"Son"

"Son" is the 3rd song (of 25) in the Atlas: Year Two series. (iTunes) It took quite a while for the pieces to fall into place on this song. But once they did, "Son" quickly became one of the most personal songs I’ve ever written. It’s rare when a song comes together easily, but this song felt particularly difficult to pull into focus. As I began to write, I couldn’t decide what this song should be about. Father/Son relationships? Masculinity? The origins of Mankind? Male “Initiation” traditions? After I read, watched and researched these concepts in various forms, it became clear that this song needed to be about a lot of things (which I’ll detail below), but mostly it needed to be about me figuring out who I am.

The first lyric came together fairly quickly, and postures the entire song into a prayer of sorts:

“Show me who I am and who I could be.”

Once I realized this song needed to be about my story of figuring out who I am, I thought it’d be a fairly simple song to write. No research needed to tell that story, I thought. Of course, I was wrong. As it turns out, I haven’t really spent a lot of conscious time asking myself that question: Who am I? And this song definitely provides more questions than answers, but it was very difficult to put it all into words. In the end, I think writing this song was a form of therapy for me- I came out the other side a little better for it.

"i’ll run the risk of being intimate with brokenness. through this magnifying glass, i see a thousand finger prints on the surfaces of who i am."

After staring at blank pages for weeks on end, I began thinking about the different mentors that have helped shape and initiate me into who I am up to this point. I found myself amazed thinking through the kindness it takes to come alongside another person younger than yourself, to offer wisdom and experience for no reason other than to help. It’s really beautiful to take someone under your wing like that, in spite of the risk of being exposed to other's baggage and brokenness. Aside from being inspired by the impact that each of these dudes have had on me, I thought it’d be a nice way to honor them by subtle but specific nods to them in the song. I texted several of them and asked “What are your 3 favorite words?” - in less than 24 hours each of them sent me their favorite 3. At least one word from each of them was woven into this song, which serves as a reminder to me of the many, many “fingerprints” that I have been so privileged to receive on my life so far- that have each helped me up, onto my own two feet.

I won’t go into detail on each of those nods (there are about 10 of them,) but I will share a couple. The mention of the “magnifying glass” honors my friend, Bob Goff. Earlier this year, I mentioned to him that I was feeling a little tired and less present in my life than I wanted to be feeling. He recommended that I carry around a magnifying glass, and each day study and remember my daughter’s fingerprints. Shortly after, I received a magnifying glass in the mail from Bob, and ever since I’ve begun a little collection of magnifying glasses - reminders to look a little closer at the world around me.

My friend (and life-shaper), Chris Heuertz recently gave me a Tibetan Singing Bowl as a gift. If you listen closely, you’ll hear it being played on a couple occasions throughout the song.

Since “Son” and the upcoming Atlas song “Daughter” are sibling songs, I had a lot of fun playing off one another. Both share an identical length, each: 4:04 long. (gender equality, of course!) They share a very similar song structure too, from the intro piano arpeggio to the overall blueprint of the song. Both songs have a thread of Piano in them (which I like to think of as the DNA of each song) but with different primary instrumentation. French Horns (Brass) Instruments to represent dudes in “Son” and Violins and Cellos (Strings) to represent gals in “Daughter.”

Speaking of Brass, I had my new friend Sarah Reno record all of those gorgeous French Horns you hear! She’s absolutely amazing - I sent her a synth version of my arrangement and a few days later, I received a gorgeous Brass (1-person) orchestra that breathes so much life into this song! Can’t wait to do more with Sarah soon! Check out Sarah’s music here, or hire her for your next project!

"the mercury keeps rising,’til the glass or my fever breaks.”

My Atlas: Year One song “Mercury” is my only other song in which I feature Brass as the primary instrumentation of the song. So the lyric above, nods to that song. It also refers to the mercury used in old thermometers.

Since this a song under the umbrella theme of Life, I thought it’d be fun to try to reference each of the 4 primary Vital Signs into this song. Here’s where/how they appear in the lyrics:

    • Heart Rate:   "initiate the heart within me 'til it opens properly."

    • Body temperature:   "the mercury keeps rising,’til the glass or my fever breaks."

    • Respiration Rate:   "i'll try, try, try to breathe ’til it turns to muscle memory."

    • Blood pressure:   "i feel the pressure in my blood, building up and liberating me."

