgrounds post along with some more Patreon rewards! This month I thought it'd be cool to start uploading the backlog of Nick Standing cover song EP's I've given as presents, starting with the most recent and going backwards in time. All of these (at the time of writing this at least) are Patreon Exclusive Downloads, and the first 2 of these happen to be ones I gave as Christmas presents which fits nicely with the time of year too! Let's start the collection with "Unwrap With Caution", my Christmas present for Eva in 2017! 

"Unwrap With Caution" is a collection of 2 mostly acoustic cover songs with a hefty dose of rap vocals! The track listing is as follows:

01 Papercut/PPR-KUT - Linkin Park

(a hybrid arrangement of the original and Reanimation remix versions)

02 The Juggernauts - Zebrahead

All Patreon supporters will be recieving an exclusive download of the EP this month, and if you're a $10+ patron, you also have another exclusive LIVE Jabun ambient performance from what will be Jabun's next album to look forward to! If that sounds good to you then join me on Patreon to read more and download the rewards below as well as check out all of this month's project updates in full. Remember you'll be recieving all past rewards for you tier too when you sign up so check out the archives to see everything you can catch up on and hope to see you there!

$1 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/58766278

$10 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/58766276

Reward Archives: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50344842

Find out more: https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

And you can listen to both tracks from Unwrap With Caution over on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYz2oyXL-jA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6wmiM7dId4

But that's not all for the rewards this month! More on that in a moment!

Onto the montly project updates and news, it's been an incredibly busy and hectic one this time and unfortunately I've not been able to make any progress at all on BTTB's next album. I have however recorded the final track for Jabun's next album, and the project is now all set up and ready for mastering! Next month is looking to be even busier and more hectic than the last though, so I'm not sure when exactly I'll be able to get to these, but in any case, there'll still going to be lots more music to share soon, even if it takes a little longer to finish my own projects. Thanks for your patience!

And speaking of new music, some news on collaborations! My twin Eamon has been concocting madness in his musical laboratory these past few months and has very quickly made a name for himself as a master of the Apple Bottom Jeans meme! For those who don't know, earlier this year a trend started where people would perform covers of songs but sing the lyrics to "Low" by "Flo Rida" instead... and it's pretty friggin' good! Eamon's done DOZENs of them now, some of which I think have been his best vocal performances ever! I highly recommend checking them out on his YouTube Channel right NOW!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCap22RGbukp7aqu8zlYbuw

And with incredibleness comes incredible silliness! Earlier this month, Eamon pranked me with a cover of one of MY songs: Apple Bottom Jeans by Better Than The Book! I SWEAR it's not me singing, though he's using my instrumental version and did ask me to help out with making the artwork! It's, quite simply put, trippy listening to it for me! Great job bro! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZvhPjWcy10

With that, he also invited me to take part in some Apple Bottom Jeans fun too! Here's our cover of the "Afternoon Delight" scene from the movie "Anchorman"! We ended up splitting the harmonies between us (and I got the looooooooooowup part too)! Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv3ixgZz8eM

And very kindly, Eamon's let me share both these tracks and their artwork with you this month as a bonus reward on Patreon! Go show your support by checking out his channel on YouTube, and grab the Apple Bottom Jeans download pack in the rewards below! Enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCap22RGbukp7aqu8zlYbuw

​$1 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/58766278

$10 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/58766276

Finally this week, some more updates from World Beyond! It's time for more bonus tracks and sales for the festive season, and WB has just released a new track of its own too "Bewitched"! I'm not playing on this track specifically, but I am featured on the Mindshell album which it's being added to as a bonus track! Check out what Vlad had to say about it below:

"""

Bewitched is now available as a Mindshell bonus track!

If you previously purchased Mindshell you might want to re-download the album to get our new track Bewitched, a Mental Omega exclusive remake of Witcher's Tale, as a bonus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jf6V9QGmJo

Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel not to miss the upcoming vocal single "Revolt"

"""

And I AM on that new version of "Revolt", and very much looking forward to hearing it released!

