From music to writing books to painting and more, the Tallaght-raised, Mayo-based artist Ryan Ennis is a real Renaissance man. Despite making music for over a decade with his project Two For Joy, Ryan was never content with the extent of knowledge he possessed, and this year saw him train his muscles in unfamiliar avenues.

“For any musician, I wouldn’t say there’s a bad way of expanding, ever,” Ryan tells Post-Burnout of his desire to grow. “Any way you can expand is always the best way. The way I, personally, myself…I wouldn’t be much on the theory side of stuff, because my head just doesn’t go there.

“So, I usually just have to do things; physically do things. With the harmonica, I’m self-taught, but, basically, how I taught myself the harmonica was whistling, but, with whistling…when I whistle, I blow and I draw.

“So, with that, I was able to get the idea of the harmonica, and then I got the keys, and that will probably be the closest I would go to theory – because that’s a very, very important thing to theory; the keys. [Laughs] – you don’t want to be in the wrong key.

“And, with harmonica, it’s a half-step, so if I have the capo on the acoustic, I would go up two for each one, so that was kind of the thing that made it easier to add more instruments. And the more instruments you play, the better, and that was, for me…because I write a lot [Laughs], so I want to record a lot.

“And one of the issues for me when I was starting out as a musician was waiting on other people to get up off their butts to make the music with me or whatever, or even do some mixing, because, especially, with the production side of it, I was not anywhere near to what I’m doing now, and, obviously, I still have a long way to go, but you can definitely hear a difference if you listen to my first self-produced album, the Ryan Ennis album, back in ‘23.

“If you listen to that one from the Rain album, there’s a huge difference in the album, definitely. And that was the target of ’24, was to record as much [as I could] and improve in that recording.”

Once finishing some self-produced tracks, Ryan took to various social media platforms (notably Reddit) to engage in feedback. He says, “I’ve got so many lovely comments from people on Reddit there, for the Bandcamp in particular, which is always amazing because I do make music for myself, but it does help when you get some nice comments, like, [Laughs] from people you don’t even know!

“One particular guy, who’s tagged as an actual producer, and he’s admiring the synth sounds. He’s like, ‘They’re really, really good, like!’, and I’m like, ‘Great!” So, I faked it! [Laughs] It ended up sounding nice, like!

“But it’s amazing when people say these nice things. One of the last ones was for the Rain album. I got loads of reactions for that one, and it’s mad because of your little, inner insecurities, I’m always expecting a But, you know? ‘It’s great, but you could fix this!’ I’m always expecting it, but it doesn’t come, so it’s always like, ‘Pheeww! Big relief!’ [Laughs]”

The Rain album Ryan speaks of was part of his Home Recordings series, which saw him write, record, produce and release an album’s worth of material each month throughout 2024. On Rain, which was released in November, Ryan was inspired by his current residence.

“The latest album was entirely inspired by Mayo,” Ryan explains. “The whole West of Ireland kind of feel. So, I’ve always kind of wanted to write that in an album, really. I’ve always wanted to have this ‘Irishness’  in an album – and I guess there always is because I’m Irish! [Laughs] – but I wanted the topic to be about this kind of thing.

“Obviously, the album is called Rain! [Laughs] About Ireland, see? So, that was kind of…the entire album of Rain is singing about Westport, even the beaches that I go to. There’s a beautiful beach, just up near Sligo, called Rosses [Point] Beach; it’s in its own little dome and no one else can find it. Dammit! They’ll find it now! [Laughs]

“There’s a lot of spots like that, and, especially, the first time I moved here, it was like a shock to the system. Even before, in between living in Tallaght and Mayo here, I lived in Maynooth, as well, and it’s a very student town, so it was quite loud. So, it was a massive difference. There’s a real drinking culture in Maynooth, and I don’t drink, so it was kind of irritating for me.

“But, when I came here, it was just the peace, you know? That peace and that quiet, and the nature. Literally, last night, the loudest thing I’ll hear is either cows or the fox screaming, you know? [Laughs] And it’s kind of a relief to the system in so many ways, and that’s what I wanted to write about with Rain. The whole album is basically an ode to Mayo, you know?”

