Q&A: RYTERBAND's 'Lies' is a Sonic Experiment in Love and Digital Addictions
BOUNDARY PUSHING ARTIST RYTERBAND presents "Lies" as the latest chapter in his musical evolution. Inspired by the explosive shifts in Nick Cave's "Red Right Hand," th track is an experiment in sonic dynamics and groovy undertones. It encapsulates his journey of musical exploration, defying genre categorization.
"Lies" transcends the musical realm, delving into the deeply personal theme of fear of intimacy drawn from RYTERBAND's experiences. It narrates a pattern of short-lived connections and an unending quest for something deeper. The song is not just an auditory experience; its accompanying music video artfully explores modern addictions and the search for meaningful connections in the digital age.
As RYTERBAND's musical journey unfolds, "Lies" stands as a counterpoint to his previous work, like "Brilliant Eyes." While the latter celebrates the ideal of love, "Lies" dives into its chaotic and turbulent aspects. Together, they offer a dynamic exploration of the multifaceted nature of love and relationships.
Read below to learn more about the making of “Lies” and what’s ahead for RYTERBAND.
LUNA: Your music has embraced a diverse range of genres. How does your latest single "Lies" fit into your evolving musical journey and style?
RYTERBAND: This song was actually inspired by a Nick Cave song. I saw him live a number of years ago. Speaking of different genres! The song is Red Right Hand. In the choruses, the band just explodes. It goes from being this creepy groove to being a sonic assault, with no warning, then back to groove. I thought it was such a powerful effect. Often I’ll hear an artist doing something cool like that, something that I’ve never heard before, and it will become the seed for a song.
My journey with music is sort of like a sequence of experiments. “What happens when I do this?” So in this case, the experiment was—have an explosive section like Red Right Hand. Of course 50 versions later, it sounds nothing like where it started, but it’s become the song it was meant to be.
LUNA: "Lies" draws inspiration from a deeply personal experience. Could you share more about the story behind the song and how this experience led to its creation?
RYTERBAND: Yes—In 2011, about a year into my first serious relationship as an adult, I went to a therapist for the first time. After a few sessions, he asked “do you think you might have a fear of intimacy?” I responded, “me? Nah. Can’t imagine.” I was totally blind to it. My relationship ended shortly after, and I watched myself go in and out of many short-lived relationships after that, before starting to see the pattern: my fearfulness was pushing me toward people who weren’t fully available, and I too wasn’t fully available. These brief flings were usually fun for a time, but they left me feeling empty (go figure).
Near the end of this period, I had one particularly poignant moment, lying in bed with a lover. It had been nine months, and we barely ever met outside the bedroom. We were both continuing on with an arrangement that wasn’t really working for either of us. That’s the story that gave birth to “Lies.”
LUNA: The accompanying music video for "Lies”is SO incredible. What was the creative process like in reimagining the song's into this visual story?
RYTERBAND: I realized early on that Lies is essentially a song about addiction—the singer is hooked on a certain kind of high, and he’s willing to lie to himself in order to get it. So, on a long beach walk with my girlfriend Carla (who is a screenwriter), we asked ourselves: what other addictions could the video depict? We made a list: social media, video games, porn. Then we got really excited about the idea of an isolated fan falling for a cam-girl—it was the perfect digital-age tragedy: two lonely people trapped behind screens, one for money, the other for a very shallow sort of connection, both wishing for something deeper.
I approached the music video director Alex Cook with this concept, after discovering his brilliant work for the band Son Lux. Alex simplified the concept, refined the imagery, storyboarded, and eventually put together an incredible team of people to bring this to life—including the brilliant cinematographer Iain Trimble, producer Reef Oldberg, and fabulous actors Alina Lee and Buck Andrews, who captured the numbness and inner-torment of the characters. Fun fact: we shot on real film—a first for me, and a huge win for the look of this very stylized video.
COOK: Starting from the original idea of a man imagining himself in a fictional relationship [with a cam-girl], we wanted to move inward and visualize both the fantasy and the feelings of the two characters.
We used a mix of formats and techniques - film, digital, and 3d renders - to blend the real and digital spaces together in the evolving fantasy.
It’s always a great experience to work with an artist like RYTERBAND that’s so collaborative and trusting in the creative process.
LUNA: How does "Lies" build upon or diverge from your past successes and experiences like that of “Brilliant Eyes”
RYTERBAND: Thematically, Lies is a counterpoint to Brilliant Eyes. Brilliant Eyes is a song about the ideal of love: timeless, unconditional, devotional. Lies is essentially the story of the collapse of this ideal—the subsistence that results when someone is chasing true love, but looking for it in the wrong places. These could just be two sides of the same coin—the extreme good and bad manifestations of love. They could also be a chronology, from the fiery, first meeting (Brilliant Eyes), to the fizzling out of a thing that never could have lasted (Lies). Final interpretation is out of my hands. I’m sure each listener will have their own feelings.
