Ryan Shane Owen invites you into the big striped tent by the river to enjoy his new single and video Summer Night Dream — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Drawing inspiration from Shakespeare’s classic play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the B.C. artist ushers audiences away on an atmospheric journey through the sonic colours, visuals, and sounds of a moonlit forest — and raises the dance-music bar in the process.
“I used to attend outdoor raves in Vancouver called ‘full moon parties — smaller gatherings in a clearing among the trees and mountains, with people dancing until dawn,” he recalls. “I’ve always loved dance music, but was always frustrated by the banality of much of the dance music out there. I wanted to create dance music with good melodies, lyrics, and instrumentation.”
A prolific singer-songwriter, Owen released his debut album Rhapsody For The Disco in 2020 — quickly followed by the12-track Symphony For The Stereo and this single. His style can be described as a mix of deep house, disco, synth wave, and glam rock, all cleverly fused into a clever, yet classic twist on electronic pop.
Summer Night Dream was crafted during the recent heat wave that “dried out the usually lush rainforest” before this summer’s deadly wildfires. The opening line mentions the haze seen around the forest and area of Owen’s home — “smoky skies saunter through the valley.” While Owen completed Summer Night Dream before preparing to evacuate, he admits to having a “sense of urgency and melancholy at the thought that this could all be gone.”
Watch Summer Night Dream above, hear more from Ryan Shane Owen below, and dance over to his website, Twitter, Facebook and Instragram.
