Since forming in 2005, the Colorado-based project led by Ryan Koepke has developed a distinctive world of expansive guitars, cavernous echoes, psychedelic textures and darker tones, moving freely between shoegaze, darkwave, post-punk and something harder to define. Two decades later, that spirit of exploration remains at the centre of the music. With 20, A Shoreline Dream looks at what those years have demanded as much as what they have produced. The album touches on sacrifice, uncertainty, missed possibilities and the choices that come with dedicating a life to music, while refusing to become a simple retrospective. Instead, it reconnects with the organic quality of the band’s early work while pushing its sound towards new territory.

Por Sandra Pinto

The band’s extraordinary creative momentum has also continued throughout 2026, with singles arriving almost monthly and Waiting becoming its second full-length release of the year. Along the way, collaborations with artists such as Ride’s Mark Gardener, Ulrich Schnauss and members of Engineers and Chapterhouse have further strengthened A Shoreline Dream’s connection to the history and evolution of the shoegaze and alternative scenes. In this conversation with LOOK mag, Ryan Koepke reflects on two decades of A Shoreline Dream, the personal cost of choosing music over conventional milestones, the creative freedom that comes with refusing to overthink, the importance of human collaboration in an increasingly digital world, and why, after 20 years, the band still sees itself as a group of explorers rather than one looking back.

A Shoreline Dream was formed in 2005, and “20” arrives as you approach two decades since Avoiding the Consequences. When you look back at the band’s beginnings, what do you feel has changed the most — and what remains exactly the same?
I think the vibe has always felt the same in the fact that it’s based on the dream. The expansive sound. The echoing chambers. Even though the members swapped out a few times, it always retained that sound. The dynamics from the early era is a bit different of course as it’s not all written in a jam session like it used to be, yet it is still a jam session on record like it’s always been.

“20” is not a conventional anniversary celebration. It confronts time, sacrifice, uncertainty and the choices that come with building a life around music. Was it difficult to turn those very personal feelings into a song?
It’s been easier and easier to just let it out through music. To not hold back the words and emotions. The expansive audible visions set to emotional tones. With the reflection of how many hours I’ve sat and fine tuned each of the now 126 songs is mind numbing to come to terms with because I do feel like I sacrificed a lot of things. Family things. Relationships. Working on music takes a lot of your life away. And though I do in fact love doing it, I still wonder what the other side would have been like.

Ryan, you described “20” as bringing together many of your favourite sounds from A Shoreline Dream’s history, while also paying homage to your original vibe. What elements of the band’s early identity did you most want to bring back?
The organic quality of the first album is unmatched. We had no real intentions to what those songs were going to be. We were discovering. Retaining that discovery mode is a challenge, but one I strive for by either using new instruments or techniques to composing. I loved that we weren’t trying to sound like anything and that is overall the goal. To try and make something new every single time, but still give it that ASD magic sprinkle of cavernous basement sound.

Over the years, A Shoreline Dream have moved between shoegaze, psychedelia, post-punk, darkwave and expansive guitar-driven soundscapes. How has your relationship with genre changed over the past 20 years?
Genre is tough cause though the name changes to how to describe it, I feel it just comes down to artistic soundscapes of goth tones. Dead Can Dance is one of my faves and I feel we are very much the same in the overall approach. We lean towards “goth”, but we don’t really know what to actually call it. It’s sorta shoegaze, it’s sorta darkwave, and hopefully it’s just “good music” to those who hear it.

The band has released close to 120 tracks and continues to create at a remarkable pace. What keeps the creative drive alive after so many years, and do you still experience the same excitement when starting a new song?
I start feeling out of place when I’m not working on a song. I think more than any other factor, that is the main motivator. To let these ideas out audibly and not overthink them. Don’t over produce them. Don’t change them. I just love producing musical arrangements, and each new track is a whole new blank canvas to try new things out on. That is the drive!

“Legacy” and “20” both reflect on the sacrifices behind the band’s journey, including the conventional life milestones that may have been left behind. Do you ever wonder what your lives would have looked like if music had not demanded so much of you?
All the time. I didn’t choose a constant career or a family goal. I chose to make the best song at the time, each and every time. To not do that is confusing and I don’t know what that other method of just going with the everyday family flow would have been like. Erik has a way better idea as he actually has a famil and children who grew up while making these albums. I’m the outcast to social norms, and I embrace it more than worry.

2026 has been an especially prolific year, with the band releasing singles every month and Waiting becoming your second full-length album of the year. Where does this renewed creative momentum come from?
After our previous bassist Adam Edwards passed away right at the end of 2025, it just reminded me that time is quickly ticking away, and each moment I wonder what could have been, I need to instead be making something new, and taking advantage of that. I decided it was time to change it up. Not collect a batch of songs over many months and release an album, but instead write the album and release it as it’s being produced. Keep people wondering. Keep people engaged. Once again, not overthink it, but go with the flow of life. It really shines through the music when you share it as it’s happening.

Your collaboration with Ride’s Mark Gardener resulted in five co-produced and performed songs. What did working with him change or reveal about the way you approach songwriting and recording?
The Mark connection and production is some hazy weird dream come true. I’ve always wondered what we would come up with, which motivated me to do things unconventionally. That time went by so fast… even though it was really 2 full years of back and forth. Patience became key as I was working with a legend who had many obligations, but I knew once he had the time to dive in, that it would come out magical. And I think that really was the case. Those songs, recorded in two studios across the globe melded into something I truly love. It felt natural. It was never an ordeal. The melding of the musical minds resulted in some truly unique ASD tracks.

You have also developed strong connections with the UK alternative music scene, working with artists such as Ulrich Schnauss and members of Engineers and Chapterhouse. What is it about that musical community that has resonated so strongly with A Shoreline Dream?
I love the history of this style of music. Working with people who were there from the start was key to truly understand it, and through those connections I have learned so much about why Shoegaze is the scene that celebrates itself. A Shoreline Dream is similar in approach but sorta a new step in a new direction, so having those influences really made it even more rich than it could have ever been if it was just us making the tracks. Collaboration is what makes music special. Human connection creates things no computer, AI or otherwise could come close to touching sonically. We made some truly special moments happen with some of the biggest legends in music, and that makes it all worth it.

Waiting arrives at a moment when you are looking back at 20 years without treating the album as a retrospective. What does this new record say about where A Shoreline Dream are today and where you want to go next?
This album is about not giving up. Not looking back. Trying something new. Faster BPMs, vibes that are huge and unexplored. I think this album opens up the sound to new frontiers of goth, melodipsych and gaze. Huge soundscapes. Layered visions of melody. It shows people we are still explorers, hurtling towards a bright new light floating in the cosmic sea.