Ryley Walker (born July 21, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

Biography

Walker, and critics, have cited the band

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and singer-songwriter

Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician. An accomplished acoustic guitarist, Drake signed to Island Records at the age of twenty while still a student at the University of Cambridg ...

as early influences. Walker began his career in Chicago's independent music scene after moving there in the early 2010s, releasing several cassette EPs and a vinyl EP. In 2014, he released his debut album for the Tompkins Square label, and followed it early in 2015 with '' Primrose Green'' released on Dead Oceans. Backing musicians Walker employed on ''Primrose Green'' include several noted Chicago jazz and experimental musicians such as Fred Lonberg-Holm. Also in 2015, Walker released an instrumental album, recorded in collaboration with fellow Chicago musician Bill MacKay, entitled ''Land of Plenty''. It was recorded live during a January 2015 residency at The Whistler nightclub in Chicago. The songs on the album were taken from the last two shows of the residency, on January 25 and 30. MacKay's guitar was recorded on the left channel and Walker's guitar was recorded on the right channel. Their instruments converge in the center. MacKay played 6-string guitar,

requinto The term requinto is used in both Spanish and Portuguese to mean a smaller, higher-pitched version of another instrument. Thus, there are ''requinto'' guitars, drums, and several wind instruments. Wind instruments ''Requinto'' was 19th-century ...

and glass slide, while Walker played 6 & 12-string guitars. The album's sound was described as fingerstyle ballads, psychedelic waltzes, and raga-inspired blues. The duo's second album, ''Spiderbeetlebee'', was released by Drag City in 2017. MacKay performs in Walker's live band, from 2017 or earlier through 2021 and has also played on at least one of Walker's other records. On August 19, 2016, Walker released his fourth solo album, ''Golden Sings That Have Been Sung'', which was yet another change in his evolving sound. His fifth is ''Deafman Glance'', released in May 2018. Walker released ''The Lillywhite Sessions'', an album of covers of the aforementioned Dave Matthews Band album. In 2021 Walker released ''Deep Fried Grandeur'', a live album with the

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

band Kikagaku Moyo, and ''Course in Fable'', his sixth solo album of original music, both on his own Husky Pants Records label. Walker has, as of 2021, released two albums with Chicago-based jazz drummer . The first, ''Cannots'', was released by Dead Oceans in 2016. ''Little Common Twist'' was released by Thrill Jockey in November 2019. As of 2021, Walker had gotten sober and had moved from New York City to Vermont. As of 2022, Walker had moved back to New York.

Discography

Albums

*'' All Kinds of You'' (Tompkins Square Records, 2014) *'' Primrose Green'' (

Dead Oceans Dead Oceans, Inc., is an American independent record label founded in 2006 and based in Bloomington, Indiana. History On June 30, 2006, Phil Waldorf founded Dead Oceans with Chris Swanson. Swanson suggested the name Dead Oceans, which came fro ...

, 2015) *''Land of Plenty'' (Whistler Records, 2015), with Bill MacKay *'' Golden Sings That Have Been Sung'' (Dead Oceans, 2016) *''Cannots'' (Dead Oceans, 2016), with Charles Rumback *''Spiderbeetlebee'' (Drag City, 2017), with Bill MacKay *'' Deafman Glance'' (Dead Oceans, 2018) *'' The Lillywhite Sessions'' (covers from a 2001 Dave Matthews Band album) (2018) *''Little Common Twist'' (Thrill Jockey, 2019), with Charles Rumback *'' Deep Fried Grandeur '' (Husky Pants Records, 2021) with Kikagaku Moyo *'' Course in Fable'' (Husky Pants Records, 2021)

EPs

*''The Evidence of Things Unseen'' (Plustapes, 2011) *''Of Deathly Premonitions'' (with Daniel Bachman) (Plustapes, 2011) *''West Wind'' (Tompkins Square, 2013) *''So Certain EP'' (Husky Pants Records, 2022)

References

External links

* *
Ryley Walker: October 9, 2015 Rough Trade NYC (Tompkins Square 10th Anniversary)
– live recording for free download * Ryley Walker live recordings on Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Ryley 1989 births Living people American folk guitarists American male guitarists Psychedelic folk musicians Folk jazz musicians American indie rock musicians Singer-songwriters from Illinois Musicians from Rockford, Illinois Guitarists from Chicago 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American guitarists Dead Oceans artists American male singer-songwriters