Last week it was announced that Aphex Twin's never-released Caustin Window album would see the light of day digitally on Kickstarter. Thanks to a rogue fan who posted a test pressing of the album on Discogs that could be “confirmed directly by Rephlex Records” at a retail price of $13,500, Rephlex and Aphex, with the help of the message board We Are The Music Makers, devised a plan where everyone could get a piece of the fun.
An agreement was struck between the label and the seller wherein a Kickstarter would be created to release the album digitally at a reduced price of 5000 GBP ($8368.54) with a cap of 500 people $16.73. Thus ensuring the seller would get his money, and the hardcore fans could get their ears on music that would otherwise never be released.
It was also announced that before the digital tracks were to be released, the record would be put up for auction on Ebay, and once sold, 1/3 of the proceeds would go to Richard/Rephlex as royalty payment, 1/3 would be divided equally between the Kickstarter contributors (a discount if you will off the initial purchase amount), and 1/3 to a charity that everyone involved would vote and agree upon. Once the auction is complete and payment received, everyone will get to download their promised digital version.
However, the day before the Kickstarter was set to launch, the cap number was raised to 600, and by the time it was live that cap was removed altogether (no word if the seller is getting more than the agreed-upon reduced rate). And as expected, the link has gone off the rails. With still over 26 days to go, the listing currently has over 2500 backers at $40,000 (more than four times the initial amount).
These are exciting times for Aphex Twins fans, but figuring out that charity everyone agrees upon just got a lot harder to tabulate.
You can join in the fun and grab a digital copy of Caustin Window over at Kickstarter. You have 26 days and counting…
