Experimental electronic musician Rafael Anton Irisarri aka The Sight Below has had $50k of gear stolen whilst relocating to New York from Seattle. His longtime label Ghostly International has setup an Indiegogo fundraiser to help rebuild his studio following the robbery. Below we’ve listed further details about the robbery, campaign goals and of course the perks. You can also read our interview with The Sight Below here.
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On Memorial Day weekend 2014 Rafael Anton Irisarri (a.k.a. The Sight Below) and his wife Rita had their lives turned upside down. After a long weekend spent packing up their household for a cross-country move from Seattle to New York, the Irisarris went to sleep, only to wake up the next morning and discover that thieves had broken into their U-Haul truck and made off with all their belongings, including over $50,000 worth of musical gear. It was a devastating blow to the couple, but they soldiered on, moving to the East Coast with next to nothing.
Now, Raf and Rita are in the process of rebuilding. An actively working musician and producer with a number of different projects, Raf’s livelihood was taken from him that day, a fact illustrated by the extensive list of stolen gear posted on his blog. Not only the gear was lost, but also all of his studio computers and backup hard drives containing all masters, demos, stems, raw sound files, music licensing library tracks; in short: every piece of music he’s ever written. This is why Ghostly has decided to launch a fundraiser in support of Raf: to restore his ability to work and create the excellent music which has made him an integral part of our family of artists since 2008.
The goal is to raise $15,000 for Raf to put towards rebuilding his studio, and we have loads of fantastic music, rare items, and extra-special services for those who help us do this. A $150 contribution will make you eligible for a limited-edition, silkscreened print of Michael Cina’s Glider cover art, all numbered and signed by Raf, and $200 puts you in a position to score The Sight Below’s ultra-rare Unfurled12″—a vinyl single for the last track produced at his Black Knoll Studios in Seattle, limited to 40 copies and featuring remixes from Biosphere, Markus Guentner, Loscil, Bvdub, and Yagya.
In addition, there’s a fantastic one-off perk for the person who donates $2,000 to aid Raf and Rita. Chicago producer Joshua Eustis (of Telefon Tel Aviv, Nine Inch Nails, and Sons of Magdalene fame) has offered to lend his remixing talents to any song by this particular backer, a special opportunity for ultra-supportive artists out there. See below for a complete list of perks available throughout this campaign. Raf, Rita, Ghostly, and everyone else working on this campaign thanks you in advance for your generous support.
Complete List Of Perks Available For This Campaign:
$15 – Digital Mixtape – An exclusive digital mixtape curated by Joshua Eustis (a.k.a Telefon Tel Aviv, Sons of Magdalene)
$20 – The Sight Below DL Catalog – All of The Sight Below releases on Ghostly in 320 mp3 format: Glider (Expanded Edition), It All Falls Apart, Murmur, and No Place For Us
$35 – Reverie LP – Rafael Anton Irisarri’s Reverie LP, courtesy of Immune Recordings
$50 – Signed Glider Test Pressing – A set of test pressings from the Glider release, signed by the artist
$65 – Raf’s Ghostly CD Bundle – Five Ghostly CD releases curated by Raf. Includes Twine – Violets, Recondite – Hinterland, Lusine – The Waiting Room, Xeno & Oaklander – Par Avion, and HTRK – Psychic 9-5 Club
$65 – Ghostly 2014 CD Bundle – Five of this year’s Ghostly full lengths on CD. Includes HTRK – Psychic 9-5 Club, Xeno & Oaklander – Par Avion, TOBACCO – Ultima II Massage, Christopher Willits – OPENING, Tycho – Awake
$80 – Ghostly LP Grab Bag 1 – A random selection of Ghostly catalogue on vinyl. Includes ADULT. – The Way Things Fall, Com Truise – In Decay, and Tycho – Dive
$80 – Ghostly LP Grab Bag 2 – A random selection of Ghostly catalogue on vinyl. Includes KILN – meadow:watt, Various Artists (including A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Simon Scott of Slowdive, Noveller, and more) – SMM: Opiate, and Gold Panda – Half Of Where You Live
$100 – Room40 Bundle – Dead Silence Magazine and CD copies of Scott Morrison – “Ballad(s) for Quiet Horizons,” Anthea Caddy & Thembi Soddell – “Host,” Taylor Deupree & Kenneth Kirschner – “May,” Steinbruchel – “Narrow,” DJ Olive – “Sleep,” Christopher Willits – “Plants and Hearts,” and Candlesnuffer – “Wakool.” Dead Silence Magazine contains contributions from Alan Licht, Makino Takashi, Jamie Stewart, Marina Rosenfeld, James Webb, Benoit Pioulard, Liz Harris (Grouper),Terre Thaemliz, Haino Keiji, and many more
$125 – Raf’s Vinyl Picks Bundle – Five Ghostly vinyl releases curated by Raf. Includes Shigeto – No Better Time Than Now, Recondite – Hinterland, Lusine – The Waiting Room, Xeno & Oaklander – Par Avion, and HTRK – Psychic 9-5 Club
$125 – Ghostly 2014 Vinyl Bundle – Five of this year’s Ghostly full lengths on vinyl. Includes HTRK – Psychic 9-5 Club, Xeno & Oaklander – Par Avion, TOBACCO – Ultima II Massage, Christopher Willits – OPENING, and Tycho – Awake
$150 – Signed Glider Silkscreen – A 19″x19″ silkscreen print on archival French paper of the Glider album cover. Artwork by Michael Cina. Printed by Kayrock Screenprinting in Brooklyn, NY. Each print numbered and signed by Raf
$200 – The Sight Below Unfurled 12″ – This was the last The Sight Below track produced at Raf’s Black Knoll Studio in Seattle. Previously unreleased. It includes exclusive remixes by BIOSPHERE, MARKUS GUENTNER, LOSCIL, BVDUB and YAGYA. Strictly LTD to 40 copies pressed on vinyl, packed in Ghostly jackets and signed by the artist. Mastered by Lawrence English at 158 Brisbane. This will not be made available digitally or sold elsewhere
$2,000 – Remix by Joshua Eustis – A perk for ultra-supportive artists, musicians and/or labels. Backer will have the opportunity to commission producer extraordinaire Joshua Eustis (Telefon Tel Aviv, Sons of Magdalene) to remix one track of their choosing.
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Discover more about The Sight Below and Ghostly International on Inverted Audio.