What would you like to know? I cut my teeth on the margins of the New York punk scene for nearly a decade before re-emerging in San Francisco as, well, a mild-mannered aspiring attorney. Much to the chagrin of my landlord and neighbors, I took to transforming my tiny flat into a makeshift Franken-studio of sorts. Over the next 9 months, I recorded 'Album Savant'- a collection of baroque, avant-pop psychedelia teeming with mountain dulcimer, organs, cellos, dollar-store toys, tampuras, steel radiators, and more reverb than you can shake a stick at. The album's out and ready to be devoured, so enjoy. end bio.
ALBUM SAVANT IS AVAILABLE NOW on iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody, and Amazon.com MP3.
You can also get it on CD from the fine folks at my record label, Series Two Records, by clicking here
PRAISE FOR 'ALBUM SAVANT'
"Crafting and building songs in his San Francisco apartment for the last nine months, Ryan has compiled an engaging and personal record, “Album Savant.” The instrumentation is adventurous, the lush cello arrangements of George Chavez provide a bed for the Casio keyboards, dollar store toys, and found instruments to accompany the more conventional instruments: guitar, vocals, and drum machines. At the core of the songs you’ll find Ryan’s voice, sweet and endearing it acts as a gentle guide from beginning to end. “Album Savant” is, at its most basic level, a solid avant-pop record. The melodies are catchy, the songs are quirky, and the arrangements are creative. But at times there is much more to this album. Songs such as “Sometimes She Said” and “Victory” transcend their humble bedroom roots, making the details of the “found” instrumentation and Casio keyboards less important and letting the songs exist on their own as really great pop music." -- The Deli Magazine SF
"Amazing album with a near perfect production - great music, that I'd like to term Baroque-psych. There's lots of things and sounds to find in the mix, every time you listen to "Album Savant" you will discover something new, so repeated listening is strongly recommended - and a real pleasure. The arrangements are adventurous and exceptional, and Ryan's gentle and distinctive singing style is tasteful and concise." -- Homemade Lo-Fi Psych (Germany)
"Album Savant is a successfully airy and listenable record...that level of dedication to an eclectic sound can come off sounding a bit messy, but Kittleman keeps the arrangements neat throughout. The vocals are soft and sleepy, making the songs sound almost vintage. It is the type of album you want to listen to during a candlelit dinner." -- the SFcritic
"At a certain moment of the day, sometime between morning melancholy and evening euphoria, they must have emerged: the pieces of Album Savant. Someone brought a cello, another a Casio, and Ryan Kittleman brought the ideas and voice which fused in his San Francisco apartment into a whole. But always a fragment remains." -- itstoolong (translated from german)
"A terrific new album. I love it!" -- Humans Beware (Australia)
"Nine months is most commonly known as the time it takes for a new baby to develop and come kicking and screaming into the world. However nine months is also how long it took Ryan Kittleman aka The Three Potato 4 to create the psychedelic sound on his first full-length offering, Album Savant-if child birth was this pretty and serene, Dead Sound might be tempted to try it….
Ryan is a San Francisco based musician and songwriter. He is possibly also the man you could call in an legal emergency, moonlighting as an aspiring lawyer; and if he can’t get you off, he can at least serenade you through the cell wall!
On Album Savant he combines the use of traditional instruments such as guitar and drum machines with the experimental sounds of casio keyboards and cheap store toys, all surprisingly well complemented by Ryan’s sweet and sleepy vocals.
This is an album to listen to when lying in the sunshine or if you’re from a place where sunshine is a rarity then use it as the soundtrack when trying to romance your loved, or at least attracted, to one. Over all, it’s music which allows you to ‘leave all your cares behind’, as quoted by Ryan on the track, It’ll be Morning." -- Dead Sound (UK)
Series Two Records released a new 9 CD compilation album. CLICK HERE FOR Full Track list and Purchasing information for the January 2009 compilations by Series Two Records The compilation 9 CD set features 204 artists and 700 minutes of music. The Compilations feature artists from all over the world including bands from (13) states of the USA, Canada, Australia, Spain, United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, France,Italy, Japan, Germany, New Zealand, Ireland, Croatia, Indonesia, Singapore, Poland, Philippines, Brazil, Belgium, Switzerland, and Israel.
'sometimes she said' reminds me of some kind of hal hartley soundtrack played underwater in space before the water vapourises due to the lack of oxgen (which it would in space because there is none, etc. ) I like it! thanks for knocking on my myspace door, YZ
hey there, wow! I really like your sounds! really nice stuff.. I've been heading a little in that atmospheric psychedelic direction myself recently (putting everything through spring reverb etc), but those recordings haven't really got out anywhere yet.. that gig in san francisco with the hepburns and bart davenport, right? I can't remember if my set went well or not, I just remember the guy introduced me as being from tanzania, that was funny.. anyway, i talk to chris from series two online a lot, he's cool eh. A
PRAISE FOR 'ALBUM SAVANT'
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