Through recent troubled times, Matthew Ryan has maintained a special connection with fans by consistently releasing wonderful timely (and timeless) new music. In just the last two years he has released several EP’s of vital heartfelt music to comfort us in difficult times. Most recently, Ryan put down his electric and acoustic guitars to sit at the piano for the five tracks on the EP Life is Beautiful.
Ryan had never fully composed songs on the piano before, but the songs show his diligence and talent, as he spent his summer developing his connection to the instrument. And in October, with some help from friends, he put together the intimate recordings.
Ryan explains about the new EP on Bandcamp: “It’s been such a hard year. This for me was like finding switches that lit certain constellations at night. I can’t know how you’ll receive them. I can only hope that these songs and their wide minimalism offer to you some version of what they gave to me: A place for my anger, hope and sorrow, and an embattled but resilient faith in each other.”
Life is Beautiful features three new songs, along with instrumental versions of two of them. The songs are: “Don’t Say Goodbye Yet,” “Untitled Verses for Distance,” and “Tyrone.” The latter two songs also appear as instrumentals. The tracks are available on Ryan’s Bandcamp page for download.
Below is “Tyrone.” Ryan describes it as “a story song describing the power of music.” You may find the rhythmic sound of the piano seeping into your soul as the lyrics and Ryan’s voice take you to another place.
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