Marking RYAL’s second song of the year, “Feathers” is a mysterious track dedicated to finding one’s freedom. The song naturally captures the scary feelings that can come about when one is approaching a more boundless version of their identity, as producer Aaron Nevezie gives the song plenty of instrumental decor, none of which comes off as frivolous.

Singing about not being able to breathe, Jacque Ryal’s emotive vocals send the listener into a space of limbo.

According to their press release, the track “has been in the works since 2018, but 2021 felt like the right time to bring it to life.”

Accompanying the song is a beautifully shot and produced video, which features New York City flamenco dancer Xianxix Barrera, appropriately captures the song’s haunting feeling.

See the full press release below.

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With their second release of the summer, New York City duo RYAL will share a new experimental pop track “Feathers,” on July 16. “Feathers” has been in the works since 2018, but 2021 felt like the right time to bring it to life.

According to RYAL, the single was originally tried as a spoken word piece on top of the track, but producer Aaron Nevezie encouraged singer Jacque Ryal to find a melody, which unraveled into the begging plea which becomes the nexus of the track. “Feathers” is all about finding personal freedom, may that be from an unhealthy relationship, friendship, or family and setting off on a mission of finding one’s chosen family.

When describing the inspiration behind “Feathers,” singer and keyboardist Jacque Ryal highlights that “At a certain point I realized freedom was the most important thing to me and my life. That is what I care about most – having the freedom to love, to do, to be, freedom to define my schedule, who I surround myself with. I hope this song gives someone the courage to find their freedom.”

In the coming months, RYAL will release a handful of singles that have pushed their creative boundaries. Reflecting on their writing process, they noted “this next round of songs we are about to release feel different.” In terms of production, Nevezie notes that, “While this song is more atmospheric than the poppier tunes, it still retains some of the basic building blocks sonically as other releases. Lyrically, themes are a continuation of ideas in earlier songs too – recontextualized and with more space for vocal experimentation.”

“We are progressing, giving less f*cks. I mean, Aaron has always given less f*cks than me… but this last year I feel like I (Jacque) am getting more comfortable in my artist skin, becoming less afraid of who I am, how I sound. I had a teacher once say “when you wake up in the morning just sing ahhhhh. Listen to it, really hear it and then just be ok with what you’ve got. I feel like I’m at the ‘I’m ok with what I got’ part.”

RYAL will share “Feathers” on Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Apple Music, YouTube, and Tidal on July 16. Connect with them on ryal.tv and follow along on Instagram. Pre-save here. The video for “Feathers” will be released shortly after the single and features New York City flamenco dancer Xianxix Barrera. The video is also a collaboration with long time creative partner, Duende Vision Productions.