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/

Happy 2 year anniversary to Better Than The Book's Hopes and Dreams album and 50% off everything on the BTTB Bandcamp store to celebrate!

Hi everyone and hope you’re having a great July so far!

Time really does fly and would you believe that today marks two years since the release of Better Than The Book’s 2nd full-length album Hopes and Dreams?!

With 9/10 tracks from the album airing on radio stations from as far as the west coast of the USA, to here in the UK (including 2 tracks on BBC Introducing), to even Australia, a tonne of online features and coverage from various web magazines, and even one track appearing on a ska music compilation album by The Ska Show with Beefy (the second most listened to Ska music podcast in the world), Hopes and Dreams was undoubtedly my most well received project to date, and I want express my sincerest gratitude to everyone who made that happen!

A HUGE thank you to the BTTB (not quite yet) LIVE band, Sam, Andy and Eamon, the radio DJs with special mention to Beefy and Melita, Meg, the album’s PR extraordinaire, my subscribers on Patreon with special mention to top tier supporters past and present Michael White, Bob Roberts, David Klein II and Nathan Puray, and of course everyone else who’s made some noise for BTTB over the years! You folks really do make my dreams come true!

To celebrate a fantastic two years on from Hopes and Dreams (puns intended), I’m launching my very first Better Than The Book Bandcamp sale! From now until August 8th (the end of the weekend following the next Bandcamp Friday), you can get a whopping 50% off anything on the Better Than The Book Bandcamp store below using the code “2years” at the checkout. Enjoy!

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/

Or if you’re feeling extra keen, grab the entire Better Than The Book and Jabun discographies and more including many exclusive downloads and bonus tracks when you support my music with a front row seat on Patreon for as little as $1/£1 a month! New rewards are published monthly and I hope to see you there in the comments!

https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

Meanwhile in BTTB news: guitar, bass and organ recording has just been finished for Better Than The Book’s next big album project (+ some more stuff), and once I’ve gone through to check everything it’ll be time to start recording vocals! Still no estimated release date just yet for the new album, but things are certainly coming along and I hope you’re as excited as I am to hear the next batch of tunes!

That’s it for this post and I’ll be back with more Patreon rewards to share next week! Until then, I hope you have a great rest of July to come and thanks as always for supporting Better Than The Book and my various music projects however you can! Take care and all the best!

More $1+ Patreon rewards are out: "Closing Scene" and "See Ya Later" + the first work-in-progress studio recording demo from Better Than The Book's upcoming 3rd album for the $10+ patrons!

Last week's $5 Patreon rewards are now out for the $1 patrons: "Closing scene" and "See Ya Later" (+ an exclusive work in progress studio demo from Better Than The Book's next album 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/50804846/

$1+ rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50804859/

$10+ rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50804790/

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

More $5+ Patreon rewards are out: "Closing Scene" and "See Ya Later" (Mp3s + WAVs) + the first work-in-progress studio recording demo from Better Than The Book's upcoming 3rd album for the $10+ patrons!

Hi everyone and hope you've been having a great June! It's the final (Wednes)day of the month which means it's time for some more $5+ Patreon rewards, and today we're continuing with more 2013 soundtracky pieces, this time a pair of them!

"Closing Scene" and "See Ya Later" are variations on the same musical theme both released in May 2013. The first is a musical box style track and the second a subsequent string orchestra version of the same piece! At the time I composed Closing Scene, I'd just been given some new samples to play with including a set of thumb piano notes (if I remember correctly) and I thought it would be fun to compose a simple musical box theme with them. Interestingly, at the same time, one of the rooms in my parents' house where I was living at the time was being redecorated and had no carpet on the floor, giving this really cool and lively ambience. I ended up dragging some computer speakers to the room and playing the piece out loud with a microphone set up to capture the reverb on the other side of the room. Mixing the original dry piece with the live recorded room reverb gave a really nice effect for the final track! I do love taking advantage of these rare acoustic opportunities!

After recording Closing Scene, I got the feeling that there was more I could do with this theme, and by swapping the thumb piano samples for my usual pizzicato strings, I thought it gave a really nice and different vibe. With a few extra tweaks, some added percussion and woodwinds, See Ya Later was created! When I listen to See Ya Later, it evokes images of being in an old wooden floor house, early on a sunny summer Sunday, tiptoeing tired around the house before making my way outside for a day of adventure, like something in a Hayao Miyazaki film. Those of you who have been following my work for years may also recognise See Ya Later as the credits music to much of the Fun Station 4 Kids videos, and indeed this piece was another door-opener for a tonne of amazing collaborations in the years to follow (totalling to over 30 MILLION YouTube views last time I checked)! I really should get back to more of this orchestral work soon (maybe even more variations on this theme), but until then, I hope you enjoy Closing Scene and See Ya Later! 

