|PIC1|Popular Canadian Christian rock group Downhere recently released a new project ahead of their UK tour in February.

The band announced on their website, "What better way to kick off 2007 than with a new project?", as they introduced their new acoustic, "raw" version of their latest release Wide-Eyed and Mystified.

Wide-Eyed and Simplified: unrehearsed, unpolished,
unplugged. marks the band's first acoustic release.

"The goal was to create a project that brought you the listener right into the studio with us, giving you some raw, unproduced, one-take versions of our most popular songs. We had a lot of fun with it - the "drum kit" was a snare drum case, a garbage tub turned upside down, a djembe with some paper taped to the top of it, a cymbal and a tambourine."

The album is currently available online at www.centricitystore.com.

Downhere will embark on a UK tour starting February, with Abundant Life Church's youth band, RPM.

The six-date tour takes the bands to Belfast, Portsmouth, Dartford, Kilsyth and Newton Aycliffe (Co. Durham), before the tour concludes at the Abundant Life Centre in Bradford.

The band took home three trophies at GMA Canada's 28th Annual Covenant Awards in October. Their critically-acclaimed release, Wide-Eyed And Mystified, was named Rock Album of the Year.