We were lucky to catch up with Ryker English recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ryker, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project that I’ve worked on is a song called “Timekeeper” that was released a few years ago. It was my first serious release as an artist and one that I did not expect to happen. In 2020 I had quit my full time job working for a pharmaceutical company and moved to California from Colorado to go to a Christian ministry school. At that time in my life I was not creating music or pursuing music in any real sense. It never seemed feasible to me. While at school, I started meeting some other creatives around me who were passionate about music. One of these people had a dream to create an album with 10 different artists and he invited me to be on the album. “Timekeeper” is the song that I wrote for the album and the song that showed me that I am capable of creating music!

Here is the link to the song:
https://open.spotify.com/track/3H7X0QWykV4qNIWliaKejg?si=2bc7942571c049a0

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started playing guitar around 15 when my mom introduced me to it. I naturally started writing songs and learning to play songs that I liked. Music has always been an emotional and spiritual outlet for me to express myself. I hope that my music helps connect people to God. I also hope that when I sing about my struggles that it would help people know that they aren’t alone in their struggles. I also want to inspire other artists to create and express themselves! If I can do it, you can too!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In 2020 I quit my job working at a lab for a pharmaceutical company and went to a Christian ministry school for my faith. In 2020 I believed that it wasn’t practical to pursue music. I didn’t think I was qualified, talented enough, or that it was practical. However, even though I didn’t believe those things about myself at the time, I had always kept playing guitar and writing songs because I loved doing it. The music was a part of me regardless of how much I disqualified myself. Resilience as an artist sometimes looks like hard work (it’s not easy to be an artist), but great resilience is continuing to create what you enjoy regardless of what the critic may say.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artist has been the connections with other people who are passionate about creating. When I create with others, I find that after each project there is a communal story and memory that has been made. When I listen back on a song, I remember the people who gave a part of themselves to help make a dream that I had come alive. It gives much more meaning to what I create.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rykerenglish/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbavHggD8PH6uIN_fsPzznA
• Other: Spotify:

  https://open.spotify.com/artist/4gao9IPOO4D1nwH0aIZAho

Image Credits

Max Dugan
Marcus Mezzano