LUNA: How do you navigate the balance between artistic expression and industry expectations in your music?
RYTERBAND: I’ve been my own label for the majority of the work I’ve released (including Lies, and the EP it will live on). The downside is a lot of work—managing a business, coordinating my own team—things that take me away from just having fun with sounds and storytelling. But there are a lot of upsides. I’ve learned a ton about marketing, graphic design, PR, networking—it’s kind of fun! And I haven’t had to deal with acute industry expectations, in the sense of someone breathing down my neck about deadlines, or what kind of music to write. I like to just get in the studio and have a conversation with the song—where does it want to go, what sound is it asking for, what change would give me goosebumps. In these creative moments, i’m just connecting with the song and what feels good. Then later, I take off the creator hat, and put on the editor or critic hat—what’s missing? What’s too drawn out? Maybe I check in with one of my trusted music mentors (shoutout to Rob Seals from the Songwriting School of Los Angeles, the brilliant composer Gabriel Mann, my brother Michael, and my girlfriend Carla). At the end of it all, I take of my critic hat, put on my manager hat, put out the music and see how it goes. What gets streams? What do people get excited about. It informs me for the future a bit. But also it’s just interesting—I’m a little detached from it at this point. Like, as long as the song got to be what it wanted to be, and I did my due diligence with editing and review, then it’s out of my hands how it lands with other people.
LUNA: Your music often finds its place in both electronic music and TV/film soundtracks. How do you approach composing for visual media compared to creating standalone tracks?
RYTERBAND: Composing for visual media is about supporting the picture. What’s going on on screen, or how and when does the music stop, start, and move, to support that. It’s subtle. It’s out of the way. It rarely attracts direct attention. Songwriting is different. It’s creating a piece that is complete in itself. It tells a story all alone.
That said, I don’t do as much composing for visual media these days. A lot of the stuff of mine that gets used in TV and film is songs, already written.
My songwriting does have a cinematic vibe to it, because I used to compose a lot, and I’ve worked on so many shows and movies as a music editor. One thing I taken from film score is the chords— films use weird chords, “ open” chords, sometimes dissonant chords. I like them because they’re evocative, mysterious, ambiguous. Score also uses a wide variety of instrumentation—like strings, which I love, and unusual organic textures—banging on random things, obscure world instruments, household objects. I love bringing this weirdness into the electronic genre, where so much of it originated inside a computer.
Side note: I think tv and film composers are some of the most under-appreciated people in the entertainment industry. They write and record in every conceivable genre, massive amounts of music, on tight deadlines, rewriting over and over again. They are gifted and tireless and I’ve learned so much from working with them as a music editor. Shoutout to David Schwartz—tv composer who gave me my first job in LA. Wild talent and integrity, that guy.
LUNA: How do you see "Lies" contributing to the larger conversation about technology's impact on human relationships and interactions?
RYTERBAND: The video in particular leaves a mark. It’s uncomfortable—makes you think. My hope is that when people watch it, they’ll feel the connection between technology and addiction. Maybe something will resonate—one person might think about how they use social media, another might think about porn, for another it might just be watching tv, or the endless hours working on a computer. I don’t want us to be blind to the ways technology is shaping our society and our minds. I think the song is pointing a finger at that.
LUNA: As your second EP Echoes is set to release later this year, what can listeners anticipate in terms of themes, sounds, and artistic exploration?
RYTERBAND: In brief: it’s four songs, followed by 3 or 4 remixes. The theme is consistent: psychological distortions and healing, human connection and disconnection. The last track is the title track, “Echoes.” That’s the most hopeful of the bunch. The video for that one is going to blow people’s hearts open in the best way.
LUNA: Your background includes a decade-long meditation practice. How does this spiritual aspect influence your creative process and the emotional depth of your music?
RYTERBAND: I wouldn’t know how to access my own emotional world if not for meditation teaching me how to feel. I wouldn’t be able to recognize the state of timeless flow that arrives (on the best days) when I’m writing. I wouldn’t understand the human condition half as well either. And maybe most importantly—because of meditation, I feel a sense of awe and wonder about being alive. I write songs about all this stuff. And all along the way, meditation helps me deal with the ups and downs of being creative as well—procrastination, fear of putting things out into the world, the discomfort of writing… I should also say specifically: my jam is mindfulness meditation, and I’m a particular fan of the teacher Shinzen Young.
LUNA: Looking beyond the release of "Lies" and the upcoming EP, what are your long-term artistic goals and aspirations as a songwriter and producer?
RYTERBAND: My long term goal is just to be the best songwriter and recording artist I can be—to be as open of a channel as I can be, so whatever music is supposed to come through me does, with as little suffering as possible.
