Berlin-based songwriter Ryan O’Reilly shares his fourth studio album Native Companion alongside the release of its introspective and poetic focus track, “Fear of Flying.” Blending Canadian, Irish, and English alt-folk influences, the album captures O’Reilly’s signature balance of realism and lyricism, finding beauty and meaning in life’s smallest details.

At its core, Native Companion is a reflection on collaboration, movement, and perspective. Written and recorded between Toronto and Berlin with longtime creative partners Tyler Kyte and Liam Blomqvist, the album unfolds as a transatlantic journey. Its first half leans into a warm, live-off-the-floor energy, while the latter embraces more expansive sonic experimentation.
“The theme is seeing the poetry in the little things around you,” O’Reilly explains. “I’m very lucky to have so many talented collaborators around the world. It’s the first record I’ve made completely independent of label support.”

Written during a winter retreat at Kyte’s cabin, “Fear of Flying” began as a conversation about anxiety and the creeping weight of dread. From there, the song took shape as a vivid narrative: a delayed flight out of Los Angeles, turbulence mid-air, and the deeper emotional undercurrents that surface when control slips away.

The track’s journey mirrors the album’s global spirit. Initially recorded live at Dwayne’s World studio in Toronto with Ian Docherty (July Talk) engineering, the song was later completed in Berlin by Swedish producer Liam Blomqvist, with Czech artist-songwriter Anna Vaverková adding piano and vocal textures that bring the track to a stirring close. Even the elements found their way in; rain from a Toronto storm can be heard in the recording, captured through an open studio window.