Ryan K is a music producer and sound designer from the North East of England, producing throughout the spectrum of the trance genre. Ryan is mostly known for his harder sound of trance but also has a signature uplifting sound as well which has gained support from DJ’s such as Paul Van Dyk, Aly & Fila, Sean Tyas, and Ferry Corsten just to name a few.
Ryan is known for his cutting edge trance and hard dance sound design, producing patch banks for the likes of Freshly Squeezed samples and magsignaturesound.
Ryan has tracks signed to top trance labels such as Black Hole, Outburst, Always Alive and Abora.
Although Ryan strives to produce his own unique signature sound of trance, his inspiration comes from producers such as Sean Tyas, Will Atkinson, James Dymond amongst others.
1-Dimitris: 2023 just started but it will be cool to let us know how was 2022 for your career. Let us know about achievements or goals achieved that you are proud of.
Ryan K: Well 2022 was a big year with releases on Outburst and No Remorse but my proudest achievement was to strengthen my ties with Freshly squeezed samples; releasing my new Serum banks
with them.
.
2-Dimitris: Do you have already some concrete plans for 2023 and if you are allowed to announce them to our readers please tell us what you are preparing for us in the coming months regarding upcoming releases
Ryan K: Well I have already started 2023 with a bang, having tracks released on Reason II rise and Nocturnal Knights. I have also got some big news regarding an official remix of a Hard House anthem on the horizon.
I also have some new soundbanks coming out on Freshly squeezed samples as well as some other labels (which I cant mention for now).
3-Dimitris: It would be fantastic to talk about your Let him Leave out on Reason II Rise. Please tell us how this track came about and what was the idea behind it.
Ryan K: So my newest track 'Let him Leave' has just released on Reason II Rise and I followed my usual philosophy, 'make tracks I would enjoy to play'. You hear many artists produce tracks to be signed to a specific label, this is not how I go about my music. I love the process of producing, I don't want to detract from this.
I first came up with the melody and the overall emotional journey of the track... The rest fell in place after that.
4-Dimitris: How long it took you to produce it and can u describe the production process in simple steps?
Ryan K: In general, the main elements of the track were made within a week. the arrangement and fine tuning is what takes me the longest. In total I think the track took around a month to produce. The fact that I mix and master my own tracks can also be a nightmare as you can easily experience ear fatigue and it's sensible to take a step back from the track for a few days.
5-Dimitris: Did you had any particular difficulties accomplishing that particular track or any specific production challenges.
Ryan K: That final 5%, is always the hardest. If I was to give one piece of advice to aspiring producers, that is to ensure that final polish is achieved!
6- Dimitris: Which music composition software or hardware you prefer and why? What is your opinion of the latest movement to produce music with more analogue equipment and with less or without any digital software?
Ryan K: For me, I have been producing on FL studio throughout my musical journey. In terms of hardware vs software, my opinion is always the same. If it sounds good, it sounds good!
7-Dimitris: Do you prefer instrumental dance tracks or you adore vocals? Please explain to us your position and if in your latest production you have vocals tell us how did you choose the specific singer and if it was great to work with her/him?
Ryan K: So I like both vocal and instrumental tracks! 'Let him leave' contains a vocal sample from a famous movie, I'll let your readers figure out which that is ;).
8-Dimitris: If you really like to produce vocal tracks which vocalist/singer or lyricist on electronic dance music you aspire to work with?
Ryan K: I honestly don't have any particular vocalist I would dream to work with..... I do love 'That Girls' voice as of late though.
9-Dimitris: Do you believe that artwork on your latest track is good and do you believe that artwork can attract listeners or record buyers? Can you mention the best artwork of a track ever released?
Ryan K: Yeah the artwork is nice and clean.... The best artwork I would have to say was from my track 'gene machine', released on Damaged.
10-Dimitris: In which label your latest release will be? Tell us your opinion about that particular label and your connection with them.
Ryan K: Reason II Rise. I have always had a good relationship With Darren Porter, ever since working with him on a sample pack a few years back. It always helps that we are both from up in the North East of England.
11-Dimitris:How much time do you spend promoting yourself in your social media and you see this as essential tool for self promotion and getting bookings too? Which social media is the one that seems to work better for you?
Ryan K: This is my biggest weakness in the current climate, I hate self promotion. With this being said, it is becoming more and more essential to help elevate your music. I have heard many 'bang average' tracks do extremely well mainly down to the branding of the artist. The aim of my music is not to 'blow up'. I f you like my track, you like it for how it sounds, not because of me!
12-Dimitris: Are you enjoying to visit music conferences and do you have any plans to attend any of them in 2023:
Ryan K: I am boing hermit crab that needs to get out of the studio more!
13-Dimitris: Please note for all the new talents that read this interview to get some inspiration from you any technical tips in relation to your music productions. Also any piece of personal or music business' advice that has helped you to progress even further and is worth telling to the new upcoming talents.
Ryan K: Practice Practice Practice is the simple answer....
A bit more of some technical advice - Ensure the fundamentals of your track are solid before you move onto the full arrangement. Do the kick and bass work together well? Does the melody flow with the chord progression? Don't try and cover up lack of emotion and impact by adding effects. When it sounds good raw, then you are onto something!
Also make sure to take some time to learn how to design your own sounds in synths. This has really helped my music stand out in the sea of generic sounding tracks you hear ever too often.
14-Dimitris: Many producers they offer online masterclasses or teach to music production courses. If you are offering any of these services please tell us about it.
Ryan K: At the moment I only have extremely limited space in tuition due to my full time job (science teacher)
15-Dimitris: Is there a club classic that you would like to remix or rework in 2023? Do you attempt often to do your own bootlegs of classics?
Ryan K: I do love to produce reworks once in a while.... The thing is, if I don't think I can improve on the original in anyway, I'll leave it alone.
16-Dimitris: Vinyl sales are rising and there is strong demand for vinyl releases? What is the reason behind that trend and do you see it as a positive development?
Ryan K: Purely down to nostalgia! And yeah, it's not going to harm the scene.
17-Dimitris: Many artist right now attempt to come closer to their fan base and use the meta verse in order to offer exclusive content to their most dedicated followers. Do you have any plans to do the same and what is your opinion about this plan to grow on metaverse?
Ryan K: Metaverse? I must be getting old.
18-Dimitris: Do you believe that music genres or styles are still relevant today? What is your opinion about hybrids and artists attempting to mix influences from various genres in their tracks?
Ryan K: I love hybrid styles, especially in trance music. In my harder tracks I love to mix up old school hardhouse with breaks. If I'm enjoying making it, I go with it.
19-Dimitris: Finally tell us if you are able to make a leaving out of your music business (producer/teaching or mastering tracks) and if not what other jobs are you doing in order to make a decent leaving?
Ryan K: I make a decent earning on the 'behind the scenes' of trance music. Including things such as engineering/mixing/mastering as well as selling presets etc.... I am a full time Science teacher in the real world though.
Dimitris: Your message & wishes for Flux Bpm Online readers.
Ryan K: Thanks for taking your time to read this, keep the scene alive :D!
Thanks so much To Ryan for finding the precious time to share his thoughts and experiences with our readers.
