BILLINGS — In an era where songs dissolve into streaming algorithms and playlists drift in the cloud, a Montana label is doing something radically different: pressing music to tape, CD and vinyl, by hand and on purpose.
Will Ryerson, who performs as Giant Wave, is one of the artists behind that movement. To him, music is not just sound—it’s texture, chance, and discovery.
“I like to call myself a lifelong audio explorer,” Ryerson said. “I just love music. It’s the thing that I love the most to do.”
Meet the Montana artists crafting music you can actually hold—on tape, vinyl, and CD—while building a different kind of world:
His work often veers into the experimental, coaxing sonic chaos and unexpected beauty from the narrow space between noise and signal.
“The path from zero to a cool sound is very narrow,” he said. “Whereas, if you’re trying to play a guitar—I guess you could plug it into a bunch of pedals—but it's harder to find something that immediately sounds good and exciting.”
Ryerson releases his work in physical formats—something he said adds permanence in a world where most music disappears into a stream. Each version is formatted specifically for its medium.
“CD, digital, there’s a specific (recording method) for CD quality,” he said. “Then there’s one obviously for vinyl, and then for tape.”
Helping him bring those formats to life is North Pole Records, a Billings-based DIY label run by Shane de Leon. Now on his third record label, de Leon has been producing physical releases for independent artists since 2004.
“I just think that art can be a way of life,” de Leon said. “So, I think that’s why I do record labels and art galleries—because if you just surround yourself with art, your life is better. You have cool friends.”
De Leon’s commitment goes far beyond pressing records. He designs, prints, die-cuts and folds album packaging himself—sometimes with help from family. He is also an artist and former press operator who used to run silk screens and letterpress printers.
“I’m a person who wants to own the means of production,” he said. “I would design the album covers with the band or for the band. I would print those album covers. I would die cut them. Me and my family would fold those up.”
For de Leon, the DIY ethic isn’t just aesthetic—it’s political.
“Everything I’ve tried to do my entire life has been outside the system,” he said. “I don’t like the current systems for pretty much everything.”
What he and Ryerson are building aren’t just products. They're projects—intentional works crafted with care and a sense of urgency.
Built for the sake of building, their purpose is clear: a vision of a world that might not exist yet—but makes itself heard, faintly but defiantly, from a corner of Billings.
“I’m just trying to change the world,” de Leon said. “There’s all sorts of ‘-isms’ you can put it under, but I just think there’s a different way the world can be.”
