Song Premiere: Carly Ritter, “Storms on the Ocean”

Carly Ritter would not be amiss were they ever to release a Mad Men soundtrack with her music on it. The singer-songwriter quite explicitly pursued a late ’60s sound on her self-titled debut record, out August 27, working with husband-wife production team Joachin Cooder and Juliette Commagere as well as Robert Francis and living-legend Ry Cooder. “[They] have such a feel for mid-60s and 70s music,” says Ritter, “They all know that music so well and how to bring that feel to my songs.” Having grown up surrounded by music, Ritter was particularly influenced by the traditional folk and spirituals she encountered during her studies at St. Andrew’s in Scotland, citing specifically the strong – “heartbreaking, haunting and beautiful” – imagery.

She wears the influence well, having crafted her own heartbreaking, haunting and beautiful ballad in the form of “Storms on the Ocean.” Says Ritter, “One day, a rare rainy day in California, I was watching sailboats drifting on the ocean from my window, while listening to Hank Williams’ “Ramblin’ Man.”  I was in a gloomy mood and suddenly that story came to me and the song just poured out.”