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I'm Chris Rippey and I have devoted my life to composing recorded music and stories. Like many musicians, my aim is establish a direct line of communication with the soul - both mine and others. Recorded music has always been the medium through which this communication occurs in my life. It is now the way in which I can combine the many sounds and ideas which come to me into an integrated whole that can be shared with you.

I believe in the inherent potential for goodness in all people and the universality of Truth, of which our minds and bodies can be made instruments. This belief has been reinforced over the years as I have interacted with many and diverse forms of music and musical instruments from around the world; Though they originate in lands of sometimes conflicting doctrines, philosophies, and indeed cultures, each has become sacred to me, part of the tao of music which connects me to the heart-mind which precedes thought.

I wish to see my music and stories, which themselves draw from the many influences that have made inroads to my soul, reach other people in need of respite, inspiration, and rejuvenation. I wish to share and encourage philosophical and spiritual inquiry - and to help the listener reconnect with what matters. A few moments of beauty, wonder, interest, and mutual recognition go a long way in this world.

Your financial support in this endeavor will go far to alleviate the constant stress and pressure that devoting one's life to such impractical things inevitably causes - I have no monastery, no rich patron, no temple or church to support me in what I do - but I do have the people who believe in and love what I create, and they mean more to me than any such organization. Every donation is more than just money, it's a show of faith from friends that keeps me going.

To show my thanks to you, I will make all of Tales of the Boatman available to my subscribers - both past and future releases will be yours. I am remastering the many hours of songs and stories from the past decade, as well as making many new ones. All will be available to you when you subscribe - everything you see on these pages immediately, as well as newly composed and remastered work as it is released.

In the future, there will be physical media, hopefully a record and possibly cassette tapes, available to you at a discount. Whatever I create or attempt to create, my subscribers will be the first to know!

Thank you with the utmost sincerity,

-Chris Rippey

Here’s what you get:

  • All the new music I make streaming instantly on your mobile device via the free Bandcamp app, and also available as a high-quality download.*
  • These back-catalog releases:
  • The satisfaction of knowing you’re supporting me in a sustainable way.

Join:

  • For $30/year, you get everything above.
    You’re a subscriberThank you!
  • For $50/year, you get everything above, plus:
    A producer credit in my videos and on my music and story releases.
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* Downloads are DRM-free and available in MP3, FLAC and more.

Tales of the Boatman

Lafayette, Colorado

Music, stories, and animation. An imaginary reality in which the physical, ideological, and cultural boundaries of the present day no longer exist; a kind of second dream time through which flows an endless river, wending its way through an endless world; And on this river sail the Boatman and his ottercat A'ti.

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Tales of the Boatman

Lafayette, Colorado

Music, stories, and animation. An imaginary reality in which the physical, ideological, and cultural boundaries of the present day no longer exist; a kind of second dream time through which flows an endless river, wending its way through an endless world; And on this river sail the Boatman and his ottercat A'ti.