Ryan Hemsworth has led a rich career, with a dedication to create what moves him. You may know him by his producer credits (Tinashe, Mitski), or his electronic material, or more specifically, by one of his instant-classic remixes. As a slight change of pace, this December, Hemsworth plans to drop a collaborative EP under a new moniker: Quarter-Life Crisis. The latest single features lyrics and vocals by Hand Habits; listen to “Comfortable” below and pre-order the release on vinyl or digital here.
Quarter-Life Crisis is a return to the beginning in many ways. Hemsworth fell in love with music while listening to indie rock acts but without a band to play with—not to mention an aversion to his own voice—he began creating music in earnest on his laptop. Now he can finally live the dream he had as a kid, developing sounds he never would have imagined had he not gained production experience in the interim.
On the eponymous debut of the new project, Hemsworth handled the instrumentation and invited other artists to write lyrics and sing, ultimately determining the intention of the track. The collaboration with Meg Duffy put both of them outside their typical comfort zones—the artist also known as Hand Habits is better known as a minimalist folk songwriter. Yet with the slight auto-tune and gentle reverb, their voice feels warmer than ever. Duffy shared their experience working with Quarter-Life Crisis in a press release:
“When I was asked to do a writing session with Ryan, I had no idea who he was or what his music sounded like or what his life may be like. … I had never done any sort of co-writing session before and was a little nervous, but since I had no investment I went in with the intention of having fun and being open to whatever spirits wanted to move. We threw autotune on as a joke and it sounded kind of cool. I started thinking about AI and cyborgs and people/souls disassociating from bodies and identity and kind of just freestyled until a mildly understandable common theme started to swim up. It was really fun!!” – Meg Duffy
Pre-order Quarter-Life Crisis EP here. Follow Ryan Hemsworth on Instagram and Twitter. Follow Hand Habits on Instagram and Twitter.
by: Zoë Elaine
