Q&A: Ray Alex Explores His Past With Self-Reflective New EP ‘Disbelief’
WEAVING GROOVY BEATS WITH MEANINGFUL LYRICS — multi-instrumentalist composer, producer, and sound designer Ray Alex released his new EP, Disbelief, on August 1. The project explores Ray’s past struggles with addiction, all while traversing spoken word, jazz, and hip-hop. Set to funky instrumentals, he says its lyrics touch on “self-sabotage, temptation, and recovery,” expanded on by collaborators on four of the five new songs.
The North London native describes his music as “anomalous, evolving, and direct,” aiming to deviate from conventions and create music unlike others in the industry.
Alex sat down with Luna to talk about his process, the excitement collaboration can foster, and what the album means to him. Read the full interview below.
LUNA: Tell us a bit about yourself, why you got into music, and what kind of music you make.
RAY: I’ve been playing around with cheap instruments since the age of 10. I was constantly tapping rhythms on tables with cutlery as a kid. My mum put me onto a lot of ’70s/’80s pop music. Always had Heart 106.2 playing in the car, and my older cousin used to drive me round North London playing UKG tapes. I distinctly remember being mesmerized by that. The type of sound that I have developed now is just a nostalgic projection of all of the music I was exposed to during car journeys between 1997–2002.
I can’t really pin a specific genre of music that I make now, and I think this is probably a good thing. I don’t like categories, but I understand that other people do.
LUNA: Being a composer/producer/sound designer allows you to collaborate with many artists. How did you decide who to collaborate on Disbelief?
RAY: I admire all of the artists I chose for this project. I am a fan of them all. It wasn’t difficult to decide who would suit each instrumental, and I just went with all of my first choices. SAMSON was a perfect choice for the “Disbelief” instrumental because of the weight and angle of his lyricism. JoeJas is an artist that I saw live one evening in London, and I spoke to him after his set. There is playfulness and a high level of energy in his live performance and in his recordings too. I knew there and then that he would fit perfectly on my track “Perpetual Pleasure.”
LUNA: Does the genre of your music depend on who you’re collaborating with?
RAY: Not particularly. “Repose (feat. Jayda David)” is the fourth track from the EP. It’s got a ’90s hip-hop rhythm and groove, an unconventional structure and also some 2010 vaporwave synth stuff going on towards the end. Weird guitar lines, dark piano, and jazzy saxophone parts, too. I challenge someone to perfectly sum up what genre they think “Repose” is. Jayda’s lyricism and vocal delivery take the song to an entirely different place in my eyes. The message is so brilliantly articulated over the rhythm, and I haven’t heard a song like “Repose” before.
LUNA: How long did Disbelief take to put together? What took the longest? How long does it generally take for you to create a song?
RAY: Lots of instrumentals were floating about in the archive for two years. It starts to feel like a burden, especially when they deserve to be fully realized songs with vocals on them. Sometimes my problem is that I start dozens of ideas and get hooked on creating something brand new instead. I’ve had to work really hard at finishing songs.
Disbelief wasn’t my main focus, and that’s maybe why it formed over the course of two years until I gave it my full attention more recently. The title track … took the longest. SAMSON had raised the bar ridiculously high with his recorded verse and I had to somehow balance it with my vocal performance. It was a nightmare and torture for my OCD. I got there in the end after many months of scrapped vocal attempts, but it was a humbling reminder that I am a musician first and a vocalist second.
Falhas, however, was finished within three days. I was recording it in Rio de Janeiro and Wiseiris sent me over his saxophone parts from London. Done. It’s weird how it works like that.
LUNA: Is there a theme that runs through Disbelief? If so, what inspired it?
RAY: Yes: self-sabotage, temptation, and recovery. There are hints to hedonism in “Perpetual Pleasure,” and my verse details addiction and self-destruction throughout my twenties. If you concentrate on what I’m saying, I’m talking about the devil and hearing voices in my head.
For a long time, I was self-absorbed, drank heavily, lost my faith, and upset a lot of people in the process. It took a psychotic episode and then some healing to force a positive transformation in my character. I made a recovery through teetotalism, therapy, intermittent fasting, and a reconnection to God. Only then was I able to revisit the Disbelief EP with a healthier and clearer mind.
I can’t speak on behalf of all the artists involved in this project, but there does seem to be a lot of self-reflection in their lyricism. Each artist details a part of their past in a way that feels both raw and multi-sensory in order to heal from it. In doing so, the future no longer seems uninviting, and some internal growth has happened. That’s my take, at least.
LUNA: What mood do you hope to create for listeners of Disbelief?
RAY: I haven’t thought about that, in all honesty. It goes back to what I was saying about not thinking about genres or styles when I sit down and make a track. I go into a meditative state. Once I’ve put out a project, and it’s in the hands of the listener, I feel quite distanced from it from an emotional standpoint. If the listener feels uplifted and inspired, that’s cool. If it makes them feel sad or sentimental, that’s also cool. There’s something freeing about having no idea how the listener might respond to your art and having no control over that.
LUNA: My favorite song on the EP is “Grey Rock Shuffle.” Can you tell us a little bit about that song?
RAY: Sydney Jane and I decided to write about the grey rock method and draw from our own experiences using the technique to deal with toxic people. I decided to direct my words back at myself and use it as an opportunity to take ownership of my behavior in the past.
Lyrically, the vivid imagery of “blood-tipped flowers” and “stars from your chains” mask the darkness in the overall message. It probably lessens the blow of the line “Why won’t you leave and cease to be?” which is harsh.
There is a shuffle to the drums I recorded, which is why I named the track “Grey Rock Shuffle.” Ako co-produced this track and added some cheerful synth lines to the chorus. I often wonder if the themes within this song are misunderstood because of how groovy and dreamy the instrumental is.
LUNA: Where did you find the most inspiration for this EP?
RAY: If we’re talking about a place, it has to be a forest near where I was living at the time. I come up with mostly all of my ideas for song titles when I’m either walking in the forest or if I’m cycling. I try not to get my phone out and make notes, as it spoils the experience, so I remember it all for later.
I don’t own a studio space… Instead I tend to make music wherever there is a table to put all of my gear onto. Anywhere can be my studio. I would like to try and keep it that way, as I don’t like to be anchored to one place. The constant change in scenery always inspires me. The curtain pattern, the particular lighting in the room or the view from the window plays a part in that too.
LUNA: As a composer and producer, what is your song creation process? Do you use samples? How much of it is you playing instruments?
RAY: It’s always a blank canvas to begin with, and yes, I’m playing the instruments. I use Ableton like a child throws paint onto paper. Everyone has their own method and preferences, which is cool, but I don’t tend to use sample packs or premade loops in my production. Anyone who has ever been in a room with me and watched me work will tell you that I make something happen from nothing with very little resources. Usually just a guitar, household items for percussion, and a microphone. From there I build up more with synths, a bass line, and then drums.
I sometimes sample myself. I’ll find an unused demo I made from 2016–2019 and then repurpose it by chopping it up and giving it a new life. That’s the Ray Alex sound. I’ve posted a lot of song breakdown videos on my socials if anyone is interested to see how I work.
LUNA: Anything I missed or that you’d like to tell fans?
RAY: I am very grateful that they have taken the time to connect with my music. I’m going to be hunched over making tunes until I’m 80 years old, so I’ll keep giving if they keep listening.
That reminds me, I’m producing an album for my incredibly talented friend and singer, Sydney Jane, and that will be out in 2025.
