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Gord Downie 'Away Is Mine': Release date, concept, tracklist and all the buzz around the late singer's final solo album

Gord Downie's final project is a follow-up to his previous posthumous album titled 'Introduce Yerself' which was released just 10 days after the renowned singer died

Gord Downie was one of the legendary and prominent figures in Canada, who passed away at the age of 53 on October 17, 2017, after losing a battle with brain cancer. Even though the singer-songwriter passed away three years ago, he made sure his music lives among us forever and with the same intention, his seventh and final solo album titled 'Away Is Mine' is all set to release in October.

The official Twitter account of the late singer, which is now managed by this team, had announced his posthumous album in September 2020 with the caption, "'Away Is Mine', Gord Downie's latest solo recording will be available everywhere on October 16. The double album has both an electric and acoustic version of all 10 songs. The first two advanced tracks are available to stream now."

Gord Downie's final project is a follow-up to his previous posthumous album titled 'Introduce Yerself' which was released just 10 days after the renowned singer died in 2017. 'Away Is Mine' was recorded in the span of four days in July 2017, three months prior to Downie's death.

The late artiste was the lead singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip which was formed in 1984. He is widely considered as one of the most influential and popular artistes in Canadian music history.

Release date

'Away Is Mine' will hit the Internet on October 16, 2020. The album has been produced by Nyles Spencer and Gord Downie’s own son Lou. Fans can also pre-order the album here.

Concept

The official website of the late singer sheds light on the concept of the posthumous album penned by one of the respected music critics of the United Kingsom Ben Rayner. It reads "'Away Is Mine' is presented to you in both "electric" and "acoustic" versions. They could be mistaken for two entirely different recordings, and yet they are actually one and the same."

According to Consequence of Sound, Downie’s friend, guitarist and co-writer Josh Finlayson spoke about the album and asserted, "There really wasn't a plan to make a record. The whole thing was that I knew this was a great way to spend time with Gord, listening to music, talking about music, talking about things that we’d always talked about. And this just evolved pretty organically."

Talking about the recording process, Ben Rayner mentions on the official website, "The pair knocked out 10 tunes on Finlayson's phone and Gord's laptop over little more than a week and that could have been that: a homespun, lo-fi DIY record in and of itself. But then Gord suggested they head to The Tragically Hip’s lakeside Bathouse studio and turn it into a real record with the help of in-house engineer Nyles Spencer, who’d proven himself something of a sonic savant during the sessions for Secret Path, Introduce Yerself and Man Machine Poem. And that’s exactly what they did over four days beginning on July 17, 2017."

The official Twitter account of the late singer had also tweeted about the album in order to pass on the message to his fans. It read, "Each of the songs from 'Away Is Mine' were carefully paired with 10 individual artistes. The diverse group of creatives ranges from young up & comers to pioneers in the industry. This project is a labor of love, being shaped around the story Gord told through his songwriting."

Another tweet focused on the cover art. "The album art is handpainted by Gord's daughters, Willo Downie and Clare Downie, & includes Gord’s handwritten lyrics in the Vinyl & CD Packaging. Stay tuned here for more announcements to come!The physical vinyl album & CD can be pre-ordered"

Tracklist

The double album will come with 10 songs where the first part will focus on “electric mixed” songs whereas, the second will come with the same songs but in the "acoustic version". Three songs, namely 'Hotel Worth', 'Useless Nights' and 'About Blank' have already been released on the Internet.

Here's how the tracklist of the posthumous album looks like:

'Hotel Worth'
'Useless Nights'
'I Am Lost'
'About Blank'
'River Don't Care'
'The Least Impossible'
'Traffic Is Magic'
'Away Is Mine'
'No Solace'
'Untitled'
 
You can check the official videos of the three songs released right here:

'Hotel Worth' — Gord Downie (Official Video)

'Useless Nights' — Gord Downie (Official Video)

'About Blank' — Gord Downie (Official Music Video)

Where to stream

Fans will be able to enjoy Gord Downie's final solo album 'Away Is Mine' on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal and YouTube.