Portland-based cinematic pop duo Ringdown, featuring creator-musicians Danni Lee Parpan and Pulitzer and Grammy winner Caroline Shaw, releases its second single via Nonesuch Records, “Ghost,” today. You can hear it here. A physical release compiling Ringdown songs will be released at a later date to be announced.

“‘Ghost’ explores the weariness and anxiety of being a fully feeling human who is forced to live in our modern world and its tech-saturated chaos,” explain Shaw and Parpan. “This is especially isolating in the world of internet dating, where the spotty texting tempo and normalized behavior of ‘ghosting’ someone can feel crushing. We used the clunky pedal sounds from a vintage piano as a heartbeat throughout the song. To us, this represents the yearning for connection beyond technology.”

“Ghost” follows the pair’s first single on Nonesuch Records, the dancefloor-friendly “Two-Step,” released in March. Ringdown also co-wrote and performed on the song “Slow Motion” from Shaw’s new album with Sō Percussion, Rectangles and Circumstance. Ringdown recently performed both songs in the WNYC Soundcheck studio; watch the full Ringdown set here and their performance with Sō Percussion here.

After a busy spring performing at SXSW in Austin, TX, Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN, the Thuringia Bach Festival in Erfurt, Germany, and Public Records, Carnegie Hall, and ChamberQUEER’s Constellation in New York City, Ringdown will perform a free concert at NYC’s Lincoln Center on July 12, as part of Nadia Sirota’s Living Music Underground series. Learn more here.

Ringdown’s intricate pop music floats up from the dusty record bin between Brahms and Brandi Carlile, reflecting the joy the duo delight in as they explore the spaces between genres and their various musical pursuits; Shaw has won a Pulitzer Prize and several Grammy Awards for her boundary-breaking compositions and contributed music to films including Beyoncé’s Homecoming, Parpan writes emotionally stirring lyrics and relishes in challenging how instruments are “supposed” to be played. Ringdown is their avenue for finding new ways to write, sing, or play, creating a new musical world they can only access with each other, with additional inspiration coming from artists including Sylvan Esso, Glasser, Robyn, James Blake, boygenius, The Blow, and more. The duo, who are partners on and off the stage, first began performing at intimate shows in 2022, quietly releasing their songs periodically.