Something Wicked Artist Profile: Ryan Hemsworth

artist ryan hemsworthCanadian producer Ryan Hemsworth has been making beats for the last four years. With a background as a singer and guitarist, he quickly took his foot off rock and into hip hop and more software oriented music. “I started playing guitar in eighth grade, and the first song I learned was either by the Hives or it was Foo Fighters’ “All My Life”. I was the drummer in a band called Hemsworth for a brief stint, too – it was not very great. I didn’t even write the songs, but the band was named after me.” Although he had a history with instruments, his freshman year as a journalism major at Nova Scotia’s University of King’s College would spark a change, “I got my MacBook in the first year at university, and that’s really when I stopped playing live instruments and started geeking out on my laptop.”

As Ryan finished up his studies, it became increasingly harder to figure what career path he wanted to choose, “Music has always been number one for me. I wanted to be in a cool rock band since forever. But when I finished high school and I wasn’t a rock star yet, I had to figure out what I liked second best and it was definitely writing. To graduate from journalism school, we had to make a magazine and get an internship, and the magazine I made was a music one. I basically tried to make a FADER rip-off. Now when I read reviews of my stuff, you see patterns repeated. That’s what I learned from spending time in both worlds, just how a lot of people can be lazy, in both music and writing.”

In 2011, his first release No Plans was featured on SPIN magazine’s Top 20 R&B albums of 2011 and he followed that up with A Way and Kitsch Genius, which showed his penchant for creating a unique sound. Like most new producers today, Ryan found his biggest audience through releasing bootlegs. Although he’d been making music for a while, his remixes of Future and Lil’ B are what made more people listen to the Canadian producer. Ryan’s output to date has been not only impressive, but highly eclectic. As an artist and performer, he blurs the lines of hip-hop and electronica. Amidst the army of people making their own beats, it’s Ryan’s ear, attention to detail and willingness to chop and screw his tracks that help him grow to the star he always wanted to be.

A little over two years ago, Ryan was just a music blogger, experimenting with his music production. Now, he’s reading his debut album Guilt Trips, due out on Last Gang Records on October 22nd. With his album release so close to the date of Something Wicked 2013, we’re sure you’ll be hearing some tracks off the album when Ryan Hemsworth takes the stage October 26th. Buy your tickets today before they all get snatched up!

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