I don’t know why I get such a kick out of creating those puzzles for myself in songwriting.. but I do. Easter Eggs are one of my favorite parts of writing and recording music!

Once the song was finally complete (felt like it took 32 years to write), I sent it over to Seattle to be mixed by my long-time friend and collaborator, John Goodmanson. He did a beautiful job, and it then landed into the inbox of Jason Ward, an incredible mastering engineer in Chicago.

The song ends with a bookend of the opening lyric: “Show me who I am and who I could be” because I think that’ll be a request I’ll be praying until my very last day.

Love, Ryan

Lyrics:

SON

show me who i am and who i could be. initiate the heart within me until it opens properly.

slow down, start again from the beginning. i can’t keep my head from spinning out of control. is this what being vulnerable feels like?

i swear i'll try, try, try to breathe ’til it turns to muscle memory. i'm only steady on my knees; one day i'll stand up on my own two feet.

i’ll run the risk of being intimate with brokenness. through this magnifying glass, i see a thousand finger prints on the surfaces of who i am.

show me where to find the silver lining as the mercury keeps rising, ’til the glass or my fever breaks.

show me how to struggle gracefully. let the scaffolding inside of me be strong enough to hold this tired body up once more.

and i will try, try, try to breathe ’til it turns to muscle memory. i feel the pressure in my blood building up and liberating me. so i will try, try, try to breathe ’til it turns to muscle memory. i'm only steady on my knees. but one day, i'll stand on my own two feet.

i'll run the risk of being intimate with brokenness. through this magnifying glass, i see a thousand finger prints

that ran the risk of being intimate with my brokenness. i was given a gift of hope in a thousand finger prints on the surface of who i am.

"Life"

Overture II is the opening piece of music for Atlas: Year Two.

This short piece of music is intended set the stage for not only all of the music to follow in Year Two, but to represent life forming. The inanimate becoming animate! It starts with a single note. As the strings swell in and the simple chord progression develops, the music gets slightly more complex as it moves along. As I thought about what instrumentation could best represent the sound of life forming, I could think of no instrument more beautiful and delicate than violins and cellos. So I called my good friend and incredible Cellist, Sharon Gerber. She plays with so much soul, that I knew she’d be the perfect fit. I needed Violins as well and invited her 12-year old daughter, Anya to record the Violins. (I can’t believe how gifted she is and can only imagine her talent as she gets older!!) I loved the idea of a mother and daughter being the first thing you’ll hear in this collection of songs about Life. They recorded so beautifully and I couldn’t be more thrilled with how it turned out!!

In Atlas: Year One, the final song was “Arctic” (as part of the “Oceans” EP.) At the very tail-end of “Arctic” you can hear the young heartbeat of my daughter, Lily many months before she was born. (The idea was to foreshadow the theme of “Life” in Year Two!) I thought it would be nice to carry over that idea into Overture II, so if you listen closely at the beginning of the song, you can hear my daughter’s heartbeat which was recorded just hours before she was born.

Life is the opening song of Atlas: Year Two. (iTunes)

I became a father last Fall. It was the most beautiful and scary and meaningful experience of my life so far. I completely recognize how obvious and cliche that is to say, but it’s true. I’ve been looking forward to being a dad since I was a little kid, so leading up to the day our daughter Lily was born, I knew this would be a game-changing experience. It sure was... times a trillion. My amazing wife was in labor for 38 hours. It was terrifying and intense, and only made the moment of finally meeting our daughter that much more incredible and perfect! Needless to say, as I wrote the lyrics for the first song in a collection of songs about “Life,” and for a song actually called “Life,” I knew this song had to be written about this experience.

Life is such a massive theme, so originally I thought I should write something more abstract about all human life forming. Maybe find some middle ground between biology and poetry. But then it occurred to me that I just experienced the forming of a life, first hand, in a way I’ve never experienced or understood it before. So as Mr. Twain says, “Write what you know.”

“it began with a whisper in my ear, ‘i think its time.’"

This line is very literal. My wife woke me up early in the morning, the day she went into labor and said “i think it's time…”

Also, on Year One, the very first lyric of the project was “It starts with our eyes well acquainted with the dark” - I liked the idea of the opening track for Year Two having a similar entrance and shape. I don’t know why but those little symmetrical details matter to me! So in the future, on Year Three I’m fairly certain the opening lyric will start similarly.

