As best friends since elementary school age, Paul Dutton and Ben Grant of Ravennas have built an undeniable musical connection. This chemistry shines through on the band’s latest single “Meet In A Garden,” which we premiere today on mxdwn. The song, which was co-produced by the Seattle-based band with the assistance of DoM (also known as Dominic Cournoyer), is powered by breezy electronic atmospherics and a mellow pacing. Despite the band falling squarely into the indie pop realm, electronic influence shines throughout the song.
“Aside from Ravennas, Paul also DJs in Seattle and is really embedded in the electronic music scene here,” said Grant. “Most of the time I make it out to his sets. The inspiration for the single came from one of those late nights. I wrote the lyrics in my backyard.” The song shares some definite resemblances to other recent acts that fall into the same category of blissful alternative pop like Wild Nothing, while still coming away with a sound that is still completely fresh.
Despite the two growing up together (and playing in jazz band together), they went their separate ways for some time as Grant lived in Los Angeles and New York. “One of the main things that had become clear to me as I returned to Seattle is that I didn’t want to go through my life and regret that Paul and I had never released music together,” he said.
DoM came into the picture when the members of Ravennas saw that he was selling all of this music gear online. “The thought of him not releasing more music freaked us out,” said Dutton. Grant reached out to the successful producer to see if he was interested in collaborating on the song, which at the time was just electric guitar and synth parts with finalized lyrics. DoM was on a plane to Seattle shortly after hearing the demo the two sent him.
“If you would have asked Paul and I two years ago that we would release a song produced by one of our favorite artists, DoM, we probably would have laughed,” said Grant. “We have a lot of appreciation for DoM’s willingness to get involved. One of my takeaways from all this is that everyone should listen to their instincts and take action to make things happen. We all sort of know that but a lot of us have a hard time following through. When you do, and you’re pursuing things you really care about, you will have a much more fulfilling life.”
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