My album "Unlike the Stars" is officially on the ballot for the 57th Grammy Awards under the category Best New Age Album. Any fellow voting Grammy members who would like to give the album a listen, please check out the link below. I truly appreciate your ears, time and consideration.
https://soundcloud.com/vin-downes/sets/unlike-the-stars/s-bO67d
Here is the newest review of "Unlike the Stars" by R.J. Lannan for Zone Music Reporter.
http://www.zonemusicreporter.com/recording/viewreviews.asp?rvwbrdcmmt=2320
It has been a busy month or so...So busy I haven't been able to post this news until now.
On August 29, I had the incredible opportunity to be a guest performer with Will Ackerman, Liz Story and Lisa Downing at the "Kate" Theater in Old Saybrook, Ct. It is hard to find the words to describe how wonderful this experience was for me, especially to share the stage with Will Ackerman. I had the opportunity to duet with Will on his songs, "Last Day at the Beach" and "Processional", as well as play my tunes, "Where I Began" and "Turning Years".
Backstage at the Katharine Hepburn Theater with Will Ackerman 8/29/14.
This past week, I performed with Will again at a private house concert and benefit for Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ. This was a very intimate performance for twenty five donors and patrons.
Sound check at private house concert with Will Ackerman in Mahwah, NJ 9/10/2014.
Will and I are planning on doing some more duo/solo performing together in the near future, including a "Gathering Concert" at the Kate Theater which will include other artists from Will's newest release "The Gathering II".
Stay tuned for more info to follow...
I am very excited to announce that my song "Dark Blue Wind" from my album "Unlike the Stars" has been selected to be included on Will Ackerman's new compilation album "The Gathering II", which will feature twenty one artists, all produced by Will Ackerman.
The first Gathering album took home the ZMR awards for Album of the Year and Best Contemporary Album in 2012. I can't thank Will Ackerman and Tom Eaton enough for this incredible opportunity.
Click "Like" on my Facebook Music Page. I post happenings and upcoming events on the page regularly.
https://www.facebook.com/vindownesguitar
"Unlike the Stars" is featured in the Music Trax section of the May issue of 'Accent on Tampa Bay Magazine'.
http://issuu.com/accentontampabay/docs/accent199_0514_short/59?e=1991823%2F7770421
My very good friend, Dave Kurtiak, has set my songs "Turning Years" and "Where I Began" to some beautiful time lapse footage. Check them out and share...
Here is a review of "Unlike the Stars" from One World Music's Steve Sheppard.
http://www.zonemusicreporter.com/recording/viewreviews.asp?rvwbrdcmmt=1241
Here is the link to Bill Binkelman's review of "Unlike the Stars" for the Zone Music Reporter.
http://www.zonemusicreporter.com/recording/viewreviews.asp?rvwbrdcmmt=1245
New review of "Unlike the Stars" from Zzaj Productions. Click the link and scroll down a bit...
Here is a link to New Age Reviewer, Serge Kozlovsky's website. He has posted a review for my new album. Click the tab for reviews. Artist's are listed alphabetically.
"Unlike the Stars" is #4 on the ZMR Top 100 Chart for Radio Airplay for the month of February 2014! Big thank you to Ed and Stacey Bonk at Lazz Promotions for getting my record out there!
Here is a review of my new album by Michael Diamond for the Zone Music Reporter.
http://www.zonemusicreporter.com/recording/viewreviews.asp?rvwbrdcmmt=1211
"Unlike the Stars" has entered the UK's One World Music Top 50 Albums Chart for the month of February at #46. OWM's hosts, Steve and Chrissie, will be doing an hour long show featuring my album that will include an interview with me to discuss the album's concept and creation. Stay tuned for more info.
"Unlike the Stars" has entered the January Zone Music Reporter Top 100 Chart for New Age/Ambient/World Music at #75! The chart is based on world wide radio play. Not bad considering the album was not released until the end of January! Check back in February to see where it goes...
"Vin Downes has crafted a beautifully organic album with his latest offering, "Unlike The Stars". Every track is masterfully composed and resonates positively on its own -- sometimes introspective, sometimes outgoing, yet always articulately performed. This album is so very tasteful and musically refreshing that listeners will instantly recognize it as a 'new' classic."
