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View ProfilesPublished December 20, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.
Ryan Power first popped up in the Burlington music scene as a relatively straightforward singer-songwriter, opting for folk and breezy jazz with his 2002 self-titled debut album. He wasted little time in pushing further and further from shore, incorporating jazz, experimental, progressive rock and even shades of yacht rock in his ensuing releases — including what I consider to be one of the finest records ever recorded by a Vermont musician, 2013's effortlessly artistic Identity Picks.
Power left Vermont and his Essex recording studio, Stu Stu Studio, in 2016. He relocated to Queens, N.Y., and released They Sell Doomsday in 2017, which dipped into chamber pop and strangely danceable space funk, as on "Empty the Jewels." He released Mind the Neighbors in 2020, a subdued record that found Power and his acoustic guitar surrounded by muted horns and strings. It was an apt soundtrack for the grief and anxiety of the pandemic, which left Power stuck in his apartment, a songwriter very much feeling a looming midlife crisis.
More than three years later, Power is finally reemerging with a new record, World of Wonder. He's also set to play his first solo live performance since 2019, a homecoming of sorts at Burlington's Light Club Lamp Shop on Thursday, December 28. We video chatted about the show, his forthcoming record and trying to age gracefully as a songwriter.
"In a lot of ways, it does feel like I'm sort of in the middle of a soft relaunch," Power admitted from his NYC apartment, framed by guitars hanging from the walls. "Or maybe just a clean slate, where I'm getting my bearings. I went through some proper midlife crisis stuff, relationships ending, bad self-esteem, guilt and aging ... I had to get more introspective."
World of Wonder doesn't drop until January, but the mercurial songwriter and producer kicked off Ryan Power 2.0 with an advance single, the title track. A Technicolor blast of breezy jazz pop and tittering electronic beats, the song is a snapshot of Power looking at a flawed, traumatized world and nonetheless stopping to marvel at the universe. "I get lost in a world of wonder," he sings. "I'm convinced it is still benign."
"It's funny," Power said. "But I feel like all my records have been crisis records."
There's something a little different about his latest, however. Whereas Power relied on pain and sadness as his muses in the past, middle age is forcing him to reconsider how, what and why he feels the things he does.
"I don't feel feelings in the same way that I used to," he explained with a laugh. "There's been so much grief and loss of self-esteem in my life the last few years. I've had to work really hard on being easier on myself and accessing other emotions when I write."
Therapy and reading the work of Buddhist writer and podcaster Tara Brach helped him transition to a place of acceptance and self-forgiveness, Power said. It also helped him approach his writing process with a fresh outlook. Gone are the bare-bones production and icy austerity of Mind the Neighbors as he ushers back the synths and beats, layering songs with one sonic surprise after another. While Power strove to make his last record stay in a single lane, on World of Wonder he wanted to return to one of his calling cards as an artist: unpredictability.
"I need my songs to stimulate my neural pathways," he said. "I've been writing songs for a long time, so it's a little challenging to find new ways to surprise myself, and I'm very wary of repeating myself, so I try to find a balance where I do new things but I also don't beat myself up over it."
He laughed, as if the concept of going easy on himself was inherently ludicrous, before gesturing around himself to his home studio.
"I love writing music. It's self-therapy and meditation to me and one of the only things I do in this world that brings me happiness and peace," he said before stopping and sighing. "But that doesn't always mean I want to be on a stage and deal with ego bullshit."
Though lately he has collaborated with bands such as Fievel Is Glauque and Turbo World, Power hasn't released music or toured under his own name in years. The pandemic certainly played a big part in that, but it also reflects the nature of an artist who has very little interest in the business side of music. He much prefers to stay ensconced in a recording studio, creating his brand of sonic alchemy.
"I always struggle with the whole self-promotion thing," said Power, who spent some time shopping the record to various labels before signing with Feeding Tube Records, a process he says he's in no hurry to repeat. "In the end, I just want to be creating music, not worried about how I'll make a living or what label fits my music best or where I can tour."
Though he admits to having some nerves, Power is largely excited to head back to Burlington this month to play live. It was originally intended as a simple visit to see old friends, but those friends quickly asked why he wasn't playing a show.
"I thought to myself, Uh, I don't really know why not. Guess I will!" Power recounted. "I have such warm feelings about being in Burlington."
And sharing a bill with his old friend and former NNA Tapes labelmate Wren Kitz and Burlington psych rockers the Dead Shakers is an added bonus. Power mixed Kitz's forthcoming album, which he said sounds "beautiful."
Burlington is a hot spot of creative, original musicians who go their own way, but there are few songwriters out there like Power. World of Wonder lands on January 19. Check out feedingtuberecords.com for more information.
Tags: Music News + Views, Ryan Power, World of Wonder, Video
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