Immerse yourself in the cinematic folk of ‘Ptarmigan’, Anthony Ruptak’s latest single. The breathtaking scenery in the accompanying video was created by editing together short videos filmed on Ruptak’s phone while hiking the Colorado Trail. The stunning, wide-open landscapes fit well with Ruptak’s expansive, layered music, which is beautifully arranged and has a quietly epic quality. Fluttering guitar, meandering flute and delicate keys combine timelessly with Ruptak’s gentle voice and thoughtful words.
The single is from Ruptak’s brand-new album, “Tourist”, which is out now. His third full-length release, Ruptak’s first to be released on vinyl, was written during his first years as a paramedic, exposed to suffering and need on the city streets. He processed his experiences by disappearing into the wilderness with his wife and dog, hiking lonesome trails and communing with nature. Consequently, Ruptak’s songs find a balance between the natural and human, social worlds. There are weighty themes here, such as mental illness, suicide, poverty, addiction and recovery. These are issues that Ruptak has been witness to in his role, but he has also experienced love, kindness, hope and, through his travels, the innocence of animals and the beauty of our environment. These contrasts, along with the passage of time and the sheer scope of all that surrounds us, inform Ruptak’s sensitive writing.
Ruptak says of his themes and inspiration: “Something about being somewhere new. Somewhere, sometime, seeing and feeling and breathing in a new place. The intoxicating sensation of freedom and autonomy you get when you force yourself to step outside of your routines of your automated, manufactured life. It’s standing at the ocean’s edge, watching your feet get swallowed up by the cold sand before the next frothy wave uncovers them again. To be a tourist, gawking like a child at the habitats of other people, other animals, feeling excitedly estranged from your own familiar nest. To be a passerby, a traveler, a visitor, here on this heavenly body, on the inner perimeter of Earth’s 6th mass extinction. To accept the promise of inevitable death, decomposition, transfiguration, and rebirth.”
Be absorbed.
