New Release – Wedding Ring (Alt Version) by Skinny Dippers
Skinny Dippers is a Brooklyn, NY (USA) based indie project fronted by singer/songwriter Ryan Gross. Drawing from his roots growing up on the coast of Maine, his style spans a broad range of genres by blending electric guitar driven indie rock with acoustic arrangements featuring lush choral harmonies. The songwriting shares intimate moments through understated lyricism and hyper specificity allowing listeners to put themselves in the shoes of the artist as they trek deeper into the musical catalog.
On 17th February ‘Wedding Ring (Alt Version)’ will be out. This will be the first of a series of alternate versions of songs from his debut album ‘The Town & The City‘.
“For these new versions I have teamed up with artist friends to completely rewrite the music and have some fun playing with genre while staying true to the lyrics/melody of the original. On ‘Wedding Ring’ my friend Harper James of Middle Youth – who co-produced my first single ‘Panties’ – rewrote the majority of the music to feature piano and more of a pop sound.”
“I met Harper back when I was in kindergarten because his brother and I shared an affinity for dragons. Although the source material of the friendship has changed (somewhat) over the years, it continues to be great to work with someone who shares a similar musical background after 15+ years of playing together. This has definitely helped us communicate by speaking the same musical language as one another.”
“I originally wrote the song as a Skinny Dippers track, and released the single last year. Harper told me how much he loved the song and instead of doing a standard remix, I asked if he’d want to do something a little out of the box and re-write the music behind the track. The chords are mostly similar, but Harper completely changed the production and moved it from more of an indie rock/indie folk tune to more of a true pop/alternative song. He plays all the parts in this version except for my vocals and a small Juno line I threw down over the pre-chorus.”
“Prior to making this version of the song I recorded a music video all shot very DIY on an iPhone at the beach with a few friends. We combined live action footage with stop motion scenes which include Darth Vader riding off into the sunset on a motorcycle after stealing my girl.”
“So far all my songs have been based on things happening within my own life. Maybe that’s somewhat narcissistic, but I find that I’m better able to really dive deep into the subject matter when I can write about my own personal perspective. ‘Wedding Ring’ is no different and highlights the excitement of new love and the anguish of realizing it was doomed from the start.”
“I’m working on trying to write songs based on characters from books or movies moving forward, and am hoping that will help me open the floodgates of even more inspiration to not have to only rely on things happening in my own life.”
