- Words Notion Staff
Joshua Ryan shares the story behind making his debut single 'Fools Gold', a reflective and deeply personal track that embodies everything he's fought for.
Music for Joshua Ryan, the Canadian recording artist, is not merely an artistic pursuit but an exercise in survival. ‘Fools Gold’, his debut single out now on YouTube, is his first official venture into the music industry after years of private dedication, self-discovery, and determination. It’s an embodiment of everything he’s suffered through and fought for.
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Joshua came of age with music as an outlet for expression. “I just picked up a guitar and sang as a way to express things,” he says. Something that began as therapy gradually evolved into an aspiration: creating music completely his own, from the first lyrics through the ultimate mix. That aspiration wasn’t easy, though. Recording sessions would leave him disappointed, the results not quite what he had envisioned in his head. He did what every honest artist should do when something is not quite right: he constructed his studio himself.
“It changed everything. I could sit and really listen to the sounds I’d created and ask myself, why doesn’t this sound how I want it to?” he says. Through experimentation for years and learning how to mix, master, and trust his own ears, he arrived at something that worked. ‘Fools Gold’ is the first of many.
“I wrote ‘Fools Gold’ a long time ago,” he says. “When I had no money and no skill. A time in my life when I was sinking more than I was swimming.” The tune is an emotional cry for liberty and to be free from constraints, and the environments that envelop us. It is not so much about escape as it is about love. “To have someone you love on your journey with you is everything. Otherwise, even freedom is in vain.”
Musically, ‘Fools Gold’ is raw, textured, and personal. As with Joshua’s process, the tune began with nothing but a guitar and emotion. Production only came once the story had completely unfolded. Each beat, harmony written not to trespass its boundary, existed for the service of the emotion. It is an unusual combination of vulnerability and lucidity, an encouraging foretaste of the artist he will be.
Joshua writes, records, performs, mixes, and masters everything himself. He is one of a sea of DIY musicians who don’t worry so much about algorithms as they do about honesty. Where he is different is in his patience. There is no pressure about keeping current with trends, just an ongoing drive to continue developing his skill set until he connects with the people who feel the same as he does.
With his debut in the bag, Joshua is already looking forward to what comes next. “I wanna keep writing music and start playing for live audiences. I’ve been in my own world for too long.”
Follow Joshua Ryan on social media to keep up with new releases and updates in his career.