Grab Closing Scene and See Ya Later when you become a supporter on Patreon, or listen to the tracks here on Newgrounds below:

$5+ rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50804674/

And for the $10+ patrons, this month you have the first work-in-progress studio recording demo from Better Than The Book's upcoming 3rd album 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/50804790/

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! We'll be continuing with more soundtracky work in the next set of rewards I'm sure, but until then, I hope you have a great July to come and thanks as always for supporting my music on Patreon! All the best, take care, and enjoy the music!

A special Juneteenth Bandcamp Friday

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great June so far!

Today is a special Juneteenth Bandcamp Friday event to raise funds for some important stuff I think we can all support: putting a stop to racism and making the world a safer and more accepting place for everyone.

Instead of a usual Bandcamp Friday where all Bandcamp's revenue shares go directly to the artists, this Friday June 18th from midnight to midnight Pacific Time, Bandcamp will be donating 100% of its usual cut to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to support their ongoing efforts to promote racial justice through litigation, advocacy and public education. You can find out more on Bandcamp here:

https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/juneteenth-fundraiser-2021

With the ongoing Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate movements (amongst others), I think it's clear there is something terribly wrong with society which really can't be ignored any longer, and that instead of "not being racist" (which should be obvious), it's time if you haven't already and are able to to actively look out for your friends, neighbours and community to make a stand and say enough is enough, we will not ignore or condone any acts of racism. The same can be said for acts of homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, etc... (and a Happy Pride month to all by the way).

I know it's not always easy or comfortable to talk about this stuff let alone actively do something about it, but if we all make even the smallest effort to look after one another and make the world a better place, I think that'd be pretty neat!

So if you've been thinking of picking up some music on Bandcamp, do it this Friday! It doesn't have to be from me, but whatever you buy I'm sure will help put the world on a better path, and if you do decide to pick up one of my albums, then it really means a lot too. You know where to find my Bandcamp stores below and I hope you're able to help:

Better Than The Book (Ska punk): https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/

Jabun (Ambient and experimental electronic): https://jabun.bandcamp.com/

Nick Standing (other older stuff): https://nickstanding.bandcamp.com/

And if your wallet is empty or there's nothing you want at the moment music-wise, you can help by simply talking to your friends and family about this stuff and raising awareness of the issue. Remember it's not about who's lives matter over who's or one group of people against another, it's about everyone working together to put a stop against racism and other forms of discrimination and allow everyone to live their lives feeling safe and respected regardless of ethnicity, culture or skin colour (or gender or preferences too), and I don't think there's anyone who can reasonably argue against that.

Until the next post, thanks for doing your bit to help, and thanks as always for supporting my music in any way you can too.

All the best, stay safe, and keep on skankin'

Nick

Better Than The Book / Jabun

The final video from World Beyond's Nobody Asked For This So I did It album has been released: "NOT THE END"!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great June so far. Some cool news to share today as the collaborative music project I've been part of for many years, World Beyond has just released the final video from its Nobody Asked For This So I Did It album which came out in December 2018: NOT THE END! It's been a grand few years since the album was released and thanks so much for supporting the project over the years! Vlad sure kept this one quiet as even I didn't know this video was coming out and I was playing bass (and guitar maybe) for it! I hope you enjoy this epilogue/conclusion to the album and I'm looking forward to sharing WB's next project with you all soonish (super exciting stuff)! Check out the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtDWwxfJZQ0

And pick up the Nobody Asked For This So I Did It album on Bandcamp:

https://worldbeyond.bandcamp.com/album/nobody-asked-for-this-so-i-did-it

That's it for today and I'll be back with some more Bandcamp related news later this week! Until then, I hope you have a great time, stay cool and thanks as always for supporting my various music projects however you can! All the best and take care!

More $1+ Patreon rewards are out: "Mayhem Market" + an exclusive unreleased Jabun demo from the writing sessions of 2019/2020: "Arc-welder" for the $10+ patrons!

Last week's $5 Patreon rewards are now out for the $1 patrons! Read more below and thanks for supporting my work on Patreon! 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 take care!

Read more: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50804671

$1 rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50804654

Become a Patreon supporter: https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

Explore past rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/announcing-posts-50344842