"Oceans" EP Out Today! Atlas: Year 1 Completed!

Hello there, friends!! Today’s a big day here in the Sleeping At Last HQ!

NEW EP “OCEANS” OUT NOW!

"Oceans", the final chapter of Atlas: Year 1 is officially OUT NOW!!!

Download "Oceans” here on iTunes!!

"Oceans” not only concludes Year 1 of my ongoing Atlas project, it's also my very first all-instrumental release. 5 pieces of music inspired by our world’s 5 Oceans. I studied the characteristics of each, and had an incredible time translating each Ocean into music. If you listen close, you’ll hear recordings of whale songs, icebergs cracking, boats creaking, submarine sonars pinging, and at the very end of the final song, “Arctic," you’ll even hear the young 16-week old heartbeat of my soon-to-be-born child. (which serves as a clue to the next theme in my ongoing Atlas series of music!) Needless to say, I deeply enjoyed writing these songs and am so honored for you to hear them!!

I wrote a rather long, more detailed blog-post about how "Oceans" came to be! Read that here!

HUGE thanks to my incredibly gifted friend, Sharon Gerber, who lent me her amazing cello talents on the song “Arctic.” She is amazing! Check her music out here!

I so hope you enjoy “Oceans” and all of Atlas: Year 1 (Darkness, Light, Space 1, Space 2, Land & Oceans)! Thank you so very much for letting these songs into your world, and for allowing me the opportunity to keep doing what I love, making music. Atlas has been such a satisfying creative experience for me and I literally couldn’t be making it without you! Sincerely THANK YOU.

ATLAS: YEAR 2!

As many of you may already know, Atlas is an ongoing series of music. Though Atlas: Year 1 is now complete, I am already hard at work on Atlas: Year 2, which continues the overarching story of how our universe came to be, and how we were woven together inside it. Though I am waiting to announce all of the upcoming themes, I am excited to tell you that the first theme of Atlas: Year 2 will be “Life." I can’t wait to share more details with you soon, but in the meantime, I hope Atlas: Year 1 songs will keep you good company.

That’s it for today… can’t wait to share some more news with you very soon! Thank you so much again!

Much Love, Ryan Sleeping At Last

P.S. Here’s a list of things I love right now:

1. 2048 (yet another addicting iphone game… similar to threes!) 2. Kid President (you know and love him. if not, go! now! here!) 3. Mashed Potatoes (the best.) 4. Nashville (i'm here now, visiting and always love this city.)

"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" EP Early Release, J.J. Abrams' "Believe" & More!

Hello again! I know it’s only been a couple days since I last wrote, but I’ve got new music and more news to share with you!!

“OCEANS” EP OUT NOW TO SUBSCRIBERS!!!

I am so very proud to announce that the final installment of Atlas: Year 1, “Oceans" is now available to all Atlas subscribers! If you're not a subscriber, learn more here!! If you are already a subscriber, check your inbox!

The official release date for "Oceans" is Tues. April 22nd! (iTunes, etc)

Though this concludes Atlas: Year 1, my Atlas project will continue on with Atlas: Year 2 soon... I can't wait to share the details!!

SLEEPING AT LAST ON NBC'S "BELIEVE"!

I am beyond honored that my song "Light" can be heard on J.J. Abrams and Alfonso Cuoron's new show "Believe" this coming Sunday, April 13th on NBC! As a massive fan of both Abrams & Cuoron, I couldn't be more excited!! Hope you'll tune in this Sunday, 9/8c on NBC!

GREY’S ANATOMY TONIGHT!

Just a reminder that tonight, my newly released cover of “Private Eyes” (iTunes) can be heard on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy!

That’s it!! Short and sweet. Thanks so much for letting me invade your inbox again this week!

Much Love, Ryan (Sleeping At Last)

P.S. Here's a list of things I love right now...

1. This. (!!!)

Land - Song Notes

“Land” Release Notes: As the concept for Atlas was first coming together, I spent a great deal of time imagining what each of these Atlas EPs would sound like. I knew right away that "Land" should sound intimate, simple and as organic as possible. I knew that I wanted to limit the writing and production to only a handful of acoustic instruments and it felt important to record the majority of these songs live. As I wrote and recorded Land, I thoroughly enjoyed living in that quiet, focused and limited head-space, but I was reminded on a daily basis that restraint requires a lot patience. A ton, in fact! Eventually, these songs found their way to the surface and I'm so thankful they did, as they are some of the most intimate I’ve ever written.

Since this is a collection of songs about our home-planet, I recommend listening to them in your favorite little corner of Earth. Whether that's in your favorite room at home, or on a gorgeous beach somewhere, or in your favorite coffee shop - I hope these songs treat you well wherever you are and that you enjoy 'em as much as I enjoyed making them.

Here's a few song-by-song notes:

1. North - My wife and I recently bought our first house. In the first few days of moving in, I took a break from carrying boxes and wrote this song. It felt only fitting to write a song about our new home, as the first song I've written inside it. I asked my genius violinist friends, Emiko Bankson and Kumiko Bankson to be my guest string “quartet” and they played SO beautifully. They performed all of the strings on this song and I couldn’t be more pleased with their gorgeous contribution!

2. South -  This is a simple song about a complex thing- an exploration of the many definitions of truth. It’s also very much about being lost.

3. East - This song was inspire by Gerardus Mercator: a cartographer in the 1500’s who first assembled a book of maps and called it “Atlas.” I wrote this as a fictional story about his childhood, written from his perspective. I had this map on my screen as I wrote this song.

4. West - This song is about distance. It’s a love song about the challenges of being apart. I asked my friend, Eva Holbrook to be my guest and record a bit mandolin on this one. She did such a lovely job! Her band, “Shel” is great - be sure to check ‘em out!!

Thank you so very much for your patience as these songs took their sweet ol’ time. I hope you enjoy this collection of “Land” inspired songs. “Oceans” - my next EP (all instrumental pieces of music!) is coming soon!!

Much Love, Ryan - Sleeping At Last

Last-Minute Shopper SALE!

Season’s Greetings! (I feel like a martian invented that saying...) Can you believe there are only a few days left until Christmas?! I cannot. Craziness is what that is. In any case...

LAST-MINUTE SHOPPER SALE!

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably still scrambling to finish your holiday shopping (and will be all the way up ’til Christmas day!) Well, if you’re still looking for a gift idea for a loved one (or yourself!), I’m pleased to inform you that we are offering a Last-Minute Shopper SALE on my latest 26-song project, “Atlas”!

Get 20% OFF an “Atlas Passport", a digital subscription which includes: 26 songs (mp3's), exclusive digital art by Geoff Benzing and more!

Use the code: ELEVENTHHOUR when you check out!

Order "Atlas" Here!

Note: If you’re ordering as a gift, select the “Gift” option to receive a printable gift certificate!

Merriest of Christmases to you!!!

Much Love, Ryan Sleeping At Last