On top of that, Vlad's also runing a 50% off sale on the World Beyond bandcamp page, so if you're feeling in need for some EPIC music (and I don't use that word lightly), go grab some deals over there! Vlad says:

"""

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

World Beyond Bandcamp Holiday sale is on: https://worldbeyond.bandcamp.com

Use promocode "controlmore" at checkout to get 50% off any purchase. Thank you so much for supporting us and stay tuned for our upcoming releases on YouTube:

​https://www.youtube.com/c/worldbeyondsoundtracks

"""

Enjoy!

That wraps things up for this month's rewards/updates! Next time we'll be continuing the Patreon rewards with another mostly acoustic cover EP from 2017, this time made as a gift for my parents! Until then, I hope you have an amazing December to come and enjoy the festive season however you celebrate, and I look forward to sharing more music with you in 2022! Thanks as always for supporting JabunAudio, Jabun, Better Than The Book and my other projects however you can, and take care, seasons greetings and all the best!

November 2021 Patreon rewards: "Postcards" + another exclusive WIP instrumental demo from Better Than The Book's upcoming projects for the $10 Patrons as well as new Cyberdevil and World Beyond Collaborations to share and some project/news updates!​

Hi everyone and hope you've had a great October since the last post!

It's the beginning of November which means it's time for some more Patreon rewards, and since the last reward was a huge one with a brand new track, I thought I'd go with something a little smaller this time, a short track from 2016 called "Postcards" which also happens to be the final original (and non-commissioned) piece of the Nick Standing discography! For the $10+ Patrons, you also have another exclusive work in progress instrumental Better Than The Book demo to look forward to (a fun track called "Mood Swings")! If that sounds good to you then join me on Patreon to read more and download the rewards below as well as check out all of this month's project updates. Remember you'll be recieving all past rewards for you tier too when you sign up so check out the archives to see everything you can catch up on and hope to see you there!

Find out more: https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

$1 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/57269952

$10 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/57269955​

Reward Archives: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50344842

You can also listen to Postcards here on Newgrounds:

• 

  Postcards

  by Jabun

  A chill little post-rock track

  Song

  Miscellaneous

  754 Views

  PLAY

Onto other news, it's been a very exciting time for collaborative projects this month! As has become tradition, my good friend @Cyberdevil has been continuing with his yearly INKtober rap challenge where for each day of October he writes and records a new verse and posts it up here on Newgrounds! I was feeling super inspired earlier this month so quickly put together an early Limp Bizkit inspired beat for him to have fun with! It's admittedly an... "aquired taste" of dissonance but I had a lot of fun with it and sounds like Cyberdevil did too! Check out and download the full version of the track below:

• 

  Inktober #16 - No Cap Life

  by Cyberdevil

  Sixteenth

  Song

  Hip Hop - Modern

  117 Views

  PLAY

And as an extra reward this month, my Patreon supporters have the raw instrumental beat I sent to CD for the project in their reward downloads too!

With 31 raps in total over the month, it's been quite the journey this year and I've really enjoyed following CD along with it each day! I highly recommend checking out the rest of them over when you can! Enjoy!

https://cyberdevil.newgrounds.com/audio/

If that wasn't exciting enough for collaborations, a mash-up cover / tribute I recorded cello for World Beyond on earlier this year is being released today too, a tribute to the video game Frostpunk! In Vlad's words:

"""

Frostpunk Medley is finally here:

youtu.be/Xo9pMCpAjhY

We have been working on this for quite a while - our tribute to the original soundtrack of the game Frostpunk. Ever since we listened to this deeply moving and emotional masterpiece inspired by the struggle of people with all their sorrows and hopes we knew we had to make it happen - and today feels like the right moment. Based on two amazing musical themes Frostpunk Theme and One the Edge Theme by Piotr Musial, featuring violin by Maritza Vilibic and cello by Nicholas Standing, this is our epic Frostpunk Medley:

fanlink.to/FrostpunkMedley

"""

That's it for this month's updates! With Postcards now up on Patreon, that's all the original (non-commissioned) Nick Standing discography out now, so next time, I'll be starting to share my back-catalogue of cover songs given as gifts to people (and there's quite the lot of them)! Until then, I hope you have a great November to come and thanks as always for supporting my music however you can! All the best, take care, and enjoy the music!

