Discussing the track the band's Riley McCluskey stated, "'Ripcord' started with the riff and tuning (Drop C!), which we initially imagined being played on a big, reverbed out hollow body and turned into a Grizzly Bear-style song; but it evolved into very much its own animal. We sent an early version to my dad, who responded with an alien emoji and the phrase 'beam me up' - this inspired me to refine the lyrics to be a true sci-fi odyssey. It's the story of an alien who has been sent on a reconnaissance mission to Earth and has discovered that he absolutely hates humans and is begging his bosses to send him home - he just wants to pull the ripcord and get the hell out of dodge.
This song was a ton of fun because I got to be snarky about the foibles of humanity while also acknowledging its sweetness - 'identical faces telling you why you matter'. For us, this song really rips because of the music itself. Aaron's locked in guitar and bass riffs are precise and propulsive and are supported by extremely tight drumming from Eric Downs. The bridge started as a chord progression that I learned from a Youtube video about tasteful jazz turnarounds. We initially plunked down a few notes over it and said 'this will be a free jazz solo' - a few months later, Aaron's old friend and virtuosic jazz pianist Isamu McGregor laid down a solo that exceeded our wildest expectations."
"Ripcord" follows Conditioner's February single, "Leonora" - an ode to the surrealist painter, Leonora Carrington, who, born in England moved to Mexico City after World War II, had a long affair with fellow artist Max Ernst and an incredible, yet under acclaimed career. What on first listen sounds like a love song is actually a rumination on a great but forgotten woman artist, whose own work heavily influenced McCluskey and Aaron Kirkbride, as they created a thoroughly modern catalog of songs about homesick aliens, how cults create a sense of mind control that feels like love, jazz guitarist George Benson, and of course, Steely Dan.
After a string of successful singles, McCluskey and Kirkbride pivoted their focus on building their own recording studio, and delving deep into the world of production and engineering. Given the freedom and the time, the duo explored and melded various musical elements from bossa nova rhythms and the jazz guitar, to the part matching prowess of Dirty Projectors and the disco productions of Nile Rodgers. No rabbit hole went unexplored fashioning the album.
"We love so much different stuff," offers Kirkbride. "If you're not nerdy about music and listen to us, you'll hear bright indie rock. For music geeks, there are so many easter eggs and little funny references that create the animating spirit that makes it very fun to make."
With that, the guys looked outside the confines of their LA studio to the world in lockdown, adding remote contributions from Snarky Puppy drummer Keita Ogawa, session drummer Downs, and Irish drummer Richie Dittrich - who they tracked down on Instagram. Quartet 405 contributed string arrangements, Ted Taforo added saxophone and flutes, and jazz pianist McGregor on "Ripcord."
With Conditioner McCluskey and Kirkbride truly encapsulate our past year's experience, with enough joy and radiance to lead us back outside into the wide world with one another.
