Glimmers: Dean Owens & The Sinners Album (Italy)

Aim

To record an album of new songs in Italy, with my Scottish band - Craig, Adam and Pip, aka The Sinners, inspired by the idea of Glimmers

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We are absolutely blown away by the generosity of all our supporters. THANK YOU all so much. To have hit the main target with a full week to go is amazing! The album will definitely now be made, and knowing we have this support behind us is inspiring. We’ve added a stretch target to help towards all the other things that are needed to bring the album to life. Please do check it out.

There are still lots of rewards available from just pre-ordering the album (as a download, CD or vinyl) or choosing some of the extra bonus items including having your very own whistled tune or joining in a Q&A with the band. Crowdfunding works by everyone donating what they can afford – “mony a mickle maks a muckle” as the Scottish saying goes! We appreciate every single one of you who has opted to join us on this Glimmers journey, including Creative Scotland's Match Funding Scheme.

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THE PROJECT

Glimmers are those small, fleeting moments of joy and light - emotional sparks that remind us we’re alive, connected, and present. Over the past three years of touring and growing together as Dean Owens & The Sinners, we’ve found our own glimmers: in late-night drives, shared meals, spontaneous musical breakthroughs, and the quiet magic of friendship forged through sound. This album is our way of capturing, and sharing those moments - distilling the joy, resilience, and creative fire that’s carried us through. It’s not just a collection of songs; it’s a celebration of the glimmers that have shaped our journey.

I’m delighted that Craig Ross (guitar), Adam McMillan (bass), Pip Cardwell (trumpet) and I have now decided to make a studio album together. We have developed our own special sound over those three years, taking the desert noir elements of my Sinner’s Shrine and El Tiradito records and adding in a particular Scottish Roots element. 

Our plan is to record out in Italy (in the land of my ancestors), where I recorded my current solo album Spirit Ridge, working with local Italian musicians and sound engineers, and some very special guests.  I had such a productive time working on Spirit Ridge that I want to tap into it again and I want my band to experience that magic too.  There is a real benefit in going away from all the everyday domestic distractions to record and bond together as a group in an inspirational place.

Craig, Adam and Pip are accomplished musicians in their own right – in demand for recording and performing with a range of bands including Stanley Odd (Adam), Broken Records (Craig) and Orkestra Del Sol and numerous jazz bands (Pip).  However we all feel a special bond as The Sinners.  This will be very much a band record, honing the unique sound that we have been evolving over the last 3 years on the road. 

We would very much love you to come along and join us on our journey.

MY TRACK RECORD

I've recorded 12 (official) studio albums to date, mostly in USA, working with some amazing musicians and producers, including the legendary Calexico, Grammy nominees Will Kimbrough and Neilson Hubbard, and most recently Don Antonio (aka Antonio Gramentieri) in Italy.  Now feels like the right time to combine all these influences and take my band The Sinners to Italy to work on these brand new songs to create something new and special. 

My most recent records - Sinner's Shrine, and the follow up, Spirit Ridge, have had some of the best reviews of my career, including from publications in UK, Netherlands, France, Italy and Australia.

I have self-funded the recording of all my albums, including several successful crowdfunding campaigns. I have a small team of specialist go-to industry professionals who help with releases, distribution and promotion.

The songs are mostly written. As usual I will have too many for the album but there may be opportunities to record some of these too, for release as bonus tracks along the way. 

THE FUNDING WILL GO TOWARDS:

• Travel to Italy, plus accommodation and food
• Hiring the studio for 10-12 days (including sound engineer) for recording
• Paying the core band
• Employing special guest musicians 
• Mixing (approx 7-10 days in a studio, with sound engineer) and mastering
• Creating acoustic demos before we go, as sketches to work from
• Commissioning an artist to come up with unique artwork for the album cover, T Shirts and promo items

NOTE: Approx 8% of the funding raised goes to Crowdfunder.co.uk for hosting, and for credit card and other banking charges

If we hit the target additional funds will go towards:

• Marketing the album, with specialist PR, Radio Pluggers etc
• Employing a professional filmmaker for promotional videos, including editing the video diaries made in the studio into additional promo videos
• Photo sessions for the band

REWARDS

We’ve put together an exciting bunch of rewards – starting from £15 (the reward titles are based on song titles) - which I hope will entice you to join us in bringing this album to life. There’s a range of physical rewards, and also some exciting virtual opportunities, including the chance to have the Sinners right there in your own living room! Or maybe you fancy your very own, unique whistling theme tune… complete with a set of Dean Owens’ lip balms.

You can take part in a band Q&A, and we’ll be making video diaries throughout the recording process.  Several rewards include access to a special secret room in my website for updates – video diaries, blogs and photos.

Finally – there are a very limited number of opportunities to come on board as an Executive Producer – which gets you most of the other rewards, and more!

Most pledges include early listens of album tracks, and a digital copy of anything from my back catalogue (from Bandcamp). 

Every contributor will get a big virtual THANK YOU from all of us, and a digital copy of the album in advance of the official release date.

We all need some glimmers in our lives! I can’t wait to share some of ours with you. 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO PLEDGE

Just click on the reward level of your choice to make your contribution and get the reward you want. Some of them are limited availability, so the earlier you jump in the better. 

If you just want a CD with no extras, select the "Border Ghost" Reward, add the shipping option for your area from the reward options and then go to checkout.

To choose the VINYL option for any of the reward levels – just add £15 to the stated pledge amount. Select the relevant Rewards Option and add the extra at Check Out. It's free for The Sinner level and above - please choose that Rewards Option so it gets added to your pledge.

If you want to combine any of the rewards, choose one, manually enter the pledge amount for the new combined total and leave a message in the comments (or send a message to [email protected]). Note: The Executive Producer (The Saint) level already includes some optional add-ons - check the Rewards Options section,

The cost of shipping is additional to the reward amounts, and we can ship to anywhere in the world. Please select the relevant Rewards Option for shipping and add the additional donation at Check Out. (UK - £5, Europe - £10, Rest of the World - £15).

Note that recorded music is currently exempt from US tariffs (but clothing is not). If things change between now and the time to deliver the rewards we will work with you on substitute rewards if necessary.

If you have any difficulties with the rewards just ping me an email at [email protected]

I fully understand that these are difficult times for everyone financially, but if you've enjoyed my previous albums including Spirit Ridge and Sinner's Shrine I really believe that you're going to enjoy what I plan on creating with these wonderful musicians and I can’t wait to return to the land of my lion tamer ancestor and share the magic of creating in Italy with them!

NOTE:

I am very aware of the challenges involved and I take my responsibilities to my supporters very seriously. Large and small, all donations count, and they are all very much appreciated. The plan is to record in Spring 2026 (depending on the availability of studio, accommodation and personnel), then adding additional guest musicians and aiming to get mixing around Fall 2026, with the album release around early Summer 2027.  So it will be a little while before you will be able to listen to anything, but I will keep you updated on progress throughout. 

You will get the chance to hear digital versions of some of the songs before the official release. Virtual rewards like the Q&A, secret room access etc will be delivered during and after the recording process, live concerts arranged to suit your schedule. Physical rewards will be shipped to arrive in advance of the official release date.

Cheers,

Dean 

PS A little music to enjoy, from my Spirit Ridge album (and a video which combines footage from the hills round the studio as well as my favourite hills in Edinburgh):

And a brand new video (31 Oct 2025) - Wall of Death (also from my Spirit Ridge album). This is the kind of content I can make, thanks to your support.

This project successfully funded on 16th November 2025