heartphone

Thought I’d post over here with an update on what the plans are for heartphone as a label since I’ve never really talked about it before. Going into this, I realized that starting up a “label” was really only something I’d do for fun and as a direct response to the current state of the music business. I’m not saying I am mad or disagree with any of the trends that we are seeing in front of us. Music blogs are wonderful, file sharing isn’t evil and all of this has secured the fact that bands need to tour to make a dime these days. I am actually quite motivated to move forward now that I honestly feel that I have the control I’ve sort of always wanted.

I found myself without a label earlier this year and after releasing music on various (amazing) labels for the past 11 years I couldn’t make myself send out demos to look for a new label. Call me just a bit jaded. I just don’t have it in me. If a situation arises where someone would like to release my music, that is totally something I’d be into talking more about. But the act of selling myself or further delaying my creative output isn’t something I can do any longer. So, with the creation of heartphone, I put one foot in front of the other and am doing my best to move forward.

So far, so good. The Resplendent/Downey EP received some good press and, most importantly, has been enjoyed by people who have been following me over the years. A free release isn’t obvioulsy a way to make any money, but that isn’t why I’m here. I am not going out on tour any time soon. I have never lived off of my music and the pipedream of doing so was put to rest a long long time ago. I am here as an artist with something I feel that a select population of people would like to hear and experience. I feel that I have more albums in me and this is why I’m here.

I will release a full length album (as Mike Downey) sometime in the first few months of 2008. This will be the proper follow up to my 2006 debut Adventure, Bless and Don’t Be Sorry. As I don’t have any money to really put into this, it will be released as a digital album through better download sites. To be honest, I don’t quite know of what the logistics getting the album to the download sites are, so I will need a few months to get everything organized. The album will be 12 songs, 30 minutes long, a collection of what I feel are my best songs from the past couple of years.

In other news, I met with Michael Lenzi (Resplendent) in Chicago a couple months ago. I listened to a new song he had in the works in which we will work on in a collaborative manner. So, it appears that more Resplendent/Downey music is on the way, although we have no deadlines and haven’t yet talked about if we will work towards another EP or if it would be released on heartphone. As the story unfolds I will keep you posted here.

My Bubble Shield project is on hold. I may revisit it or I may drop it. I learned a lot by recording those songs about my own personal limitations and future possibilities in recording.

These updates will most likely be random and come only when I’ve got something useful to say about the label. Time will tell how often that’ll be.

Thanks for reading. The winter is here in Stockholm, it’s time to hole up and get creative once again.

Best,

Mike Downey