Ryley Walker signs to AD 93 and returns with first song in five years
Ryley Walker has signed to AD 93 and released "Carrier", his first new music in five years.
The deal and the single were confirmed on 29 September. "Carrier" is Walker's first release since his 2021 album Course in Fable, according to Pitchfork.
That is a long time between records under his own name. Five years. One new song ends the wait.
In practice, a signing like this means future Walker releases will come through AD 93, the record label that handles manufacturing, distribution and promotion. For now, the announcement is built around a single, a one-song release that introduces a new chapter rather than a full album. No album has been announced.
The single arrives with a video. It was directed by Kendra Calhoun.
Videos of this kind are often the first visual statement around a new song. Here, the credit goes to Calhoun, whose work accompanies the release.
Walker characterised "Carrier" in press materials as a "clock-out jam". He said he worked on the track after long shifts at his service industry job in New York.
The phrase is his own. It points to music made at the end of the working day, when paid work stops and something personal begins.
New York is where the song took shape. The service industry job is the day job around which the writing and playing had to fit. That detail matters because it explains the timing and the mood Walker describes, rather than a conventional studio schedule.
Since Course in Fable, Walker has kept working as a player with other artists. He has played guitar for james K and Joanne Robertson.
That role is straightforward. He joined their live or recorded setups on guitar, supporting their songs rather than leading with his own material.
He has also collaborated with Charles Rumback, Steve Gunn, Chris Corsano and David Grubb. Those are joint projects, the kind where musicians write, record or perform together and share credit.
For listeners, this means the pause was not a stop. Walker stayed on stage and in the studio while his own releases paused. Now the balance has shifted back.
A new label. A new song. A return to releasing music under his own name.
