Overview

Hello world! My name is Irene Vanryckeghem and I'm a singer-songwriter here in the beautiful city of Asheville, NC.

I’ve been writing songs and singing basically my whole life: classic choral music in church, performing at weddings, with karaoke and doing jam sessions with friends in backyards and in nature. After pouring everything I’ve learned into songwriting, into stories, into harmony, the only thing left to do is take the leap and share the sounds in my head and my heart with all of you!

The material is ready, and the musicians are waiting -- this Plaid Dog campaign is the final step toward creating my first ever, professionally produced studio album.

This campaign is raising funds for my professionally recorded album with Mike Davidson in Boston, MA. Mike is a seasoned Boston-based producer and engineer with experience working with both established and up-and-coming musicians. Together, Mike and I are digging into my original material, writing arrangements, and reaching out to local musicians to bring the songs to life. 

We’ve been able to cover the costs of recording and producing one song, which is ready for you to check out right here on this page. This first song is called “That’s Mine,” and you can check it out below!

While I’ve been able to fund the recording process for "That’s Mine” on my own, to create an album of songs of this quality, studio costs add up quickly. With that said, this campaign can give us a unique opportunity to collaborate and make great art together. Your donation will cover the following costs of my project:

1. Pre-Production: This is where everything starts.  and I will start crafting the arrangements for each song slated for the album. We’ll hold rehearsals to fine-tune the songs and arrangements and talk through new and exciting ideas for how to approach the recording process.

2. Recording: This is when we enter the studio and start capturing the music and where the songs become what you'll hear on this album. This campaign will play a huge role in making sure we have enough time to capture great performances for every member of the band.

3. Mixing & Mastering: Each track will get mixed to create the right balance between instruments, texture and color that make up a track. As a final step, the album will be mastered from beginning to end so that the listening experience is cohesive and carefully choreographed from start to finish.

And what will you get for your generosity and support? So many awesome things!

I am so appreciative and grateful for any support you can lend to this campaign. In exchange for your generosity, I've put together a really exciting group of gifts that are available exclusively through your participation in this campaign.

Music has the most incredible ability to heal and unite people, to express feelings that help us connect in simple fundamental human ways that I adore.. After spending my entire life cherishing music, I am, for the first time in my life, feeling brave enough to offer my music up to my community and make musical contributions that I have always dreamed of so that I can finally share my love of music with the world. 

Creating music is, for me, fundamentally a healing process--incredible moments of inspiration that have pushed me to create while dreaming of sharing it one day with the world while my family and friends have given me such encouragement, and my brilliant and wonderful daughter always being willing to listen to all the weird mistakes I make when I'm singing all around the house, in process with a song. Music is about community and connection which is healing, and I've fortunately shared musical experiences with so many people in my life.  One of my prayers is that this project opens doors for me to find new collaborators in my networks as they grow to make more music together!

While this is the first time I am making a music project of this caliber, I have managed and executed creative and healing projects of all types: in my online courses; in my healing practice, in my fine art and dancing and in the overall community, in service to human consciousness and personal development.. All the while, I've been deepening my musical focus and practicing, practicing, practicing. With your support, I will channel that consistent work and experience into something new and beautiful that we have created together!

If you're ready to contribute, just click the "Back This Project" button on the top right of this page! Every little bit counts, and I’m so grateful for all your support.

If you have folks in your network that would be interested in supporting me, please feel free to share this page with them.

Thank you so much for checking out my campaign page. I can't wait to share this music with you.