The Exclusive Premiere of “Ragdoll” by Ayla Loon
PRESENTED BY FUNNYBONE RECORDS AND CAFETERIA MEDIA.
Funnybone Records and Cafeteria Media Presents an Exclusive Premiere of “Ragdoll” by Ayla Loon
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Jordan’s thoughts while listening to Ragdoll:
Underwater, seeing light from above. Not quite at the surface, but the dark depths have not touched the soles of my feet. My soul however seems to be in limbo. Experiencing both light and dark at once. Yet somehow strangely at peace with the position I have been placed in. The feeling of letting the waves take you in any direction as you float in the oasis of stasis.
These are the feelings that welled up as I listened to Ragdoll. An ethereal sonic experience by one Ayla Loon.
The initial rhythmic tolling on an old piano brings me to a somber place; much like being alone not only at sea, but in it. The gentle guitar accompaniment adds rays of light guiding the song to Alya’s voice. But I still feel like the movements I would make in this song, in this ocean, wouldn’t leave a wake in the vastness of its void.
The higher-placed keys of the secondary piano make me look up to see the light touching the surface but I don’t want to swim up to meet them. I feel stuck under ice; in an emotional melancholy of not wanting to break through to take a breath. Rather just wait in the tides.
Perhaps I'll just let the waves take me where they will. I am nothing but a Ragdoll to their will and maybe,
even to my own.
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Ayla’s thoughts on the “Ragdoll” single:
This lead single, “Ragdoll” explores moving through a misty darkness, trying to be lifted, instead of stuck in thought/memory. I recorded guitar and piano intro, then electric keys, bass, and vocals. There's a field recording of rain from the window, which brought me into the feeling. After the song was mostly written, watching Eraserhead inspired me to finish it. I asked Daniel [mastering engineer] to play drums, and he nailed it.
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Artist Bio & Album Background:
Ayla Loon is the alias of Ayla Stabile, a multi-instrumentalist, bedroom producer, and songwriter currently based in Oregon.
They grew up in Northern Virginia, playing classical piano and later learning rock songs on guitar. Their music took shape as a teenager after moving to western Massachusetts, where they found inspiration in keyboards, electronics, found sound, and spontaneous home recording. Atmospheric instrumentals and intimate lo-fi songs culminated in numerous collections under a previous alias.
With more clarity and a sense of redefinition, they reemerged as Ayla Loon in 2022 to release Cobbler, a swirling sixteen-track album mixed after a cross-country move, showing the various worlds their music inhabits. Crosscurrent came as a surprise follow-up– their first release with Funnybone Records– and continues the thread in a more focused collection.
Their latest album, Under Ice, is a capsule of songs and instrumentals created mostly in the early months of 2023. Reflective songwriting and misty atmospheres sound like water flowing below a sheet of ice that's beginning to crack. The project finds Ayla Loon carving out space, seeking and finding stillness in a northwest winter. But the textural record also carries a sense of movement, something latent coming forth. Dream-like synths, piano, guitar, and hushed vocal tones mesh with delicate ambiance over slow grooves, or float in open space. There's a warmth melting away frozen layers of memory and absence, reaching through the murk and emerging with a semblance of balance.
“Ragdoll” is available everywhere streaming on
May 22nd. make sure to check out Ayla’s other fantastic single “Pretty” which was a dreamy precursor to the animated grooves of “Ragdoll” available to stream now!
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Both songs will be released alongside an announcement for
Under Ice,
a 12-track album releasing June 12th
on Funnybone Records.
Credits for “Ragdoll”:
"Ragdoll" by Ayla Loon
Written, Recorded & Mixed by Ayla Stabile
Drums & Mastered by Daniel Carr at Blind Moose Studios
Released by Funnybone Records on May 22, 2024
Cover artwork by Taylor Pellela
Project Management by Dylan Healy