Ryan Stapleton shifts seamlessly from earnest scholar to vintage romantic and back again. His music shares this subtle duality, encapsulating moments of love, lust, fulfillment and longing, all translated through the meshing of analog and electronic soundscapes brought together by his soul-melting falsetto. His debut release—“Vibrate Your Body” b/w “Hawaii” & “Ricky Henderson”—is a maxi-single trilogy that aligns with the classic three-act structure of Plato’s Poetics.
“Vibrate Your Body” explores a new relationship through that first moment of physical contact, accentuated by Stapleton’s heart-thieving vocals and some Barry White-channeling sex-funk organ. But then the smooth morning-after synths and gentle pillow-talk delivery of “Hawaii” bring with them the stinging realization of unrequited love. And, finally, “Ricky Henderson” confronts the bleak days and weeks that follow—the lament over what might have been.
Stapleton prides himself on creating music that is new and exciting while embracing his intuitive pop sensibilities. He built a strong sense of rhythm by playing bass and drums as a child. His father taught him rudimentary chords on the guitar in adolescence, and he practiced every day. High school found him in a band with his best friends, partying and playing every day, but it wasn’t until he left all that behind and struck out on his own that he found his true sound, the one that comes through on the new single.
Wandering through the city streets, Stapleton embraces his mundane life as a student, all the while passing by young co-eds, the gutter punks of South Street, the out-of-work fisherman on the Delaware River and even his college friends… none of whom know they’re in the presence of a young innovator with ambitions to help create a soundtrack, not only for his city but for his generation.
Today, Ghettoblaster has the pleasure of premiering “HAWAII,” which you can enjoy below.

(Maxi-single pre-order link – http://ryanstapleton.bandcamp.com/releases.)