Ten minute tea with Afternoon Tea. Spend ten minutes with Afternoon Tea. In the time it takes to boil one kettle, and let one cup of tea steep, we will have your daily art + music fix covered. Take your afternoon tea break with our Afternoon Tea curators.
Today’s tea + soundtrack + visuals curated by Ryan Wayne.
Canadian singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Wayne first came to recognition as a founding member and songwriter in the critically acclaimed, award-winning band, The Warped 45s. In early 2022, after several years away from touring and recording, Ryan suffered two strokes.
As part of the healing process, he was drawn back to the music world and began the final production and mixing of a series of self-produced songs with Grammy Award-winning producer and mixing engineer, Malcolm Burn (Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Patti Smith, Daniel Lanois). The record, Crow Amongst the Sparrows, was released in September 2023 to critical acclaim.
Ryan‘s new single, “Grand Illusions,” featuring Felicity Williams of Bahamas, is the third release from his yet-to-be-titled new album. This dreamy and psychedelic release melds winding and ethereal guitar and vocal harmonies.
Stream + share “Grand Illusions” now:
With “Grand Illusions,” Ryan seeks to convey the emotional push and pull between a couple whose story he discovered in a typewritten letter nestled between the pages of a used book of Rilke poems. “The letter, written in the 1950s, details a father and husband’s concerns about his wife leaving the family to donate her time and inheritance to the communist party in New York City,” he explains. “The song attempts to tell that story by stitching together facts and inferences from the letter.”
The One To Wait, by CCFX. A slow burner, but I’m sitting on the banks of Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park as I write this and it’s a perfect midday tune, vocals that really blow my mind with their fragility and imperfections, trippy guitar work, and a kind of vibe that sucks me in everytime, just like the view in front me.
All of the singles on my upcoming record will feature art work from a different friend. For the latest, Grand Illusions, I looked to artist Jenn Bain (@bainartwork on Instagram). Jenn immersed herself in an early demo of the track whist working away on a series of paintings, one of which is pictured here. Collaboration is and always has been one of the greatest joys in creation, whether its working with talented musicians (so many of which grace the new single, Grand Illusions) or partnering with visual artists or photographers.
The tea of choice on this Algonquin adventure has been Matcha, whisked up with some oat milk and a little bit of maple syrup, but not enough to completely cut off the dirt flavored bitter taste that I’ve grown fond of. I’ll take it hot or over ice. Bitter tea with some great music and a lakeside view…life is grand (in the summer).
Tea + Me 