Derry electronic composer and songwriter Ryan Vail has hit plenty of highs in the last few years. His collaborative album alongside Ciaran Lavery brought his first of two NI Music Prize nominations before he returning the following year with his debut album ‘For Every Silence’. The latter was an incredible journey, exploring the story of an old family piano through an album that despite its different sounds felt like one single movement.
Since then, there has been the occasional collaboration and release but new single ‘Shadows’ surely marks the next stage in Vail’s rising career. The track sets Vail’s distinctive hushed voice against layers of slow moving electronica. ‘Shadows’ pulsates in a way typical of the Derry musician, the swells of strings punctuating the emotional and moody landscape.
‘Shadows’ is our first glimpse at what Ryan Vail has in store for us next, and it showcases a confident songwriter, in tune with his own sound.
