Ryan Keen – Interview
Ryan Keen is a bright star in the future of new acoustic music. Born and raised in Totnes, Devon he has a chilled-out seaside vibe to his music, which combines gentle melodies and impressive technical guitar playing, fitting somewhere between Newton Faulkner and Ed Sheeran, which is quite a comfortable place to be!
Having been lucky enough to see him perform at Wakestock Festival back in 2012, I can see and hear that he has come a long way over the last year and his self-funded shed recorded debut album, released on Monday 23rd September, is a must buy.
With his already well established fan base, his upcoming tour including Brighton’s Concorde 2 on October 6th is sure to be a hit so catch him across the UK this October if you can.
I was lucky enough to be able to ask him ten quick questions in amongst his busy schedule so here you are. Enjoy!
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Q: If money was no object, what music video would you make?
A: Hmmm good question…. A music video in space I think!
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Q: Do you feel like a different person on stage than you are walking down the street? Is it nice to not necessarily be recognized in public but then so well received when you are performing?
A: Yeah I guess but it’s a very different situation, I’m always happy to be on stage doing what I love! Yea it’s great, I’m not seeking fame but having good turn outs and good receptions at gigs is always humbling.
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Q: Who did you have posters of on your wall when you were growing up?
A: Bob Marley and John Lennon
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Q: What are your musical aspirations over the next five years?
A: I’d like to have achieved international success, and released another two albums (minimum!)
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Q: Do you have any pre-gig rituals or lucky mascots?
A: Nothing unusual sorry! Just normal vocal warm ups etc
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Q: Do you ever visualise your music videos when you’re playing those songs live?
A: I normally try to get back to where my head was at when I wrote the song, if I draw back to that emotion I think I perform the song better.
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Q: Is there any artist in a different genre that you’d really like to work with?
A: I’d love to work with James Blake.
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Q: What role do you think the internet has played in your success so far?
A: I haven’t been great with doing loads of YouTube videos or going viral but the Internet has been a great way for me to be able to speak directly with fans at any time. I’m always interacting with people on Twitter and Facebook and I love Instagram too.
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Q: Do you usually write the music or the lyrics first?
A: It’s normally the music first but I quite often get a certain line/phrase/concept that will inspire the song.
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Q: Finally, what was your first guitar, when did you get it and did you give it a name?
A: I got my first guitar on my 8th birthday, it was a 3/4 size classical guitar. I don’t think it ever got a name unfortunately!
Words by Tom Sayer
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Ryan Keen
Concorde 2
6th October
7-11pm
£9
www.ryankeen.co.uk/
www.facebook.com/ryankeenuk
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