In a year marked by new life and heartbreaking loss, Ripley (ARIA award nominated Joe Braithwaite of Lowrider) has released his debut EP, Bigger Than Me, with the first single 'Harper's Song', a gentle lullaby for Ripley's newborn; a bittersweet track which contrasts starkly with the gritty drive of the EP, marred by a tangible grief, dirty guitars and crackling vocals.

With a nod to old-school grunge rock reminiscent of Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, 'Worthy of the gun' is the next single off the EP which denotes a definite shift in sound. "This song was not intended to be so hard hitting but it became clear where this song wanted to go once Pip (Norman) and I started recording it," Joe said. Featuring Joshua Barber (Gotye, Brightly, Colour Bomb) on drums, mixed by Tony Espie (Owl Eyes, Pluto Jonze, Tzu) and produced by Pip Norman aka Countbounce (Tzu, Urthboy, Jarryd James), this song touches on the beauty of life and death with the message that we are not, and never should be, worthy of taking a life, even our own.

In a departure from his soul roots, Bigger Than Me pays homage to Ripley's formative years as a teenager in the 1990s where grunge was king, bringing the dirty guitar riffs and raw sound into the present and provides a raw and confronting insight into the deep spiral of grief brought by the tragic and unexpected death of Ripley's brother, while at the same time celebrating the birth of his only daughter. "These songs are about one year of my life that expanded my emotional capacity beyond anything I would have thought possible," Ripley says. "It was the greatest height and depth of anything I have ever felt before, which is now laid bare with my EP which essentially documents the emotional journey I took over the course of the past 12 months."

Ripley's defining solo project is a sight to behold. It is an achingly honest, at times beautiful and soul wrenching insight into modern life.