Electronic music as it exists today is a genre that refuses to be bound by one particular sound, or even by the use of physical instruments. With the genre’s evolution comes the creation of ever more categories within it — chillwave, vapourwave, trance, house, techno, and downtempo, to name but a few.
Ryan Hemsworth is a part of this ongoing process. Starting off with a modest Soundcloud account, his music now has a following all around the world. His inspiration comes from all manner of sources from sampling to video game music to the goal of invoking an emotion. This in turn has created a unique layered sound synonymous with his name.
Hemsworth’s recording patterns are nothing if not unconventional. Working with no specific direction or planned framework makes for an interesting process.
“It backfires all the time if you’re just trying to make something from nothing, which is kind of the way I work,” explains Hemsworth, adding, “I’ll sometimes start a song and try to make it very dance-y and upbeat… something you would want to dance to in a club on a Friday night, and ends up being a really low ambient sounding hum… It’s kind of what keeps it really exciting, because I don’t know what I’m going to end up with.”
With the evolution of electronic music performances, many artists are driven to make their own reforms. Where artists like James Blake are “purists” and cringe at even the sight of a laptop on stage, Hemsworth is one of the few artists who is able to integrate his screen with an emotional experience.
Hemsworth explains, “You can’t forget that you rely on computers completely for your music, and I try not to hide that. I think I’ll always have that incorporated in my performances. Hav[ing] that translate into the live setting is hard and… that’s something I’ve been learning over the years. With my set up now, I have this kind of weird visual show which I can control. It was an attempt to match what I do sonically with a visual.”
Hemsworth is, indirectly, giving artists like Blake a run for their money. Although — as he himself notes — he makes 90 per cent of his music on his computer, it sure doesn’t sound like it.
“I’ve found ways within that to make things sound more emotive using the right kind of samples so you don’t sound like you’re doing everything on the computer,” he says, adding, “My songs have a lot of different layers, literally, on Logic. On my iTunes I create a lot of playlists, a lot of ambient stuff from the ’80s, that have artifacts and you can hear that people were in the studio and try to use sounds within that so it doesn’t sound [like] I’m using an electronic drum kit.”
Hemsworth is currently working on his project Secret Songs, which he began curating this year. Secret Songs aims to showcase trends and new artists within the underground electronic music world.
Speaking about his goal for the project, he says, “I wanted the songs to be a perfect balance of people being really confused but also really into it… I wanted to grow a musical family, so being able to put out people’s tracks and be able to sing my songs [so that] people start getting to know those artists. I’m also not a huge artist but I realized I can put on the artists that I like and… help them out in some way… it’s important to give back in.”
Though his new album Alone for the First Time isn’t a complete solo effort, featuring artists from Lontalius to Dawn Golden, it’s our first chance as listeners to emotionally connect with Hemsworth at a larger scale. Despite the pressure electronic artists face to make “dance-y” tunes, Hemsworth has succeeded in bringing emotion into his music.
“Somebody messaged me the other day after I played FunFunFun Fest in Texas… this girl emailed me saying she just got over a breakup and during one of the songs she was tearing up… it’s a good thing to hear while people are drunk at a festival [that] someone is still emotionally connecting with your music,” he says.
While his musical evolution has certainly not been a planned process, it’s definitely working. From making remixes to his own music and collaborations, Hemsworth says the experience has been eye opening. His current Sucker for Punishment tour is a perfect blend of all he’s learned, with the name serving as a nod to his past experience.
“It’s just something my manager has called me a couple of times just from the tours I’ve done in the past,” Hemsworth explains, adding, “I’m not very good at saying no to offers, like ‘you want to come play this after party’ and then I’ll have a flight the next day. I’m kind of always getting myself into these situations, so I’m always trying to balance those situations, which I think my music does well.”
