Ginosko
christopher ryman’s creativity and flair for songwriting first caught the public’s attention as lead vocalist, pianist and guitarist of the cardiff five-piece band westgate street.
rave reviews, regular full houses, airtime on british radio and television, as well as invitations to support damien rice, jj72 and lost prophets, did much to cause a stir.
in the summer of 2003 the band upped roots to play the dublin music scene. however, by spring of 2004 the band had amicably decided to call it a day.
ryman, who throughout the westgate street days would also play solo to audiences in america, uk and ireland, was left with no choice but to pursue what had always been so heavy on his heart. to play music.
"i do not know where i will be in five years time," ryman contemplated, "or what kind of stage i will be playing on. all i know is that i've just got to keep writing and playing."
knowing he needed to take a step of faith, ryman decided to assume a band name – ginosko (the ancient greek word 'to know by experience'. pronounced: ghin-oce'-ko) – and anticipate the arrival of members when the time was right. in the meanwhile, he would write, perform and record as normal.
“i believe that when the time is right this thing that has started will be a band one day. yet, in the meanwhile it is not a period of waiting, rather it’s just the path i am walking right now and in doing so, i am sewing seeds that will hopefully be reaped in a few years time and not just by me."
no sooner had ryman started to perform under the name of ginosko in late 2004, was he being invited to perform live sets across the irish airwaves. the reviews and responses were starting to come in, again.
"it's amazing the speed with which everything has moved. the encouragement has been wonderful and helped me to realise just how much i need to pursue this. i sometimes stop to wonder what will have happened a year from now. these are exciting times."
exciting times indeed. the beginning of 2005 saw ryman take to the studio to work on the eagerly anticipated ginosko debut release.
Info: www.ginoskomusic.com
