"CANADIAN PRINCE aka INTERNET ZACK MORRIS aka REMIX RYAN GOSLING aka MR. STEAL YOUR WIFI aka PRODUCER GAME OMAR BORKAN AL GALAAKA," RYAN HEMSWORTH's perfectly penned Twitter bio, more accurately describes the Nova Scotia native than I probably ever could. Lauded for his production efforts for Oakland fixtures Shady Blaze and Main Attrakionz, as well as for his slew of highly praised remixed tracks (one of which blends the unlikely duo of Cat Power and Angel Haze), Hemsworth's right on track to oust Drake as the man who puts on for Canada.
As a member of LA-based WEDIDIT (which includes Shlohmo and RL Grime) Ryan is known for his highly-focused ability to construct poignant collaborations and confluences of sound. So it was a serious no-brainer that he, Carol, and Humberto put their minds together for the OCSS14 soundtrack, an ode to LA's suburban street-racing culture. I caught up with the self-professed "softest" in the game to talk his forthcoming debut album Guilt Trips, sampling Amanda Bynes, and conversations with Donkey Kong Country higher-ups.
Emily Manning: You provided the soundtrack to our fast-and-furious, first-ever runway show––11 minutes and 33 seconds of serious hitters. I heard Jacques Greene’s latest Ciara take, as well as your most recent single "Against a Wall." Can you walk me through the rest of the set and how you approached making the mix?
Ryan Hemsworth: I had a bunch of good conversations with Humberto and Carol on the phone through the whole process. Although they had a clear vision of what they wanted and a great concept, it was so cool because they were genuinely down for what I wanted to bring to the table. I decided to make it a real blend of elements––because I think that was important to the concept of the whole show. The cars, the slight nostalgia, the shimmering beauty, but also the assembly line-feel of the models' walks and everything. It was a lot mixed together, which I think works well with how I approach music. I also wanted to just play my friends' music as well. Although a couple of the tracks are released, they're pretty much all versions that each artist (very kindly) hooked me up with, like the instrumentals from Jacques Greene and Kaytranada, and stripped down versions of a few other tracks. It was exciting to be a part of the show so I wanted it to be special!
Your debut solo LP, Guilt Trips, is due out on October 22nd, and features vocals from Baths and the artist formerly known as Kitty Pryde, among others. What else should we expect to hear? You've also dropped six EPs to date––what motivated the decision to release a full length album?
Lots of feels. My head was definitely filled with memories from high school, for whatever reason. I'm just starting to appreciate the music I listened to then, like post-rock and all that stuff. I think this might be because a lot of the EP was made on the road, and when I travel I'm usually just sitting at an airport or whatever, just thinking. That'll probably also lend itself to this album being more "headphone music" than anything else, I think. Which I want. I'm trying to make this whole project more personal, so you can listen to it in a personal place or way. I've also been alienating myself from playing all these festival shows and shit. They never feel intimate, so it was definitely a conscious decision to just keep moving away from that world.
As a member of LA-based WEDIDIT (which includes Shlohmo and RL Grime) Ryan is known for his highly-focused ability to construct poignant collaborations and confluences of sound. So it was a serious no-brainer that he, Carol, and Humberto put their minds together for the OCSS14 soundtrack, an ode to LA's suburban street-racing culture. I caught up with the self-professed "softest" in the game to talk his forthcoming debut album Guilt Trips, sampling Amanda Bynes, and conversations with Donkey Kong Country higher-ups.
Emily Manning: You provided the soundtrack to our fast-and-furious, first-ever runway show––11 minutes and 33 seconds of serious hitters. I heard Jacques Greene’s latest Ciara take, as well as your most recent single "Against a Wall." Can you walk me through the rest of the set and how you approached making the mix?
Ryan Hemsworth: I had a bunch of good conversations with Humberto and Carol on the phone through the whole process. Although they had a clear vision of what they wanted and a great concept, it was so cool because they were genuinely down for what I wanted to bring to the table. I decided to make it a real blend of elements––because I think that was important to the concept of the whole show. The cars, the slight nostalgia, the shimmering beauty, but also the assembly line-feel of the models' walks and everything. It was a lot mixed together, which I think works well with how I approach music. I also wanted to just play my friends' music as well. Although a couple of the tracks are released, they're pretty much all versions that each artist (very kindly) hooked me up with, like the instrumentals from Jacques Greene and Kaytranada, and stripped down versions of a few other tracks. It was exciting to be a part of the show so I wanted it to be special!
Your debut solo LP, Guilt Trips, is due out on October 22nd, and features vocals from Baths and the artist formerly known as Kitty Pryde, among others. What else should we expect to hear? You've also dropped six EPs to date––what motivated the decision to release a full length album?
Lots of feels. My head was definitely filled with memories from high school, for whatever reason. I'm just starting to appreciate the music I listened to then, like post-rock and all that stuff. I think this might be because a lot of the EP was made on the road, and when I travel I'm usually just sitting at an airport or whatever, just thinking. That'll probably also lend itself to this album being more "headphone music" than anything else, I think. Which I want. I'm trying to make this whole project more personal, so you can listen to it in a personal place or way. I've also been alienating myself from playing all these festival shows and shit. They never feel intimate, so it was definitely a conscious decision to just keep moving away from that world.