As a Mayo resident, Ryan is really inspired by the county’s music scene. “Here, near Castlebar and stuff, the music scene has been really improving over the past few years,” he says. “There’s a place down in Bridge Street – the Bridge of Song, it’s called – and it’s, basically, this open mic. It’s quite hard to get into, though, because it’s always so backed up. I still haven’t got in!

“[…] I still haven’t gotten into it since the last time we’ve spoken! But it’s a great place to be, anyway. The music is fantastic. They had an anniversary kind of event there, a couple of weeks ago, because I think they’ve only been going for… – What? – …about five years, maybe? About four or five years ago since they’ve started it.”

In this author’s opinion, one of Two For Joy’s strongest albums, in terms of atmosphere, production and songwriting, was their October release, Solas Fair. Discussing this record, Ryan says, “One of the best things that you can be shown as an independent musician is not to rely on others and to just learn it yourself because if I can do it, anyone can.

“I was always relying on others and, for me, when I’d be looking at other musicians who could produce their own stuff, I’d be like, ‘Wow! How are they doing that?’ And, yeah, Solas Fair, that was one of the ones I was most happy with. I was really happy with that one because, if I was to make a physical copy of any, Solar Fair [would be] first.

“Solas Fair is definitely a personal favourite. Especially the songs on it, just quality-wise, I just really liked it, I really enjoyed making it. Solas Fair is an escape album, you know? Solas Fair is a concept I made up for it… – obviously, there’s probably things out there that are like this – …but, for me, it’s a made-up festival, and it’s a festival of lights and those sort of things, and the painting I did was to show what was in my head, and the painting is the cover, with the fireworks and the lanterns and everything, and then there’s the musicians and stuff.

“It’s just this festival where people are able to be themselves, and enjoy the moment, and enjoy the music, and enjoy the lights, and escape the troubles of life. That’s why most of the songs – bar the first song on the album – is not about the troubles, like.”

Artistic independence is something that Ryan takes very seriously. Discussing record labels versus self-releasing, Ryan says, “Older musicians were signed onto labels a lot easier, back then. Because there are musicians that I would have…like, Dave Ellis – I probably would’ve [mentioned him] in one of our other interviews – and he’s not well-known, like, and, if he was around today, he definitely wouldn’t’ve had vinyl.

“You know, he wouldn’t’ve had physical copies printed because it’s just not possible, now, for independent [artists], unless they work really hard and have a good following that they can make the money to pay for that, but it’s quite tricky. God knows it would be my dream to have a record of some albums, but they’re [Laughs] ridiculously priced, but understandably because I know there’s a lot of work that goes into it.

“But it’s like the labels, if they actually worked on helping the artists, but what they want are for the artists to do everything and then they’ll sign you on, rather than taking them on and working from there. [Laughs].”

This self-releasing model expands into Ryan’s other areas of creative output. In 2015, he self-published his first novella, Between Heaven and Hell. “I’m not the best writer, but it’s just something I’ve had in my head and I just wanted to get it out, and I didn’t really care if it was ‘Written correctly’ or anything like that, you know what I mean?” he says of the book.

“And it’s just the story about a kid who gets into trouble a lot, but there’s a lot more to that, and he lost his dad when he was very young, and there’s a bit of a horror streak to it, where he has an accident and a whole load of mess happens, then, after the accident, people aren’t acting the way they should be, and he’s treated horribly.”

Ryan then wrote and released his second novella, Isolation, during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a book that’s both textually and metatextually inspired by the lockdowns, Ryan found that period to be productive for his art, and it inspired him to breach into new directions. “I think it’s very important to think what it means for someone to be locked in because it can be different,” he says.

“For me, I enjoyed it, you know? [Laughs] Mainly because I hated my job, working in Waltons. It was an alright job, I liked the people I worked with, but, it was still retail. During COVID, as well, being at home, that’s when I decided to start my portrait business.”

Ryan’s art is reflective and inquisitive, oftentimes examining childhood and how those days look from the eyes of adults. This author was a school friend of Ryan’s during his childhood and can attest to his early signs of creativity.