Better Than The Book & Jabun's brand new single "1314" (the song I proposed with) has been released! Pick it up now on Bandcamp!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great start to October so far! Exciting times and huge news today as I launch a brand new single from Better Than The Book & Jabun: "1314"!

On August 22nd 2021, the night of our 100th full moon together, I proposed to Eva with this song, a mixture of my 2 musical personalities with influences from her favourite musicians too, and she said YES! WOOOOOT! A huge thanks goes out to Eva for being my everything buddy and now fiance, all her support during the ups and downs throughout the years, and for letting me share this track with you all. It was made for her ears but I hope you enjoy it too! 

Thank you also to everyone else who's been a part of my musical journey and our relationship all these years so far too: all our family and friends, everyone who's played the music and spread the word, and my closest regular supporters on Patreon with special mention to the top tier contributors Michael White and Nathan Puray! We couldn't have got this far without all your support and I'm super excited to see (and hear) what comes next! My love to you all and thanks so much!

1314 is available now on Bandcamp and should be out on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, etc... imminently if not already:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/1314-single

And you can also listen to the song here on Newgrounds as well as on YouTube and SoundCloud!

• 

  Better Than The Book & Jabun - 1314

  by Jabun

  Better Than The Book & Jabun - 1314 [Single] (2021)

  Song

  Pop

  104 Views

  PLAY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAUGCsr60kg

https://soundcloud.com/bttb_uk/1314a

But what does "1314" mean and what's the deal with the artwork?! If you want to know the full story behind the song then you'll have to become a supporter on Patreon, and with such a big release, there's a tonne of rewards out in celebration too! All patrons now have music downloads for 1314 and the full-resolution artwork, and for the $10 patrons I'm also sharing with you another ambient LIVE Jabun jam, this time from my 2021 808 Day celebrations! On top of this there'll be the usual monthly project/studio updates in which I'll be sharing with you some pictures and sounds from my newly completed homemade / recycled spring reverb unit too! If that sounds good to you then become a patron for as little as $1 and remember you'll be receiving the entire back catalogue of rewards for your tier too as soon as you sign up including the full Better Than The Book and Jabun discographies and MUCH more. Explore the REWARD ARCHIVE to see all the details:

The Reward Archive

That's it for this post! The next one will be the same time next month I guess, but until then, I hope you enjoy the new music, and thank you for supporting my projects here on Newgrounds and however else you can! Take care, all the best, and happy listening!

Announcing a brand new Better Than The Book & Jabun single "1314" (the song I proposed with)! Releases on October 1st at 8pm BST!

Hi everyone and hope you've been having a great September so far! Today I have some MASSIVE news to share with you coinciding with the launch of a brand new single on October 1st from Better Than The Book & Jabun: "1314"!

On August 22nd 2021, the night of our 100th full moon together, I proposed to Eva with this song, a mixture of my 2 musical personalities with influences from her favourite musicians too, and she said YES! WOOOOOT! A huge thanks goes out to Eva for being my everything buddy and now fiance, all her support during the ups and downs throughout the years, and for letting me share this track with you all. It was made for her ears but I hope you enjoy it too!

Thank you also to everyone else who's been a part of my musical journey and our relationship all these years so far too: all our family and friends, everyone who's played the music and spread the word, and my closest regular supporters on Patreon with special mention to the top tier contributors Michael White and Nathan Puray! We couldn't have got this far without all your support and I'm super excited to see (and hear) what comes next! My love to you all and thanks so much!

