Connor Riesen has spent the last few years treating each release as an opportunity to move somewhere new, and Beginnings, Vol. 3 continues that pattern with perhaps his most outward-looking three-track set yet.
The Orlando producer has already moved through piano music, jazz, digital production and hymn arrangements, but this third instalment in the Beginnings series adds another layer to his development. He sings on two of the three tracks (‘Sparks’ and ‘I Know It’) and, having taught himself guitar by ear specifically for the project, also brings both electric and acoustic guitar into his own arrangements.
And it’s that willingness to learn on the way gives the EP much of its character. Instead of sounding like an artist simply adding instruments for the sake of variety, he approaches the material as someone testing how far he can expand his own musical language. His background in piano, French horn and composition remains audible in the attention paid to harmony and structure, especially on its closer ‘Song of Storms’, but the addition of guitar brings a looser and more immediate edge to the release.
The vocals also add another important step. Moving from producer and composer into a more visible performer naturally changes the way the songs land, making the project feel more personal and exposed than some of his earlier work would suggest.
There is also something fitting about the Beginnings title continuing to follow him as his sound evolves. Each volume has functioned like a snapshot of where his interests are pulling him at that moment. And this third instalment feels especially true to that idea.
As a compact three-track release, Beginnings, Vol. 3 feels like another useful turning point that shows Connor Riesen becoming more comfortable not just as a producer, but as a fully involved songwriter and performer in his own right.