Ryan Hicks digs deep on latest album
With Pulsing Colours, Hicks finds meaning in the darkness, writes Jeff DeDekker
When it comes to recording albums, it’s all about the concept for Ryan Hicks.
On Prairie Ocean, his first fulllength album, Hicks wrote about growing up in Saskatchewan and California. His followup, Pulsing Colours, focuses on serious issues such as mental health and suicide.
Concept albums are rare in the industry where the norm is albums featuring a mix of material and subject matter with the focus on finding hit singles. That’s not the way it works for Hicks.
“That’s just how I write. I don’t write thinking, ‘This will sound good in a club.’ My music is an extension of storytelling,” said Hicks. He had about 34 songs ready and the concept came from there.
“Prairie Ocean was retro and warm and sunny. This has a more serious, grittier sound, a hardhitting sound musically.”
Pulsing Colours is a tribute to his stepmother, who took her own life in December 2014. The loss prompted Hicks to take a journey of self-discovery in an effort to find his place in the world.
The 10 tracks on the album, which Hicks also produced, are of a serious nature given the subject matter. Yet the album also provides a positive message about survival, hope and love.
“What I wanted at the end of the day was a message of hope,” said Hicks.
“Songs like Dead Branches is about finding hope and reconciliation, and not specific to residential schools because I tried to write songs that were universal. I was thinking about a certain situation or a certain thing in my life or in someone else’s life but I worked very hard to make sure these songs spoke to many people.”
On the other hand, there’s the humorous Seriously Baby, which Hicks calls an adult love song.
“It’s actually funny that there’s humour in the song but if you read the lyrics, it’s still heavy subject matter because it’s saying, ‘Without you I’d be nothing ... I’ve given you every reason to leave but you’re still here.’”
Hicks teaches full-time at St. Kateri School in Regina, is busy with his family and plays with three different bands (The Ryan Hicks Band, Squeeze of Scotch and Sundog).
“It took me three years to make the album, for a variety of reasons, but we took our time with it,” said Hicks.
“I was really happy with Prairie Ocean but if I could do things over again, I do think some things were rushed. For this album, I wanted to make sure I really took my time in the songwriting process to make sure I was happy with things before hitting the gas pedal and going into the studio.