1314 is available now to pre-order on Bandcamp and releases at 8pm BST on October 1st 2021:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/1314-single

The song will also be premiering on YouTube at the same time so come join in the celebration and be the first to hear it on Friday! Hope to see you there:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAUGCsr60kg

But what does "1314" mean?! If you want to know the full story you'll have to become a supporter on Patreon, and with such a big release, there's a tonne of rewards out in celebration too! The $1 patrons now have access to the full-resolution artwork for the single, while the $10 patrons have full early access to the song downloads and artwork before the rest of the world (Mp3, WAV + artwork)! On top of that they'll be getting their usual Patreon exclusive updates and rewards when 1314 is released on Friday. If that sounds good to you then become a patron for as little as $1 and remember you'll be receiving the entire back catalogue of rewards for your tier too as soon as you sign up including the full Better Than The Book and Jabun discographies and MUCH more. Explore the REWARD ARCHIVE to see all the details:

The Reward Archive

That's it for this post, and I'll be back again on Friday when 1314 is released to celebrate with more Patreon rewards and news! Until then, I hope you have a great week, and thank you for supporting my music projects however you can! Take care and enjoy the music to come!

September Patreon rewards are out: "Our Adventure" + an acoustic instrumental BTTB demo for the $10 patrons, studio updates, BIG NEWS + more!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great start to September! It's been a super hectic time lately with lots of visits and time away from the computer, not a whole lot of music making, but some fun things and big news to share nonetheless! In accordance with the recent updates and changes to the way things are running at JabunAudio, this post won't be as in depth as they have been in the past, but for a more detailed rundown of all the news, you can join me on Patreon for a front row seat of all the action:

https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

And speaking of Patreon, I have some more rewards to share with you this month along with some studio / equipment updates, some big life news and a round-up of this month's press features! Let's get started!

First of all, it's another month and time for some more Patreon rewards! This time, I'll be sharing downloads and the story behind the 2013 chiptune track "Our Adventure" (as well as detailed stories and updates from the studio this month). The $10 patrons will also receive an exclusive acoustic demo from Better Than The Book's upcoming album projects! If that sounds good to you, then become a patron to read more and dive into the action and remember that you'll get all past rewards for your tier too as soon as you sign up. Check out the Reward Archive below which includes the full Better Than The Book and Jabun discographies, Patreon exclusives and much more, and thanks for supporting my music and projects on Patreon!

$1 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/53164475/

$10 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/53164473/

Reward Archives: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50344842

​

Some studio updates to share: after a long pre-order wait, an amazing piece of guitar pedal history arrived for me in the post, one of the limited 40th anniversary BOSS SD-1 Super Overdrive pedals! The BOSS SD-1 has been a key part of my sound since my late teen years, and I've been meaning to get a 2nd one for a few years now! I also purchased a load of spare parts for my Yamaha YC-25D organ which came with some parts I don't need including a genuine spring reverb tank! I've been having fun building that into my own custom outboard reverb unit which is sounding great and is just awaiting the finishing aesthetic touches as I type this. It's been a while since I built an effect! The other parts from the purchase include some incredibly rare 1970s electronics which will be useful for keeping my own organ working for years to come (touch wood), and I plan to sell on some of the less useful stuff in the near future!

Next, a quick round-up of the press features this month! BTTB's Hopes and Dreams was featured on The Tank Tribune / Phonograph Vol. 6 playlist on Newgrounds.com! Thanks so much for the sharing the tunes folks and feel free to check out the post here:

https://thetanktribune.newgrounds.com/news/post/1202116

And although it didn't happen last month, I also noticed that my custom oscillator NOISE for the Korg NTS-1 digital synth kit has been shared amongst the community a lot since it was released in May! Check out the May 2021 features below on the JabunAudio press page and super happy to hear people are enjoying NOISE!

https://www.jabunaudio.com/press.html

Finally some HUGE life news I'd love to share with you. I don't often talk about my personal life, but on August 22nd I finally popped the question to my long time partner of over 8 years Eva, and she said YES! WOOOOT! I'm sure it's no stretch to guess that I did it with a newly written and recorded track so there will be a music update coming shortly once I have all the admin stuff sorted for it! It was written for her ears, but I hope you enjoy too! More on that soon!