Jim Ellis
Astreaux World Radio / Promotions
http://astreauxworld.com
"Unlike the Stars" is now available on iTunes and Amazon.
iTunes ~ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/unlike-the-stars/id819660900
Here is a new review of "Unlike the Stars" by Kathy Parsons at www.mainlypiano.com. http://www.mainlypiano.com/2014_Reviews/Downes-Unlike_the_Stars.html
My new CD in now available for purchase. You can order CDs from the STORE tab to the left, or CDs and downloads from CDBaby. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/vindownes3
The album will be available for download on iTunes and Amazon, as well as a number of other music sites, next week.
Here are a couple pre-reviews for the new album, "unlike the stars".
Music and Media Focus ~ Michael Diamond
http://michaeldiamondmusic.com/2014/01/08/unlike-the-stars-by-vin-downes/
New Age Music Reviews ~ Keith Hannaleck
All of my incredible Kickstarter supporters have received their pre-release downloads of my new album "unlike the stars", along with the album artwork done by Anthony Saint James. The CD is currently in the duplication process and is also out for pre-reviews. It looks like the official release will be the last week of January 2014.
K. Lyn Wurth has highlighted me in her newest blog entry, "Strong Music, Never Far From Me". K. Lyn is a wonderful writer from Iowa who recently published her novel, "The Darkwater Liar's Account". I am a big fan of K. Lyn's writing and I am very grateful for her unending support of my music. Check out her monthly blog and pick up a copy of her book!
http://www.klynwurth.com/vin-downes-strong-music-never-far-from-me/
This past week, I spent three days in Vermont at Imaginary Road Studios with engineer/co-producer Tom Eaton finishing overdubs and completing the mix of the new album. The overdubs consisted of Tom playing a beautiful piano solo in one song and Tony Levin adding bass to four songs. Having the opportunity to work with Tony was an extraordinary experience. I am so grateful for his contributions to the record.
We were also able to edit and mix in two woodwind charts written by David Watson and Darryl Dixon of Chops Horns. David performed and recorded these flute/alto flute charts for me in October at Tim Shider's studio in Plainfield, NJ. They really add a unique vibe to the album, and I am very thankful to David and Darryl for being a part of the project.
On November 18th, Will Ackerman will be adding a guitar part to one song before reviewing the final mixes with Tom. Mastering is set for December 20th at Tom's Universal Noise Storage Studio in Massachusetts. If all stays on track, I am hoping for a January release.
With Tony Levin 11/7/12
Tony recording on his NS.
With Darryl Dixon and David Watson of Chops Horns.
I wanted to update everyone on the progress of the new record. On August 12th, multiple Grammy Award winning cellist, Eugene Friesen added a track on my song "Unlike the Stars" at Imaginary Road Studios. Unfortunately, I was unable to be in the studio while he was recording, but Will Ackerman called me during the session for a listen-in, and later sent me a rough MP3 of the track. Words cannot describe the emotion and beauty in Eugene's playing...unbelievable! I am very thankful to have him as part of the project.
Eugene's website ~ http://www.celloman.com/
We are currently looking to finish tracking (piano/Tom Eaton, vocals/Susan Whittle, bass/Tony Levin, guitar/Will Ackerman) and mix the album in the first half of November. This is later than first projected, but Imaginary Road Studios is an extremely busy place and Tony Levin is currently on tour with Stick Men and Peter Gabriel in Europe through October.
In the meantime, as much as I want to be able to release this album right now, I have to try and be patient. It will be well worth the wait...I promise.
Again, please know that I truly appreciate your confidence, encouragement and support.
I spent an incredibly creative and productive week with Will Ackerman, Tom Eaton and Anthony Saint James at Imaginary Road Studios in Vermont. I have recorded 11 songs, coming in at 46 minutes of music. We have already started mixing of the solo guitar pieces. The next phase of the project will be adding contributions from some amazing guest artists, including Will Ackerman on guitar, Tony Levin on bass, Tom Eaton on piano, and the possibility of adding others on percussion, voice and solo instruments. All of this will be decided as we move forward and listen to see what the music calls for.
I am extremely happy with the work we have done so far and I am eager to move forward. I am very excited about this record! I will keep everyone posted as things progress.
As always, thank you all for your encouragement, support and positive vibes!
~ Vin
