Ryan Downe is an American
musician
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
and
audio engineer
An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...
. His debut album ''The Hypocrite'' was released in 1996 by
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
's label,
The Rocket Record Company
The Rocket Record Company was a record label founded by Elton John, along with Bernie Taupin, Gus Dudgeon, Steve Brown and others, in 1973. The company was named after the hit song " Rocket Man". The label was originally distributed in the ...
.
Two music videos were produced to promote this album: "Where Am I Gonna Run To" and "Scratch". Downe opened for both
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
and
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...
during their 1997 tours.
Later he and his guitarist Johannes Luley opened ''Freudenhaus Recording Studio'' in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
.
It was during this time that Downe is credited with co-engineering and playing/singing on the
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
-nominated album, ''Arepa 3000'', by
Los Amigos Invisibles
Los Amigos Invisibles (Spanish for "The Invisible Friends") is a Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South A ...
.
Downe then joined up with Luley, keyboardist Tom Lynham and drummer / co-lead-singer Matt Swindells to create the band Moth Vellum with whom he released one album.
Discography
Solo album
* The Hypocrite (1996)
Track listing:
with Moth Vellum
* Moth Vellum (2007)
References
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
American rock musicians
American audio engineers
Rocket Records artists
{{US-musician-stub