SORBET is the new project from Chris W Ryan, percussionist for Robocobra Quartet. This Friday, September 18, will see the release of Life Variations, the first EP from his new project, which is coming out via Bureau B. Life Variations is a three-song suite, with Ryan saying: “Every time I sat at the piano I played that same chord progression and it felt never-ending. It felt like I could play the same two chords for a lifetime.”
With the EP’s closing track “Living / Dying” (feat. Arborist) already out in the world, today we have a new song and video from the project to share with you, “Birth (My First Day)” – which kicks off Life Variations. Ryan says:
“The track Birth (My First Day) is from the viewpoint of a newborn child but also discusses the birth of other things like friendships & identity. It is the opening track to an EP of songs that negotiates life and death.”
“Birth (My First Day)” begins with chiming tones, as if an alarm is awakening you to a whole new life – soon joined by a meticulous drum beat, as you would expect from an experienced percussionist like Ryan. With these two elements as the basis, SORBET goes on to build “Birth (My First Day)” into an expansive and expressive track that you would be hard placed to place in a genre. It’s a song that seems to be bursting on all sides, with booming instrumentation and sweeping melodies, it piles on beautifully as if the subject is trying to take in the entirety of what life has to offer in one big breath. At the centre, Ryan’s vocals are an extension of this excitement, appropriately overwhelmed at the sheer beauty and delicacy of everything around him, unsure about where to begin, but just overjoyed at being alive.
This euphoria is carried into the video for “Birth (My First Day)”, which finds SORBET in the studio, working on music – but animated with some extra flashes to give an idea of the sparkling bliss of creation. He says:
“The video is a magic-realism representation of the dreamlike feeling of writing music alone in isolation. It’s directed by Dominic Curran with AR motion graphics by Fabiano Benetton.”
SORBET’s debut EP Life Variations is out this Friday, September 18, via Bureau B (pre-order), with an album projected for next year.
