Darcy Nelson

It feels exhilarating and slightly terrifying to finally be sharing recorded music. 

This Friday (July 8, 2022), my humble debut track will be on display and on record as a starting point for my recording art. 

You should be able to search for it on any streaming store and give a listen! That fact is exciting and slightly terrifying. 

Reflecting on the years it has taken to get started making music art that lasts has been a trip. I noticed a curious parallel -- the very first song I wrote in 2012 was inspired by a meet-cute centered around a pool party.

The tender melody channels fear of vulnerability and caring more than someone else. That song has never matured into a work ready to share with the world, but it has some poignant lines that might call for a revisit and rewrite. Writing this song also pushed me towards learning the guitar. At the time I was learning my first instrument, the mandolin, and when I shared it with my instructor, she insisted I needed to switch to guitar if I wanted to accompany my own songs with an instrument. She believed in me, and I had no clue how much songwriting would become central to my passions in life. 

10 years later, and after many filled song books, my debut self-released single, "See Your Face" also happened to be inspired by a pool party meet-cute. (Pre-save here).

The message of this song couldn't be more different than the first though -- exuding a fearless anthem of adoration: "I could see your face, for the rest of my days. I could love your face for forever and always."  

My perspective has shifted massively over the years along with my personal growth, moving from a narrative of deep longing and shame in being fully seen towards agency found in embracing my inner truths, planning my own liberation from "stuck" situations, and finding joy in life regardless of who may or may not be along for the ride.  

As much as I'd love to record and share all the music I've made in between these two songs, the passing of time has left me with "outgrown" feelings for a number of earlier originals that helped me process painful situations and disappointments as best as I could at the time.  

After learning the basics of self-publishing on my first release rodeo, my hope is to have a couple more singles (maybe even an EP) ready in the next six months so that I can maintain momentum and make progress towards the goal of an album in the coming years. 

What's Next? After releasing "See Your Face" and soundtrack single for a short film called Outlawz, I'll be working on a song with rich and deep medicine bringing light to the shadow side of the human experience that many of us and those we love struggle with. Stay tuned for more! I'll be sharing behind the scenes of snippets from making my first song including photos of the odd material I started drafting the song on and some early clips of me writing the song back in 2019. Keep an eye on Instagram for those Reels and clips: @darcynelsonmusic. 

Thank you for joining alongside me in this journey as I use my passion for music as medicine!

Love and light,  

Darcy 

The past few weeks have been action and learning packed for me! Some of the recent highlights have included:  

• Technical foundations: joining ASCAP as the Performing Rights Organization to help collect my performance royalties, painstakingly researching and sifting through pros and cons of various music distributing platforms to get my tunes on the major streaming platforms.  
• Reality check: learning how little streaming platforms give back to artists (averages are around 1/1000 of a penny per stream!) Streaming music is not a viable source of income for the vast majority of independent artists... According to Bopper, a sync music company,

“For the artists getting 10,000 streams, which would seem like a noble amount, the payout is between $60 to $84, before any shareholders are paid (i.e DSP’s, labels, pubs).”  

• Moral of the story? Streaming is a discovery tool to build awareness and have new listeners discover work. Money to sustain recording and publishing needs to be earned elsewhere. (When was the last time you purchased an album? Went to a show? Bought band merch?). Dig details? Read more from CB Baby to learn how royalty collection on Pandora works with their support. 

Okay, study notes aside -- back to my highlights... 

• Performing my heartfelt original, “Birth of A New Dream,” for a group of women focusing on self development at a retreat in Denver. This song has evolved with me in depth and perspective the few months leading up to my jump from secure living in Washington, to a wild adventure of risk and promise in the unknown in Colorado. This original is on my “should-be-recorded-and-shared” list. Check out a few photos from this fun and inspiring event. 
• Collaborating for the joy: I’ve begun building out a live duet set with a local pianist and fellow budding songwriter, Brooke Delegado. Our harmonies are sweet and the richness I’m finding while accompanied by piano makes my heart sing.  Have a listen to our early practice run through on Hallelujah and find her Instagram handle on this Instagram post. 
• Merch in the making: I began working with a graphic illustrator from my stomping grounds in rural Washington to create a delightfully joyous and sweet sticker and postcard set as merchandise to help support my recording fund. Prints are in the cue now and I’m excited to have the final product in hand soon!  Here's a preview of the sticker design. Shout out to Jaycee Day Designs for this! 
• Schedule matrixing: I’m beginning to book live performances this spring and summer as I continue my healing journey overcoming tendinitis. I missed a couple of festival submission deadlines, but applied to participate in Denver’s UMS - the Under Ground Music Showcase and am waiting to hear back.
• Songwriting and revision: the concept of a new song encouraging conversation around a tough topic is being born, and I am polishing off chords for a very silly song inspired by my friends at the Metro Denver Farmers market during my first summer of busking and performing at their weekend markets in Littleton and Highlands Ranch. (think amazing melons, puffing lizards, dancing babies and all the bizarre and joy filled sights I soaked in over the summers of being a regular at these neighborhood markets). 

In all, it has been a busy season educating myself about self publishing, motivating myself to take massive action, and organizing myself with to-do lists and strategic focus on my next best steps as I prepare to release my first singles to generate new awareness for my work creating music as medicine. 

Thank you for caring about what I’m doing, and taking time to learn with me about the life and realities for professional and aspiring songwriters and musicians! 

All the love and light, 

Darcy

The past couple of years have been a ride, regardless of industry hasn't it?

As a gigging musician this past season has been... a lot. 

From the cancellation of all live music gigs in 2020, to developing tendinitis this past fall during guitar practice, to working through some personal losses in family and relationships -- the past 24 months have been bumpy, but also peppered with blessings. 

Some of the Blessings & Getting Back To Music

Since last on the scene: 

I have grown my network online, connected with a house music producer based in Atlanta, and wrote an danceable love song, "Flawless", that he is producing --- watch for it later this year!  

I've invested in vocal lessons, drafted some new songs, and gotten into studio to for my first few recording sessions. 

I created my first original track for film to help promote a dear friend's first produced short film, Outlawz, (which was filmed in our stomping grounds in Tacoma, WA). 
Writing a song inspired by the two, sassy and saucy female protagonists in her film stretched me beyond my typical love song vibes, and I'm really proud of the edgy and experimental a capella single that will be available this year as part of the Outlawz soundtrack. (Watch for updates on the film's release and festival circuit!).  

I've also questioned and reflected on why, three years in to my life reboot in Colorado, I'm still creating a life that prioritizes investing my energy into music creation.

My dream is to continually grow as an artist and creator as I use my love of songwriting put a little more love, truth, beauty, and connection in the world. If I can do that before I die, it'll be a life well lived. 

If your heart and lived experiences rhyme with any of my songs, and if you see yourself in them, or feel a bit less alone on this journey of being human in hearing them, please let me know here on the blog or on social media.

Hearing from you and feeling your support means the world to me!