Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to ryn. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
ryn, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
Being of the age of teen sensations like Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, and Billie Eilish, of course I wish I started younger! By the time these icons were my age now (22), they had entire shelves dedicated to their Grammy’s, millions in the bank, and their entire careers made. I started singing around thirteen but didn’t take it seriously until I found songwriting at age fifteen. Now seven year later, I just barely have an idea of what I’m doing. BUT, just recently, I think I found the key to this slipper-slope of a mindset. I kept thinking of music as something that is achieved, an end goal. But it’s not. It’s a way of life. Even though idols like Cyrus, Bieber, and Eilish seem like they’ve reached their destination, that destination is always changing, the road always winding, and with new scenery to see along the way. And thank god it is because how boring would it be if when we all reach our destination, the journey would be over! All this to say, I have no regret looking back on my life so far because I now see that it all needed to happen the way it did and in the time that it did in order for me to be on the road I am now. One where I enjoy all the stops along the way, appreciating every rose, learning more about who I am and what I want to create on my journey.
ryn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I always find it hard to answer questions like these because to me, a person cannot be summed up in just one paragraph. If I tell you some sides of myself but not others, I feel I’ve painted an incomplete picture or told a lie in some way. Maybe it’s the Libra in me that demands the whole truth and nothing less haha! Anyway, lets give it a go. I grew up homeschooled, which I blame for my occasional awkwardness, but had a strong family giving me plenty of support and entertainment. I have to thank my older sister for coming up with my nickname, ‘ryn”, when we were kids, which I HATED at the time but now find suits me more than anything. Somehow I came out of the womb confident as hell and even through the name-calling and mild sibling bullying, kept my confidence stubbornly. When I figures out songwriting at fifteen years old, I felt as if I found what I was made to do. Finally having an outlet for all my thoughts and feelings, my writing was and still is highly truthful, usually self-aware with the occasional delulu song thrown in there, and full of depth. Just this last year, at the start of 2023 I picked up the bass and learned my favorite instrument. It’s like a whole new world of writing opened up for me! If I were to give my elevator pitch of what my music sounds like, I’d have to generalize it as bass heavy, dark toned, and smokey with a beat that will make your head bop whether you want it to or not. Think dark blues, burgundy with a touch of strobe light. But not all my music will make you feel like your in a speakeasy or driving over the Golden Gate bridge at night. Now, this is where painting the whole picture comes in. Some of my music will make your heart break with ballads reminiscent of early days Adele. Some will make you feel like your floating in the sky with Florence + the Machine. A lot of people will tell you, as an artist, you need to have a concise sound, one identifiable genre that you stick to. But to me, this sounds like prison! No person is ever just one thing, or two, or three! We are full of so much creativity and potential for all sorts of sounds, feelings, etc. So I’ve decided to disobey the rules of the industry, disregard the advice of “industry professionals” and paint the whole picture. Black, blue, maroon, and pastel pinks, purple, and yellow.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
When I dropped out of college to pursue music in the real world (2021), I put so much pressure on myself to take it seriously. I made music my full-time job and ended up thinking of it as such. I felt burdened even though I was doing what I loved! It didn’t make sense to me and I felt lazy, ungrateful and often miserable. I even started taking medication for a depression I couldn’t understand at the time. It wasn’t until 2022 when I decided to change my artist name from Camryn Michael, my serious persona, to ryn, my childhood nickname that reminded me of a time when I did things just because I wanted to, not because I had to. I didn’t even know at the time when I changed my artist name that it would lead me to a freer or playful mentality about music. I always had advisors jumping down my throat telling me how tough the music “business” is and how it takes grinding for years and years to see any results. And I believed them! How could I not; they were the professionals! Once I stopped taking myself and in-turn my music so seriously, I noticed that I started wanting to do more music related stuff, I was excited again about what I can create. Around the same time, I was doing a lot of self work in mindfulness, awareness, and the law of attraction. I know what you’re thinking, that sounds like the most LA, clique, “I shop at Erewhon”, thing you’ve ever heard. I thought the same thing. But there’s a reason why a lot of the most successful people believe in the law of attraction. I realized that my experience in music will be whatever I make it to be. If I believe that it’s going to take blood, sweat, and tears to make it, than it will. But if I decide instead to focus on doing what I love, in a way that keeps me inspired, then the only result of following that passion and putting out that energy, will be success.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect has to be showing my latest songs to my best friends. Watching them as they experience it for the first time, listening to every carefully written lyric, and dancing to the beat my producer and I created, is the most rewarding thing ever! When I write, I write for myself and my best friends. Of course I want my music to be heard and loved by the masses but I never write from a place of gaining outside affection. I believe that writing from the heart and writing something that you and the closest people in your life will resonate with is the ONLY way to reach the masses. In the end I want every fan of mine to feel like my friend. I want them to feel like they could be riding shotgun in my car as we blast my newest banger together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ryn-music.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/callher_ryn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/callher.ryn/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpllwj52scznejmGnPKRByg/featured
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7y1N2Kyw8i9fNJi7eHIoY3?si=ykyJtN-3QUOvxZOm_zCChA https://www.tiktok.com/@callher_ryn
Image Credits
Nicholas Gaspar Brandon Marks