In exactly one month, I am going to take the stage at the Strawberry Music Festival in Changsha! I still can’t believe that I am even typing those words. If I were to go back in time to only three months ago, and tell myself that this was going to happen – I would have probably marched my future self to the nearest psychiatrist for an intensive treatment. This is the way the music industry works. Sometimes opportunities come out of nowhere – and years after having a serious of false starts, rejections, and other turmoil – it feels pretty amazing to have finally made some progress.
How it Happened
A lot of people have asked how this happened. In looking back, I can think of at few things that had to align:
- My sister, who told me to never give up
- My brother, for inviting me to China to be at his wedding, where I learned about social media in China.
- My friends for their words of encouragement over the years.
- My new friend at Modern Sky Records in Beijing for giving me the opportunity to play at the festival. (He approached me on Weibo, where I had setup a DJ profile).
- Richard Branson, whose famous quote I think about daily “If someone gives you an opportunity, and you are not sure if you can do it, say yes, and learn how to do it later.”
The Road to China Campaign
In addition, I would never have imagined that so many people from different aspects of my life would step forward and help with the Road to China campaign. The list of supporters on the website is growing. You all have an integral role in making the show a success. If you don’t already know, I started this campaign for a few reasons:
- To help cover costs for my sister-in-law to take the train to Changsha, and cover her hotel too. She will be my guide.
- To help promote me and my music, and other local artists in China.
At this point, together we have raised an amazing $3565 of the $4000 goal!! What this fund has already enabled us to do is the following:
- Paid for train and hotel costs for my sister-in-law
- Hired Maya Smith of Melange Marketing to handle my social media accounts.
- After having been approached by MusicDish China, I have brought them on board to complete a 3 month promotion and social media campaign in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao. They are one of the best networks in the industry, and may also be able to get me some extra shows and turn this in to a tour!
If you still want to donate, head on over to this site!
The China Life EP
While there is a lot more to come, the last thing I will leave you with is the upcoming EP called “China Life”. Calgary has an amazing electronic music community, so to show China what Calgary has to offer, myself and several other local artists put together a brand new EP packed with electronic music (Electronica, Deep House, and Trance). You will be able to pick this up on June 13th on TraxSource!!
Check out the promotional video going out in China!
Thanks for reading everyone, and being part of the journey. I’ll have more updates again soon!
As always, you can stay up to date on my website www.soulier.ca too
Ryan