Q&A: Getting To Know Australian Pop Sensation Azure Ryder
TIMELESS MUSIC THAT’S A PERFECT REMEDY FOR TURBULENT TIMES — Australian singer-songwriter Azure Ryder’s gentle acoustic guitars paired with hopeful lyrics and an undeniable warmth make for dreamy and emphatic beauty. Aligning with the likes of Hozier, Florence + The Machine, and Maggie Rogers, Azure makes emotionally stirring music you can still dance to.
Read below as Azure shares her biggest inspirations, her dream collaborator, and her excitement surrounding the release of her new single “Some Kind Of Love.”
LUNA: Who or what are your biggest inspirations?
RYDER: Definitely nature and Stevie Nicks! I have always seen nature as such a reflection of life — it’s been a close friend to me since I was little and has taught me things in its actions that words never could. There is flow and freedom forever present, and it knows no resistance like humans do — fear is manmade. We get so caught up in our inner worlds that we sometimes forget nature is the reason for why we are even able to take a breath on this Earth; we too come from it, and if we honor and work together we both will thrive.
And my ultimate human/supernatural inspiration is Stevie Nicks. I talk about living wild-heartedly and I believe she is the original wild heart, unapologetically herself; her presence, her voice is something spellbinding. She proves that you can be both fierce and graceful.
LUNA: Who is your dream collaborator?
RYDER: Stevie Nicks (no surprises ehe)
LUNA: How do you feel your music has evolved since the release of “Dizzy”?
RYDER: I believe music is such a special way to mark a moment in time; I am so proud of each moment I have shared so far since “Dizzy.” I think we are always growing and I hope that my music reflects the person I am learning to embrace more and more every day.
LUNA: What does your writing process look like? Does the melody or the lyrics come first?
RYDER: I have forever had a deep fascination with words and all the beautiful ways you can express one thing, so lyrics have always been the most important part of the song to me — they hold the story. Lyrics usually come to me in a melody, sometimes though, if I don’t have the right words yet when there is feeling in the melody it can draw them out of me.
LUNA: You write from a very personal place. Do you find it challenging to write something so personal?
RYDER: I couldn’t imagine writing any other way. If I wasn’t writing something I personally connect with then that is what I would find challenging. Of course writing this way doesn’t always come with ease, but I only want to share something real, especially in a world so easily filtered. I want people to know they can come to me and feel everything they want and need to feel. If I am vulnerable with them then I hope that they can trust me with their strength in vulnerability too.
LUNA: What is your favorite song to perform live?
RYDER: Amongst the wild of this current world, I was lucky to be able to perform my first ever live shows in December last year. Each night my favorite moment was between my guitarist Jack and I when we performed “Wolves.” Every time I sing that song all my feelings tidal wave to the surface. It holds such a special place in my heart; it just encapsulates the way I desire to live by, the way I think we all truly want to live by, the way in which you jump into love wherever it might take you. So to have that moment of quiet to share with an audience, hopeful yearning with bated breath to experience that wild love — nothing is more beautiful.
LUNA: Who were you listening to in quarantine?
RYDER: Phoebe Bridgers, Carole King, Justin Bieber, Kacey Musgraves, Harry Styles, Anderson .Paak, and Fleetwood Mac.
LUNA: Did you find quarantine to be a productive time for your music?
RYDER: I may not have been able to write the same amount of songs that I did pre-COVID, but I think it’s been a productive time for the growth and healing within myself which in turn I’ve welcomed into my music.
LUNA: If you could tell other young women in music one thing, what would it be?
RYDER: Our hearts are born instinctive and wild like a wolf — somewhere along the way the world replaced that with fear as we grew. We were taught as women to only draw between the lines, but what if we yearned to color outside of them? Your voice is a superpower and never ever worth less than a man’s — stand full-heartedly in the abundance of ways you choose to see, feel and be, and never apologize for the way you choose to be wild.
LUNA: New music! When is it coming and how do you feel about releasing new music during such crazy times?
RYDER: Yeeesss!!! I have just released the first story, “Some Kind Of Love,” from my upcoming third EP that is arriving a little later this year!! I have only ever known releasing in these crazy times, so this feeling is familiar now and I’m just rolling with the waves. While I can’t control the state of the world, I can control focusing on the positives of it — I have music that I am proud of, I have the best team supporting me, and many beautiful connections with people already made. I’m so grateful for all of that and I am just so excited to continue to find a home in as many people's lives as possible and do this life thing together!
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