Fair Visions

Interview by Drew Reynolds. Solo photos of Ryan Work by Drew Reynolds. Photo of band by Rita Iovine. EP Artwork by Erin Axtell.

The Brooklyn-based post-punk trio Fair Visions is set to release their debut EP, A Way Out, this Friday, August 14. The trio is led by songwriter Ryan Work, who’s discovery of New York’s perpetual four-on-the-floor rhythms aligned with a period of soul-searching in the years that followed his move to the city. Though the lyrics on A Way Out pose questions that may keep one up at night they also evoke the heady dance lineage of New York New Wave. This EP however stretches far beyond the boundaries of the city. Ryan collaborated with producer Abe Seiferth (LCD Soundsystem, Car Seat Headrest, Susanne Sundfor) and mastering engineer by Joe Lambert (Animal Collective, The National, Sharon Van Etten) for the six-track EP.

Responses by Ryan Work

Your debut EP is coming out soon. How was the process recording it and how do you plan to celebrate its release?

Thanks for taking the time to check in, it’s been exciting for us to have interest from you all. The process of recording A Way Out was great. It was both our first studio recordings and first experience in a producer/engineer relationship. There was a lot of uncertainty with our aim in what Fair Visions may sound like as well as a lot of creative freedom. Having a producer really helped to ease the process in a confident manner. Putting these songs together in the studio was a more subtractive experience than I’d expected, as there was quite a lot in the initial demos that we stripped away to make the songs a bit clearer. That, as well as simply observing the process, really informed me on how to create definite ideas in an efficient way.

I wrote these songs between February and October of 2018, it took quite some time to find a way to attempt to put them together in a focused and “professional” way. A lot of musical soul searching was needed after moving to NYC and it led to this coming together. We technically started recording what you hear in the final versions in August 2019. There’s still some audio from the original demos in the final versions. It’s hard to explain the relief that accompanied receiving final mixes and masters. Just knowing it was finally done and that it was okay to move on. 

I think we’ll celebrate in some way, maybe a live stream, maybe something more simple – some metaphorical raising a socially distant glass to the uncertainty of being a new band in this reality we find ourselves in.

What are some of your fav artists / bands coming out of Brooklyn right now?

Some bands I love and am lucky enough to call my friends are Kid le Chat and Nation of Language. It’s hard to narrow down who I’d include in an interview like this, but those are two bands I really believe in and hope they get and continue to get the recognition they deserve. Here’s a link to a playlist of some of my favs in the scene of the past few years.

What’s the first venue & artist you want to see when it’s safe to do so?

Oh boy, that’s hard to say – I guess if I had it my way I’d see Bob Dylan at Citi Field or something crazy like that. If I’m being a bit more realistic I would love to see Glove play at The Sultan Room or some equivalent independent, smaller venue. They always put on the best show – I could really use an experience like that now as I’m sure we all could. Though another thought is I would really enjoy just seeing live jazz now, seeing musicians create seamlessly in the moment is something I would love to witness again.

What’s been occupying your time the most during the pandemic?

Well, I guess it depends on what phase of the pandemic we’re talking about. I was alone from mid-March to late May, my roommate went home as did most of my friends. In March I actually got the virus, it was very mild for me and I self-quarantined – I worked on puzzles and read a lot. April I wrote some music. In May I got to stay in Princeton with a friend for a week and my work as a barista started back up. In June I was out protesting. In July there was a lot of navigating and working to implement a more socially-conscious and activist lifestyle. And just now we’ve finished up recording the next batch of songs. But those couple of months at the beginning of this, despite the slow realization that this situation was not going away, were rather productive and initially a welcome break from normal life. Also journaling a lot – would like to remember the details of what has been going on later in life.

Do you have any live dates scheduled in the future? If so, what song are you itching to play in front of a live audience?

Nope. We were set to play alongside Nation for their record release show back in March, then in April, then August. But until it’s safe we’ll just keep working to get music to people – we’ll be able to celebrate being together again in that setting again someday.

The songs I’m most excited about are the ones I’m writing now, but the most excited on A Way Out I’d have to say would be “Relenting.”