"suddenly all we held dear was on the line as your heart, measured in mountains, fell and climbed."

When my wife was in labor, we stared for hours and hours at these monitor screens that measured our daughter’s and her heart rates, as well as the contraction intensity. These two lines of lyrics reflect that.

“'you're okay, you're okay, you're okay. we’re okay.' amen."

During some of the more intense moments of the labor, I tried to say anything I could to be encouraging.. and found myself accidentally repeating things over and over. Sometimes all I could come up with was… “You’re okay…” and “You’re doing so great.” Though those words sure aren’t big, but “You’re okay” represented an experience of closeness and connection that my wife and I had never had before, so I knew I had to write it into the song. The “amen” is meant to represent the feeling of making peace with letting go of control. Labor is a real good practice for letting go of control. As “Amen” is commonly said at the end of prayer, I liked the idea that singing that lyric in that space transforms the lines before it into prayer.

"as she drew her first breath, i learned what love meant"

The Doctors told my wife and I that when our little girl was delivered, if she was crying it’s a very good sign. If she’s wasn't, they would need to rush her to the NICU. So right as she was delivered, she gave us some wonderfully loud cries. And we felt a relief that we’ve never felt before. I had my audio recorder on and captured her very first cry. So if you listen closely, right before the lyrics above, you’ll hear my daughter draw her first breath and cry her healthy cry.

"as her hands held tight and her eyes met mine"

Right after our Daughter was born, I got to spend a few minutes alone with her while my wife was in recovery. Those moments were pretty life-altering for me. I said a few things to her and she immediately turned her head toward me and made eye contact (though I don’t think she could really see me, I think she recognized my voice!) and she held on to my finger tightly as I talked to her. I know this sounds dramatic, but I felt like I could feel my heart expanding. Like its capacity was being upgraded. Honestly, every since she’s been here, I feel like that's always happening.

"i saw the future unfold in silver and gold. and i’m already proud."

This line is special to me because the day we found out that Lily was a girl, all of a sudden I imagined all of these huge milestones ahead in the future… It was like that whole "your life flashes before your eyes” thing.. but like a really beautiful montage of things that haven’t happened yet! It felt like seeing a glimpse into the future. The line about “silver and gold”… our Daughter has blonde hair, so it's a subtle reference to a time hopefully in the future where we'll be old and grey and she’ll be golden blonde.

"in our reflections of one another, we will start something new.”

My friend Bob told me that children are one of two things: A reflection of their parents, or a reaction to their parents. I couldn’t agree more and love that idea. Neither is wrong. So I wanted to work that idea into this song… a prayer or hope that whether Lily is a reflection of us or a reaction to us, we will learn from each other. Regardless, we already know she’s a better version of us!

"there is so much to tell you. there is so much to see. we will show you the oceans and everything in between. what a privilege to love you, to teach you all that we know, to watch you build a collection of dreams that you can call your own."

These lines mean a lot to me because one of my favorite parts of being a Dad is showing Lily my favorite things in this world. Sort of my best-of collection! Aside from the lyrics, this section of the song is particularly meaningful to me because my wife sung harmonies with me on this verse! It’s the first time we’ve ever sung together… and I totally manipulated her into doing it. I told her that this part of the song needs both of Lily’s parents to sing. So she did it and sang so beautifully! This moment of this song will forever mean the world to me as a result.

Musically, I had so much fun recording this song! I knew that this song needed to have everything I could think of thrown at it. Most songs only benefit from adding very specific instrumentation, but this song, right from the start, was a “the more the merrier” type of song! And I loved that idea - life is so diverse and big that I made it a rule: Try everything. And I did… I recorded pretty much every instrument I own… banjos, guitar, violins, pianos, drums, bass, flutes, timpanis, tambourines, glockenspiel, harpsichord, organ, ukulele, you name it!

But I kept hearing Marimba in my head and I don’t have one of those! So I called my friend Jordan Kamps, who is an incredibly gifted percussionist. He dragged his massive Marimba over to my studio and recorded brilliantly! So you’ll hear that all over the place on this song. I love it so much! Definitely planning on using more Marimba in the future, if Jordan will oblige!

Sharon Gerber recorded all of the gorgeous Cello throughout.. it was one of the last touSches put on the song and I feel like it breathes so much life into the story and music. I could listen to her play on loop for all of time.

