Crazy Christmas Music Give-aways!

So did I mention that it's nearly Christmas?!

About this time of year there are songs that keep coming around, some that we love and some that we don't. Hopefully you enjoyed Pageant Music's Christmas albums enough to re-visit them, and just so you can share them more easily with your friends, they are HALF OFF!

Yes, you heard/read right! If you use the code 'christmas2011' when you buy anything on the BandCamp sites of Pageant Music or Hiram Ring (where you can also listen before downloading), you'll get 50% off the total price of your order. As an added bonus, if you download a full album from Pageant Music, you'll get two Christmas songs re-worked for 2011.

And now to the OTHER free stuff: head to http://noisetrade.com/amerrymixtape (or enter your email below in the widget) to get 6 free Christmas songs from Kurt Scobie, Maura Jensen, Hiram Ring, Joy Ike, Brooke Annibale, and J.D. Eicher and the Goodnights. All donations to this album will be going to support the work of Operation Christmas Child, which brings the hope of Christmas year-round to children all over the world. Please embed this on your blog and share it around to everyone that you know!

Also, my computer (the one I use for recording, mixing, video editing, and documenting unwritten languages in a remote part of India) died last week. I just got a new one, but it has set me back rather significantly this month, so I have to wait until next month to purchase my air tickets to India (I leave at the end of January for 6 months). If you'd like to donate to the cause, and get some more free music at the same time, you can do so at http://noisetrade.com/hiramring

For even more great sounds, check out the music of my friend Cliff Lewis, whose Christmas EP is free for a limited time here: http://xmasmoviesoundtrack.bandcamp.com

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

PS: for ideas for your services the rest of the year, you might also check out the great collections on Cardiphonia Music's BandCamp site. A couple of the free compilations feature a Pageant Music track by yours truly.

New Music for Pentecost

Our friend Bruce Benedict over at Cardiphonia has put together a compilation to celebrate Penteost, and 'Come Holy Spirit, Come' from our Pageant Music release '12 Gates' is the first tune. Check it out and donate to World Relief in Durham, NC to help refugees from all over the world.

Pageant Music releases 12 Gates!

We have finally released the album '12 Gates', and are giving it away for FREE this Easter season! Yup - that's no April Fool's joke either.

You can find it at: http://www.noisetrade.com/pageantmusic - you can donate to help cover our production costs, but all we ask is that you share it with as many people as you think will enjoy it.

Our vision is that these songs would be an encouragement to believers everywhere and express the beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a new and different way. Birthed from the artistry and collaborative nature of the believing community in Lancaster, PA, specifically Wheatland Church, we hope that these songs will edify and enrich the worship of churches all over the US and around the world.

The driving force behind this collection and collaboration is Matthew Monticchio and myself, Hiram Ring, but with an incredible amount of interaction from our community both within and without Wheatland Church. Other artists who sing on this album are Joy Ike, Brooke Annibale, Christy Danner, Cliff and Jen Lewis, Dan Kirby, Anna Demme, Keith Winder and Alisha Ring. Matthew Clark created the image for the album cover, and Ned Bustard designed the text. Many more were involved in producing what you hear.

Visit http://pageantmusic.wordpress.com for an outline of the tracks on the album with some additional notes on the performers and musical/textual elements.

More Christmas Gifts!

[EDIT: the songs below have expired from the site, but if you are interested in hearing them, just get in touch - ringrecords AT gmail DOT com]

Yup, you guessed it - cheery Christmas goodness for you and loved ones to enjoy!

  The holidays have arrived with gusto, and to tickle your highly-cultured musical tastebuds we have a couple of the more esoteric tunes which, due to time and other constraints, we failed to release last year on the highly-acclaimed 'Love >>> Begotten'. So, following the paragraphs below, which explain said delicacies, are links to each of the tunes where you can download (right-click and 'save target' if from PC, ctrl-click and 'save link' if on a Mac) or simply click to listen. We'd love to have your feedback!

Tune #1: How Brightly Shines the Morning Star
This reproduction of the Christmas hymn is a juxtaposition of familiar sacred elements with the more space-age-tendencies of modernity. Featuring the deep text of the original, the vocals of Cliff and Jen Lewis float over a bed of gossamer and silken yet edgy synthesizers following traditional chord changes (played by Matthew Monticchio). Through the music one envisions candy-coated consumerism portrayed by dancing elves in Christmas garb, yet in the words we are hauntingly reminded of the Child, the Son of Man who is the culmination of all creation - past, present, and future - and who delivers us from our selfishness.



  Download it here: http://www.hiramring.com/downloads/How_Brightly_Shines_the_Morning_Star-Pageant_Music.mp3

Tune #2: Once in Royal David's City
  Another re-done Christmas favorite, this arrangement evokes a sense of the earthiness and reality of our savior's birth. With the noises of a first-century village and the prophecy (in Hebrew) from Micah 5:2, we are immediately transported to the night in the stable with Mary and Joseph. Featuring the vocals of Katie Becker and the pitchy harmony of friends, travel back in time as we remember the One who fulfilled the law and the prophets, He who was what we cannot be - perfection.



  Download it here: http://www.hiramring.com/downloads/Once_in_Royal_Davids_City-Pageant_Music.mp3

Tune #3: O Little Child
  For those of you who missed this song a few weeks ago, you will have the opportunity to download it again on December 22 (Christmas Eve eve, eve) through http://www.itickets.com - a source of daily free downloads from all over the US!

Reviews

A friend recently got in touch with me on Facebook, saying he ran across a review of my latest album (Breathe Deep) on The Phantom Tollbooth. Intrigued, I went looking for it and sure enough found it was posted on June 16th, 2009. Here's an excerpt from the review, and you can link to the full review HERE:
  "What makes this album, Breathe Deep, so good is Hiram's penmanship. He is a great songwriter/wordsmith. Combine that with the airy guitar-based folk of his musical style, it makes for an enjoyable listen... It is poetic, musical, and honest. Hiram has put together an excellent album full of hope you can sit down and contemplate your navel to, or just play for enjoyment." 4/5 stars! - Robert Boynton, The Phantom Tollbooth
I just ran a Google search for 'hiram ring breathe deep review' and found another great review HERE on Adequacy.net - excerpt below:
   "Ring’s debut record suggest that there’s no suffering or turmoil that can’t be at least neutralized a little bit through some inspirational six-string strumming and a dose of hopefulness... there’s a heartwarming sincerity to be found in his fragile tenor and in the percussive beating of the guitar... If you feel like your life is in the doldrums, Hiram Ring’s music can probably help dig you out... His music, like his faith, is all about finding and embracing the light that can come out of dark places." Adam Costa, Adequacy.net
At the moment I'm packing for Germany, where I'll be joining a team from my church in teaching conversational English to German highschoolers for three weeks. I'll be video blogging on my YouTube site, and will try to keep this blog updated as well. When I get back, work will continue on the Sacred Songs project I started with Matthew Monticchio - we're also working on updating a Pageant Music blog, and I'll let you know when we get that up and running.