S.J. Downes - Lion’s Path - Digital EP

The 'Lion’s Path' EP was written and recorded by S.J. Downes in the summer of 2020, comprising of four subtle and nuanced instrumental compositions.  Recorded in real time to tape at his home studio, the tracks feature harmonica and multiple guitars, including a century old Lyon & Healy that takes central voicing on glass bottleneck slide.  These beautifully layered recordings and arrangements capture the organic and spontaneous process, and take the listener on an acoustic journey from the 1920s into the 21st century.

Contained within the EP are 4 tracks, 3 acoustic voices, 2 magnetic tape machines and 1 giant tortoise called Darwin - overseeing the proceedings.   Aside from that, Downes takes care of all writing, playing and production.

LOVE, DEATH, HOPE, and UNITY perhaps simply describe the overall theme of each track…

“"This EP represents a straightforward road map, or soundtrack of sorts, to rising feelings and questions posed by my hearts mind and desires, recorded in reel time over a large slice of seclusion from society during late summer Aug - Nov 2020. LOVE, DEATH, HOPE, UNITY perhaps simply describe the overall theme of the collection.  A rare opportunity of a crossroads in time, away from the discord and chaos of the outer world, to safely journey within my own soul and explore my inner landscape of causality, guided solely by the twin auspices of my intuition that Courage will command and Peace will prevail led to these sounds surfacing in their spontaneous nature and I feel delighted that they form my first official release in collaboration with Mellowtone Records.”
S.J. Downes, November 2020

LISTEN TO THE 'LION'S PATH' EP HERE:
High Quality WAV stream / download at Bandcamp
Streaming Platforms

Released digitally on 11th December, 2020.

Tracklist:
All My Life
Death Blue
The Light Will Shine
A Better Way

Artwork & Design by Jono Jones, from a concept by S.J. Downes

PRESS

"beautifully played and recorded"
Blues in Britain

“as authentic as you can get” 
Liverpool Acoustic

“celebrating the vast array of early blues talent, now oft-forgotten with the passing of time” 
Werk.Re

“haunting renditions.”
Bido Lito

“the crowd sit quietly and appreciatively before what rapidly became a blues masterclass”
Glasswerk

'a wonderful player'
Roots & Fusion Radio

“A beautiful arrangement and a must for all “ 
Explore Liverpool

"18 minutes of glory"
Sun 13

"A masterclass in blues guitar"
Chris Currie, Mersey Radio

"beatifully recorded, very bluesy"
BluesNews (Norway)