Easter-Eggs:

In the middle verse, you’ll hear an almost electronic-y type of kick/snare drum sound. That kick is a sampled version of my wife’s heartbeat. The snare is mine.

I recorded some of the monitor beeps and blips in the delivery room. You’ll hear them (sounds like a little sonar-like ping) throughout the song. Side Note: I used a submarine sonar ping in the last song of Year One, so I liked the idea of a similar sound carrying over into the first song of Year Two.

LIFE

it began with a whisper in my ear, "I think it's time." suddenly all we held dear was on the line as your heart, measured in mountains, fell and climbed. “you're okay, you're okay, you're okay. we’re okay.” amen.

we were changed in an instant, we became so much more. our definition of perfect was written when she was born.

as she drew her first breath, i learned what love meant and my heart reconciled all the darkness and light inside my chest.

as her hands held tight and her eyes met mine, i saw the future unfold in silver and gold. and i’m already proud.

beautiful like your mother, you are grace. you are light. a better version of our best from your starting line.

we will learn from each other, as you grow up, we will too. in our reflections of one another, we will start something new. we were changed in an instant, we became so much more. our definition of perfect was written when you were born.

there is so much to tell you. there is so much to see. we will show you the oceans and everything in between.

what a privilege to love you, to teach you all that we know, to watch you build a collection of dreams that you can call your own.

you are beautiful like your mother, you are grace. you are light. a better version of our best from your starting line. we were changed in an instant, we became so much more. our definition of perfect was written when you were born.

DOWNLOAD "LIFE" ON iTUNES HERE.

"Overture II"

Overture II is the opening piece of music for Atlas: Year Two. (iTunes)

This short piece of music is intended set the stage for not only all of the music to follow in Year Two, but to represent life forming. The inanimate becoming animate! It starts with a single note. As the strings swell in and the simple chord progression develops, the music gets slightly more complex as it moves along. As I thought about what instrumentation could best represent the sound of life forming, I could think of no instrument more beautiful and delicate than violins and cellos. So I called my good friend and incredible Cellist, Sharon Gerber. She plays with so much soul, that I knew she’d be the perfect fit. I needed Violins as well and invited her 12-year old daughter, Anya to record the Violins. (I can’t believe how gifted she is and can only imagine her talent as she gets older!!) I loved the idea of a mother and daughter being the first thing you’ll hear in this collection of songs about Life. They recorded so beautifully and I couldn’t be more thrilled with how it turned out!!

In Atlas: Year One, the final song was “Arctic” (as part of the “Oceans” EP.) At the very tail-end of “Arctic” you can hear the young heartbeat of my daughter, Lily many months before she was born. (The idea was to foreshadow the theme of “Life” in Year Two!) I thought it would be nice to carry over that idea into Overture II, so if you listen closely at the beginning of the song, you can hear my daughter’s heartbeat which was recorded just hours before she was born.

Life is the opening song of Atlas: Year Two. (iTunes)

I became a father last Fall. It was the most beautiful and scary and meaningful experience of my life so far. I completely recognize how obvious and cliche that is to say, but it’s true. I’ve been looking forward to being a dad since I was a little kid, so leading up to the day our daughter Lily was born, I knew this would be a game-changing experience. It sure was... times a trillion. My amazing wife was in labor for 38 hours. It was terrifying and intense, and only made the moment of finally meeting our daughter that much more incredible and perfect! Needless to say, as I wrote the lyrics for the first song in a collection of songs about “Life,” and for a song actually called “Life,” I knew this song had to be written about this experience.

Life is such a massive theme, so originally I thought I should write something more abstract about all human life forming. Maybe find some middle ground between biology and poetry. But then it occurred to me that I just experienced the forming of a life, first hand, in a way I’ve never experienced or understood it before. So as Mr. Twain says, “Write what you know.”

“it began with a whisper in my ear, ‘i think its time.’"

This line is very literal. My wife woke me up early in the morning, the day she went into labor and said “i think it's time…”

Also, on Year One, the very first lyric of the project was “It starts with our eyes well acquainted with the dark” - I liked the idea of the opening track for Year Two having a similar entrance and shape. I don’t know why but those little symmetrical details matter to me! So in the future, on Year Three I’m fairly certain the opening lyric will start similarly.

"suddenly all we held dear was on the line as your heart, measured in mountains, fell and climbed."

