Ryley Walker has announced his new album, Deafman Glance, due out May 18. Today, he’s sharing the lead single, “Telluride Speed.” Read Ryley’s statement below.
“I think more than anything the thing to take away from this record is that I appreciate what improv and jamming and that outlook on music has done for me, but I wanted rigid structure for these songs. I don’t want to expand upon them live. There’s a looseness to some of the songs I guess, but I didn’t want to rely on just hanging out on one note.
I was under a lot of stress because I was trying to make an anti-folk record and I was having trouble doing it. I wanted to make something deep-fried and more me-sounding. I didn’t want to be jammy acoustic guy anymore. I just wanted to make something weird and far-out that came from the heart finally. I was always trying to make something like this I guess, trying to catch up with my imagination. And I think I succeeded in that way — it’s got some weird instrumentation on there, and some surreal far-out words. And it’s more Chicago-y sounding. Chicago sounds like a train constantly coming towards you but never arriving. That’s the sound I hear, all the time, ringing in my ears.”
Deafman Glance is the second Ryley Walker album produced by LeRoy Bach and Walker himself. It was largely recorded at the Minbal (now JAMDEK) Studios in Chicago. Some later sessions also took place at USA Studios and in LeRoy’s kitchen. Cooper Crain (Bitchin’ Bajas, Cave) recorded and mixed the album, as well as adding his shimmering synths all over it. Ryley plays electric & acoustic guitars and was joined by long-time 6-string sparring partners, Brian J Sulpizio and Bill Mackay, who both play electric. LeRoy Bach also plays some electric guitar, whilst adding all piano and other keys. Andrew Scott Young and Matt Lux play bass – Andrew supplying some double-bass, both of them played electric. Drums / percussion are handled by Mikel Avery and Quin Kirchner. Topping off this list of notorious Chi-Town players is Nate Lepine, who added a lot of flute and a little saxophone too.
Walker will embark on a North American tour this spring with a run supporting Calexico, including dates at Thalia Hall in Chicago, Lincoln Theater in Washington, DC, and Music Hall of Williamsburg and Bowery Ballroom in New York City. Walker also has a residency at Chicago’s Cafe Mustache in March, where he will be joined each week by a different selection of his local musician friends for an evening of improvisation. You can find the full itinerary below.
Deafman Glance will be available digitally, on CD and on LP, which was cut by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios in London, using his half-speed mastering method for the greatest possible audio detail and fidelity.
Deafman Glance Tracklist:
1. In Castle Dome
2. 22 Days
3. Accommodations
4. Can’t Ask Why
5. Opposite Middle
6. Telluride Speed
7. Expired
8. Rocks On Rainbow
9. Spoil With The Rest
Ryley Walker Tour Dates:
Wed. Mar. 7 – Chicago, IL @ Cafe Mustache
Tue. Mar. 13 – Chicago, IL @ Cafe Mustache
Wed. Mar. 21 – Chicago, IL @ Cafe Mustache
Thu. March 29 – Chicago, IL @ Cafe Mustache
Tue. Apr. 10 – Columbia, MO @ Cafe Berlin
Wed. Apr. 11 – Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th Street Collective
Thu. Apr. 12 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links
Fri. Apr. 13 – Marfa, TX @ Ballroom Marfa / Marfa Myths Fest
Sun. Apr. 15 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
Mon. Apr. 16 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
Tue. Apr. 17 – Los Angeles, CA @ Resident
Thu. Apr. 19 – El Paso, TX @ Tricky Falls *
Sat. Apr. 21 – Tulsa, OK @ The Vanguard *
Sun. Apr. 22 – St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill *
Mon. Apr. 23 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Line Music Café *
Wed. Apr. 25 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *
Thu. Apr. 26 – Cincinnati, OH @ The Woodward Theater *
Fri. Apr. 27 – Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theater *
Sat. Apr. 28 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg *
Sun. Apr. 29 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
Mon. Apr. 30 – Woodstock, NY @ Colony
Tue. May 1 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair *
Wed. May 2 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live *
Thu. May 3 – Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theater *
Fri. May 4 – Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight
Sat. May 5 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings
Sun. May 6 – Savannah, GA @ El-Rocko Lounge
Mon. May 7 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West *
Mon. May 8 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge *
* w/Calexico