Ethan Gurska released his album En Garde this year. With half a million monthly Spotify listeners and over four million streams on his album, En Garde is just beginning to make a splash. Gruska comes from a family of musicians. His grandfather is John Williams who scored Jaws, Schindler’s List and Star War to name a few. His father, Jay Gruska, is an Emmy nominated TV and film composer as well as a songwriter. Nevertheless, Gruska continues to showcase his family’s musicality through his immaculate songwriting and production.
He has beautifully co-produced many of Phoebe Bridgers songs including “Motion Sickness” and her more recent “Garden Song.” Gurska is also credited as a songwriter on both John Legend’s “God Only Knows” and Madison Cunningham’s record “Something to Believe In.” He also co-produced Adam Melchor’s popular song “I CHOOSE YOU.” Additionally, Billie Eilish gave Gruska a special shout out on the first episode of her Apple Music Radio show, ‘me and dad.’ Aside from his esteemed producing and songwriting credits, Gruska truly shows the depths of his songwriter, musician and producer on En Garde.
The first track, “Maybe I’ll Go Nowhere,” is especially fitting for today's current circumstances. If one was to pull apart the lyrics, they are radically deep and emotionally jarring, truly enabling the listener to find solace within Gruska’s words. “Remember when music sounded good without a way to sell it? I know that never really happened.” Gruska questions the integrity of music these days, reminiscing of a time when it was made as a pure act of enjoyment. The questioning truly shows at heart that Gruska is a music man truly creating for the pure joy, discovery and communal aspect of it.
Gruska has some incredible collaborations on the album including Lianne La Havas, Moses Sumney and Phoebe Bridgers. Initially, Gruska was to write a piano ballad for Moses Sumney’s record Aromanticism. However, it never got finished so Gruska resurfaced it for his album and together they wrote, “Blood in Rain.” The song is particularly emotional as Gruska offers a stellar vocal performance of depth and melodrama. On the other hand, Gruska and Lianne La Havas wrote “Haiku4U” in two days which solely features La Havas’ vocals. The song blends La Havas’ signature sound with Gruska’s stylistic melodies and beautiful piano playing to create a unique, gentle and harmonious tune.
En Garde is truly a testament to Gruska’s multiple range of abilities as a producer, songwriter, musician and artist. When asked what Gruska is currently working on, he responded with a myriad of projects. There is currently a Manchester Orchestra record in the mix in which he is co-producing. He’s writing for himself, writing for others, collaborating via online and anticipating Phoebe Bridgers’ new album in which he had a big role in. It is truly an exciting time for Gruska, one in which the world of music is truly his for the taking. We are excited to hear more from the brilliant musician soon.
Listen to En Garde on all streaming platforms!
Watch Ethan Gruska’s Official Music Video for “Enough For Now (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)” below!