When my wife was in labor, we stared for hours and hours at these monitor screens that measured our daughter’s and her heart rates, as well as the contraction intensity. These two lines of lyrics reflect that.

“'you're okay, you're okay, you're okay. we’re okay.' amen."

During some of the more intense moments of the labor, I tried to say anything I could to be encouraging.. and found myself accidentally repeating things over and over. Sometimes all I could come up with was… “You’re okay…” and “You’re doing so great.” Though those words sure aren’t big, but “You’re okay” represented an experience of closeness and connection that my wife and I had never had before, so I knew I had to write it into the song. The “amen” is meant to represent the feeling of making peace with letting go of control. Labor is a real good practice for letting go of control. As “Amen” is commonly said at the end of prayer, I liked the idea that singing that lyric in that space transforms the lines before it into prayer.

"as she drew her first breath, i learned what love meant"

The Doctors told my wife and I that when our little girl was delivered, if she was crying it’s a very good sign. If she’s wasn't, they would need to rush her to the NICU. So right as she was delivered, she gave us some wonderfully loud cries. And we felt a relief that we’ve never felt before. I had my audio recorder on and captured her very first cry. So if you listen closely, right before the lyrics above, you’ll hear my daughter draw her first breath and cry her healthy cry.

"as her hands held tight and her eyes met mine"

Right after our Daughter was born, I got to spend a few minutes alone with her while my wife was in recovery. Those moments were pretty life-altering for me. I said a few things to her and she immediately turned her head toward me and made eye contact (though I don’t think she could really see me, I think she recognized my voice!) and she held on to my finger tightly as I talked to her. I know this sounds dramatic, but I felt like I could feel my heart expanding. Like its capacity was being upgraded. Honestly, every since she’s been here, I feel like that's always happening.

"i saw the future unfold in silver and gold. and i’m already proud."

This line is special to me because the day we found out that Lily was a girl, all of a sudden I imagined all of these huge milestones ahead in the future… It was like that whole "your life flashes before your eyes” thing.. but like a really beautiful montage of things that haven’t happened yet! It felt like seeing a glimpse into the future. The line about “silver and gold”… our Daughter has blonde hair, so it's a subtle reference to a time hopefully in the future where we'll be old and grey and she’ll be golden blonde.

"in our reflections of one another, we will start something new.”

My friend Bob told me that children are one of two things: A reflection of their parents, or a reaction to their parents. I couldn’t agree more and love that idea. Neither is wrong. So I wanted to work that idea into this song… a prayer or hope that whether Lily is a reflection of us or a reaction to us, we will learn from each other. Regardless, we already know she’s a better version of us!

"there is so much to tell you. there is so much to see. we will show you the oceans and everything in between. what a privilege to love you, to teach you all that we know, to watch you build a collection of dreams that you can call your own."

These lines mean a lot to me because one of my favorite parts of being a Dad is showing Lily my favorite things in this world. Sort of my best-of collection! Aside from the lyrics, this section of the song is particularly meaningful to me because my wife sung harmonies with me on this verse! It’s the first time we’ve ever sung together… and I totally manipulated her into doing it. I told her that this part of the song needs both of Lily’s parents to sing. So she did it and sang so beautifully! This moment of this song will forever mean the world to me as a result.

Musically, I had so much fun recording this song! I knew that this song needed to have everything I could think of thrown at it. Most songs only benefit from adding very specific instrumentation, but this song, right from the start, was a “the more the merrier” type of song! And I loved that idea - life is so diverse and big that I made it a rule: Try everything. And I did… I recorded pretty much every instrument I own… banjos, guitar, violins, pianos, drums, bass, flutes, timpanis, tambourines, glockenspiel, harpsichord, organ, ukulele, you name it!

But I kept hearing Marimba in my head and I don’t have one of those! So I called my friend Jordan Kamps, who is an incredibly gifted percussionist. He dragged his massive Marimba over to my studio and recorded brilliantly! So you’ll hear that all over the place on this song. I love it so much! Definitely planning on using more Marimba in the future, if Jordan will oblige!

Sharon Gerber recorded all of the gorgeous Cello throughout.. it was one of the last touSches put on the song and I feel like it breathes so much life into the story and music. I could listen to her play on loop for all of time.

Easter-Eggs:

In the middle verse, you’ll hear an almost electronic-y type of kick/snare drum sound. That kick is a sampled version of my wife’s heartbeat. The snare is mine.

