Rival Consoles unveils Sudden Awareness of Now today, the third single taken from his forthcoming six-track album Articulation, out on July 31.

"This is a song I created late at night, I wanted to make something full of momentum and mood.

The bird song that appears at the beginning of the piece was actually a very late idea in the creating process. My studio is surrounded by a lot of trees and there is always bird song, which I love but normally don’t consider wanting to use in my music. However one day when I was working on the piece, I kept noticing that the birds, were singing perfectly in tune with the song, so much so that it sounded like one of the little melodies that appears at the end of the song. I quickly recorded it on my phone and it just felt right in the music. I think it grounds the song and also plays with the idea that at the beginning of the piece is bird song, and at the end of the piece is a kind of electronic bird song.

The end is something I have been longing to make for a long time, which is the closest I have gotten to synths coming in and out of picture like choreography, the synths are having a conversation, and it’s very fluid. The mood of the piece to me, is a kind of bittersweet blend of hope and nostalgia." — Ryan Lee West

Articulation, which follows 2018’s Persona, was conceived with a very visual way of thinking, unusual for the London musician and producer. During the writing process Ryan drew structures, shapes and patterns by hand to try and find new ways of thinking about music, giving himself a way to problem-solve away from the computer. The album title references a piece by the avant-garde contemporary composer Györgi Ligeti, though not for its music, but for the non-traditional graphic score that accompanied it.

Since the release of 2018's Persona, Ryan contributed an exclusive track Them Is Us to Adult Swim’s coveted Singles series and shared the beautifully textured solo piano piece Winter’s Lament on this year’s Piano Day. He has also been in high demand as a composer, scoring Charlie Brooker’s much talked about Black Mirror episode Striking Vipers, composing original music for Secret Cinema presents Stranger Things as well as renowned choreographer Alexander’s Whitley’s groundbreaking new work Overflow, which was set to premiere at London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre this spring.

· listen to Sudden Awareness of Now
· pre-order Articulation on LP · DL