Myopic, ‘Jura’ – Free MP3 Download

Long drawn to the mix of organic and electronic sounds -- a hallmark of acts ranging from Kraftwerk to Tortoise -- Jeff Ryan makes lush, sweeping, emotionally resonant music under the name myopic. On 'Jura,' today's free MP3, the Dallas-based musician offers a stirring preview of his new album 'we were here,' due out Feb. 26.

While myopic is a forum for some of Ryan's more experimental leanings, the drummer and multi-instrumentalist got his start in more traditional settings. After touring the United States and Europe with the band Pleasant Grove, he began taking assignments from a couple of friends -- Grammy-nominated engineer John Congleton and Grammy-winning engineer Stuart Sikes -- and recording with the likes of St. Vincent and the War on Drugs.

That led him to looping and sampling, and while he's clearly got a thing for technology, he infuses his music with plenty of heart and soul. Case in point: 'Jura.'

“My wife is from Scotland, and during my first visit, there was a moment when I stepped outside of myself, and for a second everything made sense," Ryan says of the track, named for a Scottish island. "Her life, my life, how we met -- everything just made sense in that moment. That’s what life is to me: moments. Some good, some really bad, but they’re all important.”