I recorded some of the monitor beeps and blips in the delivery room. You’ll hear them (sounds like a little sonar-like ping) throughout the song. Side Note: I used a submarine sonar ping in the last song of Year One, so I liked the idea of a similar sound carrying over into the first song of Year Two.

LIFE

it began with a whisper in my ear, "I think it's time." suddenly all we held dear was on the lineas your heart, measured in mountains, fell and climbed. “you're okay, you're okay, you're okay. we’re okay.” amen.

we were changed in an instant, we became so much more. our definition of perfect was written when she was born.

as she drew her first breath, i learned what love meant and my heart reconciled all the darkness and light inside my chest.

as her hands held tight and her eyes met mine, i saw the future unfold in silver and gold. and i’m already proud.

beautiful like your mother, you are grace. you are light. a better version of our best from your starting line.

we will learn from each other, as you grow up, we will too. in our reflections of one another, we will start something new. we were changed in an instant, we became so much more. our definition of perfect was written when you were born.

there is so much to tell you. there is so much to see. we will show you the oceans and everything in between.

what a privilege to love you, to teach you all that we know, to watch you build a collection of dreams that you can call your own.

you are beautiful like your mother, you are grace. you are light. a better version of our bestfrom your starting line. we were changed in an instant, we became so much more. our definition of perfect was written when you were born.

DOWNLOAD "LIFE" ON iTUNES HERE.

"Oceans" Release Notes

In honor of today, the official release day for my "Oceans" (iTunes) EP, here are some release notes to accompany the new music!

A few years ago, I released a collection of music called “Yearbook.” That project featured the instrumental songs “Pacific” and “Atlantic.” I knew right away that I wanted to someday come back and complete the “oceans” concept and write three additional pieces of music for the remaining Oceans.

As the idea for my Atlas project came together, I knew it would be the perfect place to complete the collection of instrumental music inspired by each of the Oceans of our world. So in addition to the 28 songs that make up Atlas: Year 1, it felt only fitting to include “Pacific” and “Atlantic” again alongside their newborn Ocean siblings on this new EP.

Fact: Oceans is my very first all-instrumental collection of music! In writing Oceans, I watched endless loops of footage of each of the incredible bodies of water - waves crashing over one another, underwater footage, etc. all of which helped me treat this collection of music as an imaginary score of the oceans. Truly had a blast with that writing/recording mentality!

There was some early debate whether or not to include "Southern" as one of our world's oceans, as it is relatively newly considered an “ocean.” But I chose to honor and recognize this little part of our watery planet! I like to think of "Southern" as "Pluto" in reverse- everyone was opposed the demotion of Pluto from our solar system, whereas everyone seems to be opposing the promotion of the Southern Ocean.

You'll notice that each piece of music on this EP flows into the next, woven together with recordings of the oceans and whale songs (which I recorded myself in Maui last year!). Just as the actual oceans flow into one another, each song on this EP flows into the next as well and forms one body of water-y music!

I tried hard to think of which instrument sounds most like the ocean… I landed on the Piano. So I hereby nominate the Piano as the official instrument of the oceans!! It’s complex, beautiful, striking and calming.

As a massive fan of the ocean, it was such a delight to write these pieces of music. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed writing and recording them! It was the most meditative experience I’ve ever had in my studio. (I fell asleep more than once while watching loops of ocean video!)

I recommend listening to Oceans alongside, or atop a body of water. Any kind will do- a lake, a pond... or if you're real lucky, the actual ocean!

Song-by-Song Notes:

1. Pacific

Read a detailed blog-post on how this song came to be, here!

2. Atlantic

Read a detailed blog-post on how this song came to be, here!

3. Indian

In the intro of this song, you’ll hear the creaks of an old boat. I loved the idea of this piece of music being the score to some sailing adventure! That was the inspiration behind this one. Adventure.

4. Southern

For the first half of the song, I wrote from the perspective of being underwater. You’ll hear actual submarine sonar pings and muted sounds galore. The second half, I imagined the music finding the surface of the water, becoming clearer as it rises.

5. Arctic

I wrote this one, trying to imagine the coldest temperatures I could. It was fun to try and write a melody inspired by cold. The piano melody that begins the song (and continues throughout) felt like the right amount of serious, slow and nearly frozen. I loved the idea of the Cello (played BEAUTIFULLY by Sharon Gerber) being warmth, that somehow breaks through the ice, splitting the cold in half. The music slowly thaws as the warmth of the cello develops. (Side note: the drums in the end are blended with samples of actual ice breaking and cracking.)