“For me, it feels like a completely different life, because so much has changed in my life, you know?” Ryan says of his childhood. “And it feels like I’m just remembering somebody else when I think back to then. Because, for me, sometimes – especially being a younger sibling in a large family – you’re not really yourself, yet. [Laughs]

“So, I don’t feel like I really grasped…I think I probably would’ve been close to a point, when we were hanging out, when I would’ve had more of an identity then, because we’d be messing around with comics and stuff like that, making our own things. So, it was little inklings of, maybe, bits of creativity with us, but it wasn’t until I left, even, secondary school that I came out of my shell, man.”

When asked about writing about the past while not succumbing to nostalgia, Ryan says, “It’s interesting; I tend to reminisce a lot; especially in recent years, as well, a lot of my music would be very reminiscent. I was trying to remember things right because there’s a lot of recent stuff going on with my dad, that some of my songs would’ve talked about.

“Now that I’m an adult, I’m remembering certain things and it’s like, maybe he wasn’t as nice as the kid me was telling me, [Laughs] you know? So, I have memories that are coming back, and I’m like, ‘OK, he wasn’t a nice guy,’ you know?

“So, some memories tend to change their subjective views as you age, going through life. Like, that’s why some people would end up stopping talking to a parent after they’ve had a kid themselves, because what was fine before, once they have a kid for themselves, they’re like, ‘Whoa! I would never treat my kid like that. They weren’t a good person,’ and they suddenly stop talking. So, memories are funny like that: They can kind of change as you experience life, more and more.

“And I guess, with my music, I kind of miss that kind of innocence, so I wanted to show that in the music, that I had fantastic memories with my brothers and stuff like that. Obviously, every family has issues and stuff like that, but a lot of it is almost tainted because of our dad, you know?

“And what can, usually, be very common with people is, nothing’s black and white, so someone who is a bad person can do good things, you can have good memories with them, so your mind is constantly battling these kind of memories, being like, ‘Wait a minute. I’m trying to simplify things here for ya. A bad person is a bad person and a good person is a good person,’ but it’s a lot trickier [Laughs]…a lot more complicated.

“So, that’s why I have a song like ‘Pretending to Drive,’ and I released that about twice, but it would’ve been on one of the albums from this year, and that one has more of an, ‘I miss my dad, in a sense,’ kind of thing. So, ‘Pretending to Drive’ would be a good memory of him, then a song like ‘My Father’ – that was released on One For Sorrow in January – that would not be about the good memories.”

This month, Two For Joy released their final album of the year, simply titled Home Recordings December 2024. In the new year, Ryan plans on putting his favourite tracks of the year onto a single compilation, titled Home, which is set to release on January 7th.

While Ryan mainly deals with the material and the grounded, he tells us of a concept he would love to create, inspired by his love of sci-fi and fantasy. “This is an album idea I’ve always wanted to do – and this is probably why I’m trying to get my production stuff better – and it would definitely need more instruments, so I’d definitely need a better electric, lead guitarist,” he says.

“But I’ve always wanted to do a fantasy album. Like, imagine if The Lord of the Rings was actually an album. Something like that. It’s a story with lyrics and music, kind of like War of the Worlds, that album with Phil Lynott on it.”

Two For Joy’s latest album, Home Recordings December 2024, is on all streaming platforms now. You can find Two For Joy’s music and social media accounts through their Linktree. You can also see Ryan’s visual art and commission him through his artist’s website.

Tune into POSTBURNOUT.COM Interviews… tomorrow to hear this interview in full where we go into further depth about everything discussed, as well as Ryan talking about Mayo, the difference in Dublin’s infrastructure versus the rest of the country, nighttime during childhood, potentially working as a producer for other artists, independence, and much more. Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music Podcasts.

Aaron Kavanagh

Aaron Kavanagh is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Post-Burnout. His writing can also be found in the Irish Daily Star, Buzz.ie, Totally Dublin, The GOO, Headstuff, New Noise Magazine, XS Noize, DSCVRD and more.