Hi RY, can you tell us about your early life and how your upbringing influenced your journey into music?
My early life was always about being creative. I have 3 brothers, so naturally we were always really competitive and into the traditional “boys” things like sports (hockey and baseball mainly), video games, outdoorsy things, and so on. That was really what dominated our house growing up, and it was a never really a thought that any of us would be involved in the creative. It’s funny because I’ve been playing piano since i was 5 or 6, took lessons for a few months, and then stayed away from formal piano lessons for about a decade. Jumped into them again, stopped again relatively soon after, so most of my piano is self-taught. One of my first christmas presents as an “able-to-walk” toddler was a drummer too, so maybe it was always part of my parents’ plan to have me involved in music. All four of my brothers were forced to play an instrument starting in 5th grade (i was in percussion with my travel keyboard and snare drum), but i stuck through it through high school and into college. It was always a part of my life, but it wasn’t until after college when I started to realize that music was always the thing that separated me from my brothers and what made me special, and that’s when i started to think it could be more than just learning a song or two on piano every now and again.
What inspired you to pursue a music career, and when did you realize it was your true passion?
I wish i could say it was this big, grandiose, out-of-this-world type of revelation that I saw my favorite band perform for the first time and decided i wanted to do that, or something like i heard a song and said to myself and was like “i want to figure out how to make this kind of thing to make other people feel how this made me feel”, or anything like that. All of that came later, but not for a while at least. In high school, my friend and i made a playlist for our volleyball team warmup and it was nothing that complicated, just putting 6 or 7 songs together – but it was really my first intro to DJing and making something original musically. That was the little bug that just stayed around long enough (meaning till my junior year of college) when I heard two songs and was like “I wonder if i can put these together to make a mashup?” with Without You by Avicii and Dying in LA by Panic! at the Disco. When i started trying to make that mashup, and after i finished it, I knew that this was the kind of thing that made my heart and spirit happy. A year later, I bought my first MIDI keyboard and Logic Pro and the rest is history.
How did you come up with the name “RY,” and does it hold any special meaning for you?
It’s easy – my first name is Ryan and my nickname growing up was always just “Ry” or “RyRy” – it was just a real short way of getting my attention. It reminds me of my childhood, I think it’s quick and catchy, it just works for me!
What was the creative process like for your EP “Better Days,” and how did the collaboration with Sweet Rum come about?
Better Days was a wild project from its inception. Dave (Sweet Rum) actually reached out to me through and Instagram DM and just said something to the like of “Hey man, just checked your profile and music out and I really dig it, would love to collaborate if you’re ever open to it”. We’re both really small and up-and-coming artists, so we hadn’t put out too much of our own projects at that point, so I didn’t know much about him or his producing style and I’d be willing to bet he didn’t know much about mine either. But we just got to talking – we both have a love for tropical and deep house music, the sound that reminds you of being on the beach with the wind going through your hair and a cool drink in hand? That’s our kind of mission. I had a project that I had started for a song called “Stay” – it was something i had put together the basic structure for but just hit a kind of creative road block. I remembered that Dave had reached out to me about the collaboration so I sent him the stems, and my guy got to work. We finished Stay, he sent me a project he was working on but also hit a bit of a wall on (which turned out to be Cerulean) and then I added my style to it! We always wanted the EP to be a balance of our styles together and on their own, and we decided that the two collab tracks and one song each of ours would be the best way to go about it. I have to give him all the credit in the world because without him, “Better Days” doesn’t happen and we wouldn’t be here today!
Are there specific themes or messages in “Better Days” that you wanted to convey to your audience?
“Better Days” goes back to where we draw our inspiration from, tropical and chill. From my perspective, i wanted this EP to be a summer day soundtrack – i wanted to have my sound match the feeling of when you wake up on your first day of a tropical vacation on the beach, that first sip of a pina colada (or your favorite beach cocktail) in a beach chair with the waves crashing in the background – think of that type of feeling that you just stop and think to yourself “Yeah, today’s going to be a good day”. We wanted to make sure that the EP felt like that kind of “better day” – really think of that feeling where you might be at work at 10:27 am on a Tuesday or it’s a Sunday afternoon and you’re only counting down the seconds till Friday at 5 pm – essentially, you’re in one place but your mind takes you to somewhere that you’d rather be or would be a “Better Day”. Close your eyes, go to your happy place, and really embrace what that feels like – that’s what Better Days is all about.
How do you feel your musical style has evolved since your earlier works to this latest EP?