My personal favorite part of the Oceans EP is that at the very tail end of “Arctic,” the final song of Atlas: Year 1, you’ll hear the 16-week old heartbeat of our unborn child, which my wife and I just announced today! Not only did the heartbeat of our future daughter/son feel like a fitting way to end the overarching story told throughout Atlas: Year 1, but it also connects directly to Atlas: Year 2… which will begin with the theme “Life."

Thank you so much for reading these notes and for listening to these songs! Means the world to me!

Much Love, Ryan

"Oceans" Release Notes

In honor of today, the official release day for my "Oceans" (iTunes) EP, here are some release notes to accompany the new music!

A few years ago, I released a collection of music called “Yearbook.” That project featured the instrumental songs “Pacific” and “Atlantic.” I knew right away that I wanted to someday come back and complete the “oceans” concept and write three additional pieces of music for the remaining Oceans.

As the idea for my Atlas project came together, I knew it would be the perfect place to complete the collection of instrumental music inspired by each of the Oceans of our world. So in addition to the 28 songs that make up Atlas: Year 1, it felt only fitting to include “Pacific” and “Atlantic” again alongside their newborn Ocean siblings on this new EP.

Fact: Oceans is my very first all-instrumental collection of music! In writing Oceans, I watched endless loops of footage of each of the incredible bodies of water - waves crashing over one another, underwater footage, etc. all of which helped me treat this collection of music as an imaginary score of the oceans. Truly had a blast with that writing/recording mentality!

There was some early debate whether or not to include "Southern" as one of our world's oceans, as it is relatively newly considered an “ocean.” But I chose to honor and recognize this little part of our watery planet! I like to think of "Southern" as "Pluto" in reverse- everyone was opposed the demotion of Pluto from our solar system, whereas everyone seems to be opposing the promotion of the Southern Ocean.

You'll notice that each piece of music on this EP flows into the next, woven together with recordings of the oceans and whale songs (which I recorded myself in Maui last year!). Just as the actual oceans flow into one another, each song on this EP flows into the next as well and forms one body of water-y music!

I tried hard to think of which instrument sounds most like the ocean… I landed on the Piano. So I hereby nominate the Piano as the official instrument of the oceans!! It’s complex, beautiful, striking and calming.

As a massive fan of the ocean, it was such a delight to write these pieces of music. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed writing and recording them! It was the most meditative experience I’ve ever had in my studio. (I fell asleep more than once while watching loops of ocean video!)

I recommend listening to Oceans alongside, or atop a body of water. Any kind will do- a lake, a pond... or if you're real lucky, the actual ocean!

Song-by-Song Notes:

1. Pacific

Read a detailed blog-post on how this song came to be, here!

2. Atlantic

Read a detailed blog-post on how this song came to be, here!

3. Indian

In the intro of this song, you’ll hear the creaks of an old boat. I loved the idea of this piece of music being the score to some sailing adventure! That was the inspiration behind this one. Adventure.

4. Southern

For the first half of the song, I wrote from the perspective of being underwater. You’ll hear actual submarine sonar pings and muted sounds galore. The second half, I imagined the music finding the surface of the water, becoming clearer as it rises.

5. Arctic

I wrote this one, trying to imagine the coldest temperatures I could. It was fun to try and write a melody inspired by cold. The piano melody that begins the song (and continues throughout) felt like the right amount of serious, slow and nearly frozen. I loved the idea of the Cello (played BEAUTIFULLY by Sharon Gerber) being warmth, that somehow breaks through the ice, splitting the cold in half. The music slowly thaws as the warmth of the cello develops. (Side note: the drums in the end are blended with samples of actual ice breaking and cracking.)

My personal favorite part of the Oceans EP is that at the very tail end of “Arctic,” the final song of Atlas: Year 1, you’ll hear the 16-week old heartbeat of our unborn child, which my wife and I just announced today! Not only did the heartbeat of our future daughter/son feel like a fitting way to end the overarching story told throughout Atlas: Year 1, but it also connects directly to Atlas: Year 2… which will begin with the theme “Life."

Thank you so much for reading these notes and for listening to these songs! Means the world to me!

Much Love, Ryan