Free video calls across the world! The delivery birds aren't happy, but you can't deny that's progress. Still, the bleeping and buzzing of a phone will never match the excitement of thick envelopes dropping onto the doormat; or of opening your postbox to see a handwritten letter.

That's why the mail service is the social medium that I'd like to reach you with during this time, while live music isn't yet possible.

In a very short story, I imagine myself as a Victorian under quarantine, when the penny stamp was first released. Here's an extract:

"Of course, I knew exactly who had sent it before I had even opened it, just by looking at the address. It is unforgettable and profound to see how a beloved friend or kinsman reshapes one's name between their fingers, with their unique contrivance of scratches, loops, and blots. When I read my name from the pen of another, I feel I am looking into an oracular mirror..." - Full story

Most of you, most of the time, are not where I am. I can send you the occasional recording or email, but our interactions are purely digital. That doesn't quite cut the mustard for me - how about you?

Well, raven mail is here to change all that. Wherever you are in the world, my birds will find you. Tied to their talons: a new poem, an old photo and a finely crafted (I like to imagine) letter.

Great! How do I get signed up?

There are two ways to sign up for raven mail: by contributing monthly until December, or once. The monthly options you will find under a tab on this page called "Rewards"; the once-off options are under the tab called "Single Rewards".

What are the two choices?

I'm setting up raven mail as an alternative to playing music live. But the show must go on, and so I'm recording in the studio this summer. If you'd like to support both wings of this project, then call for that extra raven.

1) Six Ravens, one per month between the solstices, June until December. €5/mth or once-off €30 for six months.

2) Seven Ravens, one per month and a seventh for good fortune and in gratitude. You pay a extra as a way of supporting my upcoming recordings. The seventh raven will bring you a live CD, recorded in February with a trio and a choir. €10/mth or a once-off donation (from €40).

Finally, I'm working on how to present an option for those of you whose feathers have been ruffled by coronavirus and who cannot access the options above. If you want raven mail, I want to reach you, too, no matter how light or heavy your treasure trove grows.birds will reach you anyway. If that's you, don't hesitate to email me.