Watch Lydia Cole's dreamy new video

When Lydia Cole decided to use Kickstarter to fund her new album, she didn't expect to reach her goal of $10,000 in just five days.

But that's what happened, and today she unveils the first taste of her new album - the single Dream - exclusively on nzherald.co.nz. Watch the clip in the video player above.

Cole, an Auckland-based singer-songwriter, released her last album Me & Moon in 2012.

Since then she's left her management of six years and was wary of asking fans to foot the bill for an upcoming album.

"I have always battled with the idea of crowdfunding. The main thing is I never wanted to put something out there without being sure that they were getting something back - money is so important to people and there are so many causes knocking at the door," she said.

"The experience has reminded me that people are really good."

Her goal of $10,000 - to be divvied up between recording, producing and marketing - was reached in just five days. She now has nearly $13,000.

The Kickstarter runs until October 26, when she'll team up with producer Nic Manders to record eight tracks in his home studio next month.

She plans to release the album at the end of summer.

- nzherald.co.nz