The National - Reveal Amount Raised For Charity From Dark Was The Night
26 October 09
Earlier this year, we joined forces with Aaron and Bryce Dessner from The National and The Red Hot Organization to release the two-CD set, Dark Was The Night. It featured thirty-one tracks of new and exclusive material from a stellar cast of musicians, all coming together to help raise money and awareness for the work that needs to be done to help eradicate AIDS. Even without a cure, it remains a preventable disease.
Hailed by The Guardian as “a soil sample of right here, right now, in independent music”, Dark Was The Night was the twentieth release in the Red Hot special compilation series (more details on the series here) and it also helped to mark the twentieth anniversary of the organisation’s existence. Full details of the release can be found here.
It’s with great pride that we can reveal that the first cheque for monies raised is for £423,212 (US$668,358) - a sum that represents all the profits from worldwide sales for the first half of 2009. The album was a long time in the making so this feels an incredible reward for all the hard work and generosity put in from a long list of supporters.
Picture above are Aaron and Bryce Dessner with Martin Mills (Chairman of The Beggars Group) presenting them with the first cheque.
Aaron Dessner sums everyone’s feelings up very well: "We want to thank all of the artists and everyone at 4AD again for helping us make Dark Was The Night happen. We also want to thank everyone who has bought this record - your donations amount to a very significant contribution to Red Hot's mission fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS. The initial amount raised from sales of the album exceeded our expectations and will only continue to grow."
John Carlin, the founder of the Red Hot Organization, was the executive producer. John said the following about the proceeds and how they will help, “The current economic crisis has put many worthy AIDS charities at great risk, so this money could not have come at a better time. With a few carefully targeted grants, we will be able to save the life of charitable organizations that help save the lives of people around the world affected by AIDS and HIV. Dark Was The Night encapsulated the spirit and creativity of a new generation of musicians whose work struck a chord and got people to actually purchase the album and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight AIDS.”
To buy Dark Was The Night click here.