Inland Years is a Brooklyn based home recording project making fuzzy folk and lo fi pop. Songs drift between 60s jangle and tape worn noise, full of charm and imperfection.
The project recently released “The Bunker Sessions” which was recorded live at the legendary Bunker Studio in Brooklyn.
I caught up with Inland Years Vocalist/Guitarist Ryan Daniels to talk about his early musical experiences, how Inland Years started and their experience recording “The Bunker Sessions”.
CMM-What was the first music that really made an impact on you as a kid and what artist or band did you enjoy the most?
Ryan-So many, it’s such an impossibly hard question to answer. I tend to go in all different directions and love all sorts of styles, but when I first started buying music on my own it was a lot of surf music. Things like The Ventures or Beach Boys. Then I got really deep into Public Enemy. I still love them and the message. But I’d say in terms of impact, my musical Cambrian Explosion happened when I heard Pixies or Nirvana.
I traced both those bands’ lineages back in all different directions. The Vaselines, Ramones, Jesus and Mary Chain, Velvet Underground and just kept going.
CMM-When did you start playing music and writing songs? What eventually led to Inland Years writing and releasing records and playing shows?
Ryan-When I was little, I would make these demos with my sisters. We’d sing a bunch of songs into a boombox; some we made up and some we’d cover. I’d then mail the cassette to my grandmother in Florida. It was a fun way to stay in touch. I didn’t realize it then, but it definitely became my version of journaling.
Full on song writing came a little later when I got my first guitar. It was a strat knockoff; I got it when I was around twelve years old. It was a Martin Stinger with a Dean Markley practice amp. Before I took lessons, I was playing it left-handed (and with all the strings upside down). Still, I felt so cool. I even slept with it at night. You couldn’t get me away from that guitar.
Maybe a year or so later I got a Tascam 424 cassette recorder. Multitracking opened up all sorts of possibilities and also really taught me songwriting. By the time I was in high school I was writing for an emo band. I was listening to a lot of Cap n’ Jazz, Christie Front Drive, Ordination of Aaron and Indian Summer. Things like that. So the band reflected it. Those guys eventually went on to form the band Sinaloa and I’d go on to be one of the song writers for the screamo band Hassan I Sabbah.
What led to Inland Years was a little different though. Although it officially started during the pandemic, I’d say the mechanics for it began years earlier when I was living in South Korea.
When I moved there, I purposely chose to bring less clothes so I could fit the Tascam in my suitcase. I had that, an impossible to play Ibanez 12-string, a bunch of pedals and tons of time on my hands. That’s when I really learned how to play guitar; at least from a traditional sense. I was learning new chords, making originals, recording demos and playing live at an ex-pat bar covering Dion, the Everly Brothers, Bob Dylan and The Byrds.
Similar to sending tapes to Florida, I was sending tapes from Korea to people around the world. That was definitely the foundation. Cut to now and I’m taking all I know and trying to make it faster and more compact.
CMM-You recently did a digital release of your “Bunker Sessions” which features songs recorded at the legendary Bunker Studio in Brooklyn. What was it like getting to record there and work in such an amazing space?
Ryan-It was surreal. I’ve been in big studios before, but for Inland Years, the music has been about me at home alone. And I get 100 takes to nail the vocals without bothering anybody. At Bunker there were no second takes. The spotlight was on and we were doing it live. With that, there’s a bunch of flubs, sour notes and parts I wish I could have done better, but that’s where the beauty lives. Life isn’t perfect.
What was perfect though was the setting. I was surrounded by some insanely talented musician friends. And Jasper Leach, who wrote with Tony Molina and worked with Jack Kirby (who coincidentally also remastered the Hassan I Sabbah discography) was expertly capturing it all. It wasn’t until I saw all the video footage afterwards that I realized how big that moment really was.
CMM-If you could compose a score for any film director, who would it be and what would the film be about?
Ryan-Damn. Great question. I think if I were to do this, I’d want to write in a different style and I’d want to do it with someone like Panos Cosmatos. I loved how he used “Starless” by King Crimson in the opening scene of Mandy. What would it be about? Some sort of timeline split theory. We’re definitely on the wrong one right now.
CMM-What do you all have coming up next?
Ryan-Oh, I’m writing and recording all the time. I’m planning to do another full release in early summer. We’re also getting ready for two live shows coming up at the end of February. One of them is in Jersey City at Pet Shop on 2/26 and the other is in Brooklyn at the Cobra Club 2/28. I’m really excited and will be playing some new songs that haven’t been released yet. I’ll also have two different limited run releases for sale. Only a handful of copies available.
Come out and see us!
