Singled Out: Are We Hunting's Strawberry Beach

Keavin Wiggins | 04-26-2023

Single art

Are We Hunting, the moniker of Northern California based songwriter, Ryan Ayala, just released a new single called "Strawberry Beach", and to celebrate we asked Ryan to tell us about the song. Here is the story:

I wrote Strawberry Beach in Italy. In this coastal town called Framura. My wife and I would hang out at this little beach that was below the train station. A picture she took of the beach is the cover art for the song. There was a bar at the bottom of the stairs that separated the ocean from the train tracks. We would buy beer and rolled cigarettes at the bar. My wife would take pictures and then go swimming. I would mainly hangout in the shade, look for the train, write, and drink beer. There were these kids jumping off rocks into the water. They looked so peaceful. They had no sense of anyone around them or that life may not always be like this. And I was trying to remember when the last time I felt that way was. It made me think of going to the beach in Santa Barbara when I would visit my dad when I was little. The song is both about the present and the past.

I was confident in the lyrics and the melody, but I wanted it to be prettier and bigger than I could do alone or with the guys I usually play with. So, I asked my friend Lindsey, a song writer who goes by Dead Nettle, if she would sing the chorus and "la las" with us. And then I asked my friend Sienna Peck, who is an amazing violinist, if she would play on it. They both recorded their parts in an hour. Andrew, the upright bass player, recorded his bassline and vocals in an hour too. The drums and the different guitars I played, my vocals, only took a few hours. I like how it turned out, and I've spent much more time making uglier things in the past.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about Are We Hunting here