Montreal's Afternoon Bike Ride delivered a meditative release of visceral audio therapy that provides some peace for modern times. Lia Kurihara (LIA), David Tanton (Rhoda/Tender Spring) and Éloi Le Blanc-Ringuette (Thomas White) pontificate a unique approach that is the result of their self-described methodology:

Intuitive freedom to create without boundaries; a form of release from what is going on in the world.

Their Skipping Stones EP for Friends of Friends assuages the edginess of anxiety with the acoustic and gentle glimmer and glisten of "Beach House", the sublime and mystic beauty of the midday sea gazing dream of "Sunday Sketch", to the title track that seamlessly blends into the chord progressions and oceanic air breeze motifs of the EP. Senses of space and the place of abode reverberate on the economic "Home", as "Couch Party" collects found field recordings and an earthy approach to a song about sharing feelings all over a spot of tea, basking in the circles and trees of life on "Interconnected" as "Rabbit Hole" is the sound of retreating to a subterranean fortress beyond the thicket and into an earthbound home of creature comforts with a gentle sense of safety and an endearing aesthetic of affection. Join us following the listen as Lia, David and Éloi share an assemblage of inspirational items:

Afternoon Bike Ride’s Week in Pop

Ambient & Instrumental Music

Eloi: The first time I heard this track it gave me goosebumps. I was on a long transit and I ended up listening to it on repeat the whole way. It takes you on such a journey of raw emotion and beauty. I’ve always loved ambient music but this past year in particular I’ve been diving deeper into it. I feel like that influence can be heard on some of the tracks on the EP like “Interconnected” or “Rabbit Hole”.

David: I’ve always listened to instrumental music foremost because of how raw the emotion comes across; without lyrics to hold the listener to a defined story or setting. Lili Aslo has long been a favourite of mine, her music has always felt like a recording taken straight from her heart, not played on the instruments she uses to create perfect soundscapes that pluck on your heartstrings. This song in particular has moved me to tears more times than I can count, through hardship and happiness both.

Veggies!

Lia: I’ve been cultivating a close relationship with veggies over the past year. I went totally plant-based during the pandemic and ate my way through a weekly community supported agriculture (CSA) basket during the 2020 harvest season. Vegetables are truly magic and farms that take pride in nourishing their soil end up nourishing the health of the community and the planet. There’s so much power to growing your own food and to supporting responsible farm operations. Vegetables have been giving me a lot of hope and keeping me feeling good. I truly believe in the concept of nourishing your body to nourish your art. I’ve got a crew of seedlings sprouting in my kitchen and am excited to transplant them for my edible balcony garden this summer!

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

Lia: This book is all about nourishing your inner creative child. It’s helped me tap into wonder and enthusiasm that had faded as I got further away from being a carefree kid. It can be a little cheesy at points but I love the exercises. I could see myself re-doing this book over and over throughout my life. It helps you see the bigger picture of your world, it cleans out your inner cobwebs. It’s also helped reframe the way I approach my music as play because it’s easy to stray from that when you make your passion into a career!

David: I was gifted The Artist’s Way by Lia to help re-center myself earlier this year and it’s brought me such joy and perspective within my own realms of creativity. Doing things as you wouldn’t normally, encouraging play instead of work and helping you look outside of your inner monologue to see more of the landscape that is your own mind. It’s been incredibly helpful so far; and I'm only about ⅓ of the way through it.

Adventure Time

Éloi: I did a complete rewatch of Adventure Time during quarantine and it really cemented it as one of my favorite shows. There’s some episodes I’ve seen countless times that I still can’t watch without my eyes getting watery. I also absolutely love the music, from the weird electronic bloops to the emotional songs it’s been a big inspiration for me.

The art of “Milosch”

David: “Milosch” is the pseudonym under which my mom paints and creates art. She has always been a creator for the sake of creation, keeping her most cherished paintings among family and friends. I was gifted one painting of hers in particular that has always held an incredibly special place in my heart. It’s of a grasshopper, sitting in profile on a bright yellow background. It’s texture and colour seem to change with each passing glance, reminding me to always look at myself and the things I create from an outside, ever-changing perspective. Here’s a photo of the painting in my living room in Montréal:

Afternoon Bike Ride’s Skipping Stones EP is available now via Friends of Friends with a debut full-length slated for arrival this fall.