Night Tapes is the bedroom recording project of singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, Ryan J. Phillips. A designer by trade, Phillips’ approach to songcraft is one of both calculated precision and frenetic impulsivity. Phillips was a founding member of the band Crystal Skulls , a Seattle cult supergroup whose members later joined the ranks of Fleet Foxes , Sufjan Stevens , Richard Swift, and The Shins (respectively). Phillips, however, stayed out of music for over a decade until recently.   A student of 1970s songwriting, his songs channel the playful earnestness of Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, & Carole King, while his arrangements explore a sprawling pastiche of popular music, drawing influence from Tom Petty, Todd Rundgren, Shuggie Otis, Burt Bacharach, Steely Dan, and Smooth-Jazz legend Bob James. He leverages the pop-song format as a repository for his own guilty pleasures, and a platform for scrupulous self-evaluation.   Phillips debut full length may very well be the most self deprecating album of all time. Taking almost 10 years to complete, Losin' My Touch tells the first-person story of a perfectionist who, admittedly, is his own worst enemy. As the album progresses, he slowly comes to the realization that the perfection he seeks is a subjective and immaterial black hole of futility.

Night Tapes, Zo Lief

Night Tapes

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