Lady on the Bike, released May 9, is a mix of Shaw and Parpan’s pasts and presents, expressed in new ways. The duo was drawn to each other through mutual admiration of each other’s work; Shaw has won a Pulitzer Prize and several Grammy Awards for her boundary-breaking compositions and collaborated with celebrated artists such as Nas and Rosalía, and Parpan is a dynamic vocalist and folk-pop singer-songwriter who sings emotionally stirring lyrics and relishes in challenging how instruments are “supposed” to be played. Ringdown is a playground they can only access with each other, allowing them to create a style of pop music that explores the spaces between electronic and acoustic sounds and re-imagines traditional song structure.

Shaw explains, “I’ve thought for years about making a solo record that is in a more electro-pop vein, but didn’t have the courage. Ringdown is where I experiment with so many things I’ve wanted to try. I’ve also learned that being in a band and making your own record is much harder than playing a Mozart sonata and I will absolutely die on that hill.”