Adam Jay's Mediastinum EP

Welcome!

Perhaps you came here because you were recommended to do so by either a friend of mine, or a lover of techno music.

My name is Adam Jay. I have been producing techno for 12 years, and a DJ since I was 16 years old. I have been fortunate in many ways, having my music find the ears of some of the best DJs in the world. I've released many records and digital releases, run a few small independent techno labels, and have traveled the world.

So why does someone so fortunate need a campaign like this?

Well, it all started on May 28th, 2012, in Detroit. After many years of hard work and dedication, I was booked to perform at the annual Movement Electronic Music Festival (previously referred to as DEMF or Detroit Electronic Music Festival). This was in many ways, the gig of my life. A true accomplishment for me.

The evening following my performance, I developed a rather bad and harsh cough which slowly become worse. At some point one of the coughs was so severe and traumatic that it tore a microscopic perforation in my left lung. I didn't know it at the time. Over the next few days my breathing became more labored. I was treating this like many colds I have had in my life. As an asthmatic, I do my best to get ahead of a cold before it develops to pneumonia.

After three days, I went to the doctor for some antibiotics, as it was getting out of my control. My ability to take a full breath had been gone for a day, and was rapidly getting worse. As hours went by my breath became shorter and shorter. I filled the script for the antibiotics, as well as albuterol solution for my nebulizer (a machine for respiratory therapy treatments). Upon returning home I completed a respiratory treatment, and felt no improvement. This was a real cause for concern. I then completed four more treatments in succession without improvement and I knew this was serious. My girlfriend, who happens to be finishing nursing school at the moment, came over to check me out and made the decision that I was fearing, to go to the emergency room.

Like most independent musicians, I am severely underinsured. I knew this wouldn't be cheap. After some hours in the ER, more respiratory treatments without improvement, and very severe pain from the labor of breathing getting worse and worse, it was decided that I needed to be admitted into the hospital. I was diagnosed with pneumomediastinum (air in the chest cavity). That microscopic perforation leaked air into my chest cavity and that air severely compressed my trachea and lungs, which made it nearly impossible to breathe.

The next morning, a very eager doctor named Dr. Shilpa examined my chart and spoke with me. Trying to get some more of my history, I told him (as I told the doctor in the ER) that I had a pulmonary embolism twelve years ago. Things got very serious, very fast. The doctor had me immediately transported to the intensive care unit, where I spent three days. Several x-rays, a CAT scan, and a very uncomfortable sinus endoscopy were performed and it was concluded that a violent cough had acted as trauma on my lung and created the debilitating pneumomediastinum I had been diagnosed with. After the air had slowly found its way out of my mediastinum and up around the esophagus, it sat there for a couple days (my neck felt like rice crispies, or really tiny bubble wrap), and eventually reabsorbed in the esophagus.

After I was released, I spent nearly a month slowly recovering from home. The bills gradually started to come in, totalling over $20,000 (AFTER uninsured discounts).

Fortunately...

As a producer, I couldn't help but hear the rhythms and harmonies of the various beeps and clicks of the machinery that kept me alive in the hospital. So, I recorded them while I was there. I have been manipulating these sounds in 4 songs that I am in the process of producing for this EP.

I'm making a record.

For obvious reasons this EP is very special to me. It has the signature of my recovery actually imprinted into it as audio. And I cannot finish it without your help. Being able to at least put a dent in my medical bills will be an added bonus, as they have put me into a debt I hadn't ever imagined before.

Production on all four tracks is complete! Hear them streaming at http://www.soundcloud.com/adamjay/sets/adam-jay...

The first run of vinyl records will be at least 500 copies. I will print more based on demand, but I'm not holding my breath (sorry, easy joke, haha). Each will come with a sleeve with my initial x-ray as the artwork. The base price for the 12" vinyl EP is $25 shipped in the USA (add $10 shipping outside of USA). You can donate a little more to get your name printed on the sleeve, or give even more for an audio thank you as a 5th track on the vinyl EP. 

If you can't contribute financially, please share this on your google+ account, twitter or facebook wall.

I cannot thank you enough for your help.

-Adam Jay