Producer and engineer Will Yip has launched a huge raffle of gear, merch, records, and more in response to the wave of anti-Asian racism and violence in the U.S., with all proceeds going to the Asian American and Pacific Islander Community Fund.
Fans can buy raffle tickets for chances to win three grand-prize lots full of items like mint-condition Fender guitars and Zildjian drums, along with vinyl records, merch items, test pressings, lyric sheets, and more from some of the many punk, emo, and indie rock acts that Yip has produced or engineered (as well as other friends and colleagues in the music business).
Among the artists with items in the prize lots are Japanese Breakfast, Mannequin Pussy, Code Orange, Title Fight, Turnstile, Tigers Jaw, La Dispute, Bartees Strange, and many more. Record labels such as Relapse, Roadrunner, Secretly Group, Epitaph, and Run for Cover also contributed items to the raffle. Each prize lot also includes a one-on-one Q&A with Yip.
“The growing racism and violence against Asians in America have been horrific,” the producer said in a statement. “It’s been even more apparent as of late. We need to come together and stand up for one another and keep each other safe. I’m very grateful for the community of artists, instrument makers, record labels, and brands who stand with me in fighting for the rights of AAPI.”
On top of the raffle, Yip’s fundraiser also includes three separate eBay auctions: one for a snare drum signed by Slipknot’s Jay Weinberg, one for a Fender Stratocaster designed by the band Nothing, and one for Yip’s own custom drum kit.
In a longer statement posted to Twitter, Yip wrote about his parents’ experience emigrating from China in the Seventies. “My parents… made it to America with just the clothes on their back in hopes of a better life and better opportunities for their children,” he wrote. “This is the same dream all of our ancestors in this country had. They all just wanted a chance to do better, for their future generations to do better. Instead, we live in a world where the color of your skin still dictates so much.”
He also shared his own early experiences in the music business. “Personally, getting into the ‘rock music’ scene that’s dominated by white males as a Chinese kid wasn’t easy. No one wanted to make music with a Chinese kid because I didn’t look like what their rock idols looked like. But I was lucky. My parents always taught me to have thick skin. I always felt like I had to work five times harder to get what I wanted though. I want it easier for any Asian and POC in the future, it has to be.”
Enter the raffle here, and read more about how to stand against anti-Asian racism here.Producer and engineer Will Yip has launched a huge raffle of gear, merch, records, and more in response to the wave of anti-Asian racism and violence in the U.S., with all proceeds going to the Asian American and Pacific Islander Community Fund.
Fans can buy raffle tickets for chances to win three grand-prize lots full of items like mint-condition Fender guitars and Zildjian drums, along with vinyl records, merch items, test pressings, lyric sheets, and more from some of the many punk, emo, and indie rock acts that Yip has produced or engineered (as well as other friends and colleagues in the music business).
Among the artists with items in the prize lots are Japanese Breakfast, Mannequin Pussy, Code Orange, Title Fight, Turnstile, Tigers Jaw, La Dispute, Bartees Strange, and many more. Record labels such as Relapse, Roadrunner, Secretly Group, Epitaph, and Run for Cover also contributed items to the raffle. Each prize lot also includes a one-on-one Q&A with Yip.
“The growing racism and violence against Asians in America have been horrific,” the producer said in a statement. “It’s been even more apparent as of late. We need to come together and stand up for one another and keep each other safe. I’m very grateful for the community of artists, instrument makers, record labels, and brands who stand with me in fighting for the rights of AAPI.”
On top of the raffle, Yip’s fundraiser also includes three separate eBay auctions: one for a snare drum signed by Slipknot’s Jay Weinberg, one for a Fender Stratocaster designed by the band Nothing, and one for Yip’s own custom drum kit.
In a longer statement posted to Twitter, Yip wrote about his parents’ experience emigrating from China in the Seventies. “My parents… made it to America with just the clothes on their back in hopes of a better life and better opportunities for their children,” he wrote. “This is the same dream all of our ancestors in this country had. They all just wanted a chance to do better, for their future generations to do better. Instead, we live in a world where the color of your skin still dictates so much.”
He also shared his own early experiences in the music business. “Personally, getting into the ‘rock music’ scene that’s dominated by white males as a Chinese kid wasn’t easy. No one wanted to make music with a Chinese kid because I didn’t look like what their rock idols looked like. But I was lucky. My parents always taught me to have thick skin. I always felt like I had to work five times harder to get what I wanted though. I want it easier for any Asian and POC in the future, it has to be.”
Enter the raffle here, and read more about how to stand against anti-Asian racism here.
#StopAsianHate #StopAAPIHate pic.twitter.com/tC2rp489if
— Will Yip (@willyipmusic) March 25, 2021
NEWS
Lola Young has joined forces with Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) to release a new T shirt for the charity’s Lifelines collection.
The shirt supports CALM’s suicide prevention work, with proceeds helping to fund vital resources such as its helpline and CALMzone mental health app.
CALM introduced the Lifelines range last year, with Fontaines D.C., Blossoms and Inhaler also contributing their own designs to the collection.
Young’s design includes the words, “There’s a flicker of light. There’s always morning after the night”, taken from her track ‘Flicker Of Light’.
“I wrote this song about realising there is hope. I have often felt like there isn’t, but there is always a reason to keep going,” Young said. “That’s even when you don’t want to get out of bed, you do, and that is amazing, and you’re still here, and you’re still alive, and if anything, that’s something to be proud of.”
CALM CEO Simon Gunning also shared his appreciation for the collaboration, saying: “We couldn’t be more grateful to Lola for supporting ‘Lifelines’ and showing just how powerful music can be as a force for good.”
Priced at £30, the T shirts come in both standard and boxy fits and are available to purchase here.
Young has regularly spoken about her experiences with mental health. She returned to performing earlier this year after calling off her 2025 tour because of exhaustion. The decision followed her collapse during a performance in New York City. During her time away, she later discussed receiving support for addiction and attending AA meetings as part of her recovery.
In an interview with NME in May, Young explained that she believes “all healing journeys are never ending”, although she is now “definitely in a much better place”. She also said she feels “excited and ready to perform and to release music”.
Reflecting on the encouragement she received after publicly discussing those challenges, Young said: “My fans inspire me in the same way I hope to inspire them. I feel like I’ve never tried to be especially honest… it just comes very naturally to me.”
“I don’t really have any other choice but to be honest, so if people connect to that, and that’s amazing.”
Several musicians have also applauded the ‘Messy’ singer for honestly addressing the pressure placed on touring performers. Lily Allen said she was “in awe” of the BRIT and Grammy winner, while Victoria Canal credited Young with bringing greater attention to the damaging impact demanding tour schedules can have on artists’ mental wellbeing.
When NME asked whether musicians were beginning to establish firmer boundaries around their health, Young replied: “I never intended it to start a movement, but I hope that it does in some way.”
