WHEAT FIRE COLLECTIONS (2009)
Bio
Without exaggeration, it's safe to say it ain't getting any easier for most artists. Atlanta songwriter Ryan Horne knows this well, but with his latest album, Wheat Fire Collections, he's proving it helps to get by with a little help from your friends.
After spending the better part of two years touring in support of his fan-favorite 2007 release, Love & War, Horne retreated to New York and discovered a new love of writing with like-minded artists, namely Nate Campany and Micah Dalton. "Co-writing is one of my favorite things to do," says Horne of the writing process. "I would come in with a melody, a chord progression or an idea, and we'd stay in Nate's apartment and run with it. If we needed to clear our heads for a bit, we'd go get some coffee in and around Brooklyn. Co-writing really broadens the spectrum of creativity. It doesn't make the song any less yours; it just opens it up to more possibilities as to where it can go and who it can impact. If anything, co-writing keeps you inspired even when you get writers block."
Determined to continue the process of opening these songs to a multitude of possibilities, Horne enlisted his friend and engineer Paul Reeves to record the album at Reeves' Domus studio in Cumming, GA with Micah Dalton handling the production chores. According to Horne, "It was exciting because I was working with good friends and we had no real time frame. With Love & War, I was in the studio for three straight weeks, and at the end of that third week, the record was done and ready to be mastered. This one was more about trying ideas and experimenting with the songs. Don't get me wrong, I love my last record and I loved working with Mitch Dane up in Nashville."
The spirit of collaboration and experimentation that defined the writing and recording process has ultimately produced Horne's strongest - and most diverse - release yet. Semi-nomadic by nature ("I don't like sitting in one place too long," he says), Horne's evolution as an artist and songwriter has coincided with the countless miles logged on his odometer and an ever-accumulating catalog of personal experiences, as well as a natural proclivity towards absorbing and internalizing the stories of others. Says Horne, "This record has a lot more ideas infused in it like the track 'Dead Man's Hand,' which is roughly based on Wild Bill Hickock, a famous gunslinger in the 1800's. I like history and biography, so I just looked up everything I could find on him and wrote a song about it."
Other songs have a more personal inspiration. "I actually witnessed a shooting in Atlanta. I was walking from Micah's house down the street to Turner Field to see the game when I heard six gunshots and turned to see a guy carrying another man, who was bleeding, all running towards me. Then this car peeled out of a driveway close by, and soon there were cops and helicopters everywhere. 'Hell To Pay' was born from that incident."
Certainly, qualities of time and space, past and future are key themes permeating Wheat Fire Collections. From "4th Of July," a WWII-era tale of separation and duty loosely based upon Horne's grandfather's life to the shame and repentance from one unfaithful lover to their devout other in "Forgive Me," Wheat Fire Collections details the accounts of those stuck between looking forward and looking backward We see the reflections of one who, like so many before and after him, experienced both the heights and depths of fame in "Let 'Em Go" and the bittersweetness in loving and leaving in "Long Island Railroad." Elsewhere, cheaters get what's coming to them, "Dead Man's Hand," while others could never get what they most wanted, "Blackbird Train."
Since pursuing music full time after graduating college in 2005, Horne performed in - and sold out - some of the most revered venues in the Southeast including the WorkPlay theatre in Birmingham and Eddie's Attic in Atlanta. Ultimately, though, Horne is all about the songs, the experiences and feelings that live within us all. "I write to bring emotions out in others," he says, "A great melody molded together with great lyrics is a magical thing, in my opinion. It's always been about the song and about writing better songs, better melodies. You move forward, you learn and you get better with every song written. I'm focusing on that."
And while it may not be getting any easier for artists these days, Wheat Fire Collections could very well be an indication that despite uncertain times ahead, Ryan Horne will keep getting by with a little help from his friends every now and then and getting better with every mile logged, year past, and song written. - By Jason Harwell
LOVE & WAR (2007)
Bio
With the release of 2007's Love & War, Ryan Horne's intuitive lyrics take listeners on a journey of self-discovery, spirituality and love-turned-loss. Produced by GRAMMY® award winner Mitch Dane (Jars of Clay, Bebo Norman), Love and War features some of Nashville's finest players, including Andrew Osenga (Caedmon's Call), Andy Hubbard (Little Big Town), Andrea Zonn (James Taylor), Matt Slocum (Sixpence None the Richer), and Kenny Hutson (Vigilantes of Love).
Ryan has performed and sold out some of the most sought after venues in the southeast including The Workplay Theatre in Birmingham, AL, Eddie's Attic in Atlanta, GA, The Bluebird Café in Nashville, TN, and 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville, TN. Ryan has shared the stage and toured with such acts as Relient K, Ingrid Michaelson, Landon Pigg, Derek Webb, Will Hoge, Griffin House, Tyler James, Eliot Morris, Micah Dalton, Jon Black, Drew Holcomb and countless others.
Ryan's introspective songwriting is reminiscent of self-proclaimed influences Ryan Adams and Martin Sexton; his earnest vocals are the perfect compliment. From the infectious, bluegrass-tinged "Grover Mill" to folk confessional "War For Me", Love & War showcases Ryan's ability to speak to the common thread running through us all. - By Jenn Ross
Ari Nisman
Degy Entertainment
Phone: (732) 818-9600
Fax: (732) 818-9611
www.degy.com
ari@degy.com
Official Site: www.ryanhorne.com
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Twitter: www.twitter.com/ryanhornemusic
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