And that about wraps things up for this month's post! I'll hopefully be finishing off that reverb unit very soon, as well as announcing that new track so be on the lookout for associated posts and stuff online. Until the next post, I hope you have a great September to come and thanks as always for supporting my projects in all the ways you can. Enjoy the music and take care!

Major Patreon updates: no more public newsfeed or $5 reward tier, restructured rewards, updated Reward Archives and page descriptions + more!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a good August so far. Following from last week's announcement about the restructuring of JabunAudio and my music projects to cope with pandemic related difficulties, I have some big follow-up updates about the restructuring of my Patreon page. As will be explained in more detail below, this will also affect the JabunAudio blog and my other newsfeeds too, and the following changes have been made to help streamline my workflow so that I can better manage my time and resources to continue to create and work on the JabunAudio and associated music projects you support.

The first major change will be no further public newsfeed posts on Patreon including but not limited to the monthly rewards teaser posts and stories behind the music, Bandcamp Friday and other promotions, press and radio features, and smaller updates. I will however continue to make public posts about major updates to my work/services (such as this post or updates to the Patreon Rewards Archive) as well as big announcements for my music such as album launches and releases.

​

Since there will be no regular public posts on Patreon from now on, these changes will be reflected on my other newsfeeds such as on Facebook, Newgrounds and the JabunAudio blog. These feeds will no longer contain monthly Patreon teasers and stories behind the music, though a brief description of Patreon rewards will still be included for promotion/notification. Monthly updates to music projects will also be included in the JabunAudio blog only, though not always to as much detail as on Patreon. With these changes I aim to give all Patreon supporters more exclusivity to the written aspects of their rewards on top of the already often exclusive music rewards. If you'd like to continue to read the stories behind the music and more, then you can do so by becoming a patron for as little as $1 a month.

The next major update is the removal of the $5 tier and a restructuring of the Patreon rewards. As of August 2021 the $5 Hi-fi Early Pigeon tier will no longer be available to sign up or transfer to and all rewards in this tier have now been added to a legacy $5 Reward Archive which will no longer be updated. This archive will still be available to view and enjoy for those with access to it (for example the $10 DEMOlition Pigeons). I have also updated the $1 and $10 Reward Archives which now cover from when I started on Patreon until August 4th 2021. Read more about the Reward Archives below:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/50344842

For the remaining $1 and $10 reward tiers, Patreon supporters essentially keep all the same benefits they've become familiar with with the following minor adjustments:

1) All patrons now have access to the Patreon exclusive monthly news feed which now includes any music rewards and a new section with a roundup of news and updates to current projects. $10 patrons will also have their DEMOlition Pigeon article as usual.

2) All monthly reward/update posts will now happen on the same day in the first week of the month apart from major releases. I'll aim to keep things to the first Wednesday of the month as usual.

There are still a few months of my music back catalogue left to upload for the monthly music rewards which will run out at some point next year, after which there will just be the monthly news / project updates for the $1 patrons with only new music rewards as and when they are released. The monthly $10 DEMOlition Pigeon articles will continue as usual, and I will release another major Patreon update with further details when the time comes next year.

Finally for these Patreon updates, I've taken the time to re-organise the overall Patreon page and reward tier descriptions to make things more concise and less TL;DR. I've also restructured the goals section of the Patreon page so now only 1 goal will show until it is met, after which another goal will be set. I hope that these updates will make things clearer for new visitors to my Patreon page as well as current patrons.

https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

That about concludes the updates to my Patreon page and related newsfeeds and I hope that the restructuring will make for a more enjoyable experience for Patreon supporters as well as let me focus better on working on the projects you're supporting. The next set of Patreon rewards will be released on September 1st (or thereabouts) along with corresponding now monthly JabunAudio blog post and until then, I hope you have a great August to come and thank you as always for supporting JabunAudio, Better Than The Book, Jabun and my various projects however you can and especially on Patreon. All the best, take care and enjoy the music!

It’s Bandcamp Friday and the last chance to save 50% on anything Better Than The Book!