My earlier music was pretty plug-and-play. When i first started producing, i had a few sounds for each member of a song – pianos, leads, basses, drums, etc. It was very “four on the floor” beats, straight eights and sixteenths, a lot of rhythm that was pretty standard in dance music. One thing I really wanted to do with this EP was start to branch out, bring other aspects of other genres into my production, and just try to really play with a lot of different things. “Better Days” really challenged me in a way to make sure that I wasn’t staying cookie cutter – I wanted to use different sounds, use more production tricks (playing with automation, using EQ’s to allow for more interesting layering, taking different samples of sounds from different genres for things like percussion toppers and fills), ultimately i just wanted to have fun and make it interesting. I love the early projects I made, but I love that I continue to evolve in sound design and technical skills because that’s where the fun of being a music producer is.
What role did Sweet Rum play in the collaborative process, and how did their unique style complement yours?
Dave was such a great guy to work with. He does an absolutely amazing job with creating movement within his music – all without words. That was the coolest thing for me and the most exciting part of getting to work with him. I was always used to having a vocal carry my songs, whether and original or remix. I always had something to build around, which gave me some sense of ease when producing and knowing that I had something to fall back on. I love how he could create that story – no words necessary. The way he’s able to create an ambience, move the track from start to finish using nothing but sound, and create an experience of listening to music is just so cool. I was so excited to get to know him and work with him because that was something I felt my music could’ve used. He helped me turn Stay into a less than 3 minute song when i thought it would be closer to 4 minutes, the was super supportive of me making edits and changes to Cerulean even though it was his track, and the way we even came up with a theme. He came up with “Better Days”, he came up with the names Allure and Cerulean, the guy is a stud – i felt super comfortable working with him and i could not have asked for a better partner to make my first full EP with.
Can you share any memorable moments from the recording studio while working on the EP?
It’s funny because we never were in the same place together working on the EP. He lives in LA and I live in Denver, and the only way we really talked was through instagram DM’s. We never sat down and did a joint session – which isn’t exactly the model for this type of project (I would say if you can get in the studio with your production partner, you certainly should). I think the most memorable moment was when we finished Stay – I sent him the stems, he sent me back his edits and additions, I made the final edits and sent him the master, and I think if there is such a thing as a virtual “Oh yeah, this is it moment” that was it. He said something along the lines of “Dude we made a hit”. Normally when I publish a song i get self conscious and think about the edits or changes i could have made, but when Dave said “This is it”, I’ve never felt that way about a track before. It was a definitive stamp of approval and mission accomplished, something i never felt and it was really cool for me.
How do you see your music evolving in the future, and are there any specific directions or genres you’d like to explore?
You ever have someone tell you “Oh, I listen to everything” when you ask them what their music taste is? That’s how I try to approach producing – I like to pull from any and everything. My favorite genres are really tropical house, melodic bass & dubstep, and amapiano/dancehall music. I love genres that stir feelings, and for me, those are the genres that do it. I take inspiration from Sam Feldt, Jonas Blue, and most importantly Kygo when it comes to my tropical/dancey production – the light and bright leads, the presence of airy piano and strings to create ambience, and the congas/tambourines to create a happier sounding rhythm. But I wanted to try to include elements from melodic bass and dubstep, too (a la Illenium, Gryffin, William Black) – the thicker and more distorted basses, the drop “kick and snare” rhythms of offbeats and reverse audio, some of the more cinematic and epic sounding synths and drums. I want my music to have my signature sound, and my signature sound comes from a lot of different places.
In what ways do you connect with your audience, and how do you hope your music resonates with them?
First and foremost (who doesn’t love a self plug), follow me on instagram and tiktok (rymusic_official). But social media is really how I connect with fans and other artists – I haven’t played much live (if there’s any promoters or event managers that need a spot filled, my line’s open) and my social media following isn’t the biggest, but I like to call it “tiny and mighty”. I have my close friends and family that support me, and I really do rely on a lot of word-of-mouth for expanding my reach. I love talking to people, I love being in a community, I love being able to grow among people – a social butterfly at heart. I always encourage people to reach out to me, send me DMs, share my music – I’m at a point now where I can respond to everybody and I love that type of intimate connection. I think the experience of listening to music is different for everybody and it’s so incredibly subjective, but I just want my music to convey the feelings that i have making it. I want my music to give that feeling of visibility and being seen, that someone somewhere that you may have never met understands what you’re going through. Even if it’s just a single lyric or a single riff in a melody – if you feel any more human or any more alive, I’ve done my job as a producer.
Can you share any upcoming projects or collaborations that your fans can look forward to?
I have a lot of fun things in the pipeline! I’m planning on releasing a lot more this year – you can expect a deluxe version and remix pack of Better Days (VIP edits by dave and myself, different genre remixes of the four tracks, as well as some slow & reverb versions of tracks), I’m planning on releasing 2 full length DJ sets this year, and I’ve even started writing and putting together my first original album! I have some more tropical style remixes (Dua Lipa and Sasha Alex Sloan songs, in particular) and even some melodic dubstep tracks (Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber songs) that I have planned for release this year as well. There’s a lot of fun stuff on the way, so I’d tell everyone to keep their eyes peeled and hop on the train because we’re just getting started!
