Haunted Continents

It all began for James A.M. Downes (Haunted Continents) just after the tour van crashed left him stranded three thousand miles from his quiet Connecticut home, forcing him to sell handmade demo tapes of his nostalgic indie/folk songs to strangers for loose change.

He was only on this tour as a merch-seller-for-hire, a means for a shy singer-songwriter to share his acoustic music with the hardcore scene he grew up in.

Little did he know that one of those poorly recorded tapes would end up in the hands of a music producer who, after falling for the songs’ quirky lyrics and relatable narrator persona, would record James’ first EP and encourage him to ditch the merch gig and step into his own.

Emboldened by the support of his first producer, James hit the road after his first awkward year of college.

Over the next fifteen years, he got his education on the road, touring relentlessly with his bands <a href="spotify:artist:5MfPsAxca2MdMXQrQZytWi" data-name="Call It Arson">Call It Arson</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1lyJ8ddC52ERd8XppvRbzq" data-name="The End of America">The End of America</a> (TEOA), sharing stages with artists like <a href="spotify:artist:3vbKDsSS70ZX9D2OcvbZmS" data-name="Beck">Beck</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1yDI9pWnlrJmi9kZn3gkCb" data-name="John Paul White">John Paul White</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5PPCkoOKabpGGhqrUwSikz" data-name="Kimya Dawson">Kimya Dawson</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3RyJG8xp58XSmsiuIySzUj" data-name="Adam Green">Adam Green</a> (of <a href="spotify:artist:7GGv4mV9JTJK9e7nIzUliU" data-name="The Moldy Peaches">The Moldy Peaches</a>), receiving radio support from over 259 NPR stations like KCRW, WXPN, and WFUV.

In the midst of the continuing whirlwind of live performances with TEOA, James found time to release a series of monthly singles under the name Haunted Continents, produced by Andy Seltzer (<a href="spotify:artist:4NZvixzsSefsNiIqXn0NDe" data-name="Maggie Rogers">Maggie Rogers</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5JMLG56F1X5mFmWNmS0iAp" data-name="Chelsea Cutler">Chelsea Cutler</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1Uk1GyijF6fSfX4mWq5bfR" data-name="Samia">Samia</a>), playing shows with acts like <a href="spotify:artist:6tkrcmVfWoHC4WOhE7IDyq" data-name="Lost Dog Street Band">Lost Dog Street Band</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3rT8xTwSOMDURtWpPyoKIO" data-name="Deer Tick">Deer Tick</a>.