It's once again Bandcamp Friday and Bandcamp are waiving their revenue shares again so you can support the artists you love directly for the first Friday of the month (August 6th from midnight to midnight Pacific Time)! If you've been meaning to pick up one of the recent Jabun albums or some Better Than The Book, then now's the best time!

Don't forget that it's also the final week of Better Than The Book's 50% off Bandcamp sale in celebration of 2 years of Hopes and Dreams! Grab a huge discount while you can by using the code "2years” and thanks for an amazing 2 years of Hopes and Dreams! The discount sale ends this Sunday 8th of August.

Check out the Bandcamp pages below and thanks for supporting my music in any way you can, it really means a lot:

Better Than The Book

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/

Jabun

https://jabun.bandcamp.com/

Nick Standing (< The sillier old stuff)

https://nickstanding.bandcamp.com/

And I hope you enjoy the jams!

More $1+ Patreon rewards are out: "Piggyback Ride" (Mp3s) + an exclusive LIVE Jabun ambient modular synth jam for the $10+ patrons!

Last week's $5 Patreon rewards are now out for the $1 patrons: "Piggyback Ride" (+ an exclusive LIVE Jabun ambient modular synth jam for the $10+ patrons)! In case you missed last week's post you can read more about this month's rewards below and remember that you'll gain access to all historic rewards and posts for your Patreon tier too when you become a supporter including the full Better Than The Book and Jabun discographies and much more! Hope to see you there and thanks as always for supporting my work on Patreon!

Read more: ​https://www.patreon.com/posts/53164468/

$1+ rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/53164467/

$10+ rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/53164465/

Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

Discover the Reward Archive (4th October 2018 -> 4th August 2021):

​https://www.patreon.com/posts/announcing-posts-50344842

That's it for the rewards this month and we'll be continuing with something a little different next time. Hope you're looking forward to it!

A major post-Covid restructuring of JabunAudio and my music projects (Jabun and Better Than The Book)

Hi everyone and hope you're having a fine start to August. It's been a week of mixed emotions here and I have some important updates about JabunAudio and my various music projects which mean that some unfortunate big changes will be occurring in the coming weeks.

To cut a long story short, JabunAudio as an independent self-employed small business, like many similar endeavours I'm sure, has had its ups and downs over the years, and while my music and projects both solo and collaborative have exceeded my expectations and hopes in terms of world-wide reach, achievements, and output (with over 40 million views of collaborative animation work, music featured in video games, press articles and played on radio stations all across the globe, and well over 200 music tracks released since 2012), financially JabunAudio been struggling for quite some time for various reasons, and COVID has not been kind to this industry on top of that. With the last government support for the self-employed ending this month, and the extra work I've been doing to help drum up some more revenue for JabunAudio not yielding sufficient results, I'm having to make the tough decision to restructure JabunAudio and my various associated music projects in order to look for more stable alternative income streams.

While I have no intention of stopping JabunAudio or any of my projects entirely, this unfortunately does mean that I'll be moving JabunAudio and other related work to part-time only, effectively losing many hours I'd usually have for creating and working on both personal and client projects. I'd like to make it clear that JabunAudio is still open for business and accepting new projects/clients along with my long time and recurring clients/collaborators, and I will try my very best to continue to provide the high level of service and productions you've come to expect from me with the reduced time that I have. Please don't hesitate to send me a message to discuss your latest projects, though I ask for your patience during this difficult time.

In terms of my own current ongoing projects, the likelihood and reality is that upcoming projects such as Better Than The Book's 3rd album will see some delays for the foreseeable future as well. I'd have preferred to finish these current projects before making any changes, but that option isn't really available to me any longer, and while it may take a bit longer than expected until these projects are released now, I'll continue to strive for the highest possible standard of productions rather than rushing out half-baked ones. I'm sure you'd prefer that too.

In order to streamline the remaining time I have to work on JabunAudio and my own music work, I'll be making some changes to my workflow to prioritise audio production time and cut back on less creative admin/promotional work. The first change will be a cutback on social media, newsletters, and similar promotional posts unfortunately including the (mostly) weekly JabunAudio blog and re-posting of press features on most channels. The JabunAudio blog will now be a shorter monthly round-up in the first week of the month only, apart from any major updates such as album releases (which will also be promoted on the usual channels).

