impromptu in isolation

Format: CS

Label: sound as language

Cat No: SAL021

Contains sound sources recorded by Matthew Ryals, a synth player based in Brooklyn, New York, at home from June 2020 to May 2021. A live recording sound source that is one with the synthesizer, and is more appropriate to be played with the synthesizer than with the synthesizer. Released from <sound as language> . Mastering was done by Taylor Deupree, head of <12K>.


Matthew Ryals is no doubt one of the most innovative and forward-thinking electronic musicians working today. Drawing on his experience in both the conservatory and the underground, Ryals brings both technique and spontaneity to impromptus in isolation, available June 2022 on sound as language. Elaborating on methods developed for his 2021 release Voltage Scores (Oxtail Recordings), impromptus in isolation is a bold, joyous tear through visceral free jazz, bucolic ambience, head-scratching sound design, and more.

Isolation is an all-too-familiar term these days and as a result, one that has been rapidly redefined. No longer does physical isolation require social isolation; increasingly, we are all alone with our machines, connected to each other through the cloud. On impromptus, Ryals pushes this modern condition to its cybernetic conclusion. The synth is promoted from instrument to collaborator; he's no longer playing on it, he's playing with it. You can hear the dynamism: two expert players trading volleys, testing each other's limits , sharing one-of-a-kind moments that will never be repeated.

Each track includes a “take” number in its title, reminding us that these are the choice cuts from the duo's sessions, lightning in a bottle, the closest thing an at-home listener can get to the thrill of the gig. In fact, live performance is an integral part of Ryals' process, not just in theory but in practice, so the ideas on impromptus were workshopped in live performance, adding another layer to the conceptual onion: Ryals is together with the synthesizer, alone on stage, in front of an audience.

As the dust settles on the album's massive closing moments and Ryals takes a bow, we're left to ponder the fate of his collaborator after the lights go down: Did it play well tonight? Is it tired? Do synthesizers dream of electric sheep?