The second change will be a major restructuring of my Patreon page including the removal of the $5 patron tier and a change in the specific reward benefits. All monthly Patreon rewards will now be released on a single day in the first week of the month (probably still Wednesday) and much like the JabunAudio blog I'll aim to make only 1 round-up news post per month now (with special exception for certain things). I'll provide a full update on Patreon once these changes have been implemented later this month, and there are still a few more months of back catalogue music left to upload too, after which I'll make another restructure (at some point next year). I hope that by cutting down on these things, I'll be able to dedicate more of my JabunAudio and "free" time to the actual projects you support and get them to your ears faster.

I want to say a big thanks to everyone who's helped support me always and especially at this difficult time with special mention to Eva who's been beside me (literally) through all of this. I can see it being a tough few months ahead, but I'll be doing my best to continue watering this plant I potted almost a decade ago now, and once things are settled into a new routine, I'm sure things'll start going a whole lot smoother again. Thanks for your patience and thanks for supporting JabunAudio, Jabun, Better Than The Book, and my various solo and collaborative projects.

Nick

Jabun / Better Than The Book

https://www.jabunaudio.com/

https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

More $5+ Patreon rewards are out: "Piggyback Ride" (Mp3s + WAVs) + an exclusive LIVE Jabun ambient modular synth jam for the $10+ patrons!

Hi everyone and hope you've been having a great July so far! It's the final Wednesday of the month which means its time for another dose of $5+ Patreon rewards and this time we're continuing with some more soundtracky (but slightly different) stuff with another track from 2013, "Piggyback Ride"!

Piggyback Ride is an interesting one in my catalogue in that it combines orchestral and chiptune elements for a retro videogame-esq vibe with the clarity of more traditional scoring. This piece was originally written for a game on Newgrounds asking for people to submit tunes for the soundtrack, but after sending it over and some feedback, the makers decided to go with something else. I was a bit dissappointed at the time as this would have been one of my first compositional rejections, but as I wasn't sure how else to improve on the track, I ended up releasing it as-is for people to listen to at the very least, as I was still pleased with the way it had turned out. As it so happened, while the originally intended audience wasn't so keen on Piggyback Ride, the track was eventually picked up by a MUCH higher profile interested party: EDF Energy & The British Science Association for their online "A to Bee" game which you can still play online:

https://jointhepod.org/teachers/games/a-to-bee-game

It's a great example of how one track even if not initially well recieved might lead to something big (and that's happened to me a few times throughout my carear as I'm sure you know by now). Piggyback Ride has been featured in a number of other multi-media productions since then and is a fun one I look back on with fondness! Since it was designed for use in games as well as for listening, I'm including 2 versions in this months rewards: the looping version which was featured in various games, and an edited version with a fade out for your personal listening pleasure! Grab Piggyback Ride when you become a supporter on Patreon, and listen to the track on YouTube below:

Piggyback Ride: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukGJmuw057E

$5+ rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/53164462/

And for the $10+ patrons, this month you have an exclusive LIVE Jabun ambient modular synth performance to look forward to! Become a $10+ patron to access that and many more rewards now, and remember that you'll gain access to all historic rewards and posts for your Patreon tier too when you become a supporter including the full Better Than The Book and Jabun discographies and much more! With the newly updated REWARD ARCHIVE it's never been easier to catch up with all those posts and music downloads you've missed too! I hope you enjoy them!

$10+ rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/53164465/

Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

Discover the Reward Archive (4th October 2018 -> 1st May 2021): https://www.patreon.com/posts/announcing-posts-50344842

That's it for the rewards this month! Something a little different to come in the next set of rewards, but until then, I hope you have a great August to come and thanks as always for supporting my music on Patreon! All the best, take care, and enjoy the music!

PS: Remember that there's still 50% off anything on the Better Than The Book Bandcamp store with the code "2years" until 8/8/21! Grab a discount while you can and thanks for the support while I work on the next album:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/