Ry X is an artist who isn’t afraid to descend down the musical rabbit hole.
Born Ry Cuming, he is a self-confessed musical wanderer, yet there is a level of authenticity that connects his projects like Howling, The Acid and Ry X.
“I was just out in the Joshua Tree, recording in an old Airstream caravan on Adam [Freeland, one-third of The Acid]’s property with no electricity, just solar power. Then with Frank [Wiedemann, Howling] in Ibiza or Berlin we’ll pull some synths and drum machines out and just start creating. It’s the energy of what we experience as humans,” says Cuming.
“As important as the amazing recordings are, from a technical standpoint, I’m interested in the energy there. It doesn’t matter if you’re recording on a phone or in a multimillion-dollar studio, it’s the heart of a track, when it transcends all of that and becomes real. You feel it straight away.”
It’s the kind of philosophy that would bolster the confidence of any aspiring bedroom artist. There’s an innate humanness and all-round calming vibe that seems to permeate down the phone line as Cuming speaks. “I feel like people get stuck on this idea of demos and proper studios, trying to make things perfect – none of us are perfect, and I struggle to relate perfect,” he says. “It’s important to move past the ego and create from a human place. That’s the path I choose now.”
In 2010, Cuming released a self-titled album that created a disconnect within his artistry, though some gems like ‘Sweat’ made it through that period. Ultimately, getting to experience the two faces of the music industry helped clear a more defined path for the young Australian artist.
“I put out a record which required me to lean in to the industry,” he says. “I was playing these shows in front of people I wasn’t connecting with, there was no community, and it was a massively sobering moment. It was a, ‘Fuck this, I’m leaving’ moment. You can’t suddenly jump from inauthentic behaviour to relevant authenticity – it takes a big shift in consciousness first.”
During this artistic flux, Ry X found himself negotiating the balance between art and commerce, discovering that the fewer middlemen were involved, the better. “You can’t think about commerce when you’re making art. You have to protect the art. If I make something I resonate with, hopefully I can get it to people without the industry getting involved. That’s a beautiful relationship – there’s just someone making, sharing and people responding to it. The commerce side will come. But the two cannot really be said in the same breath. Not for me anyway.”
By industry standards, the 2013 Berlin EP set the stage for Cuming to capitalise on the Ry X name with a big debut album release – but what came next instead was Liminal, a woozy electronic album with The Acid. The move baffled some onlookers at the time, but it earned Cuming a cult following.
“Success usually makes me run the other way,” he laughs. “When Berlin was doing well, the vibe around me was, ‘Do an album, you have to do Ry X.’ I wanted to put out the album with The Acid; I want to play shows in the dark with weird projections. With Howling, we have the song ‘Howling’, the remix was really big, then the next thing we put out was this grungy antithesis. If you do that for long enough, you’ll maintain your path enjoying realer moments of success.
“If you keep trying to chase that success, you’re in a bad place – you’re kind of fucked. I have to keep challenging myself, stay ahead of my own curve. The record with The Acid was slightly ahead of the curve. How beautiful though that you’re part of a movement and then you get to be part of a new movement.”
In May this year, Cuming finally got around to releasing Dawn, the debut Ry X album. The record holds a sense of unfurling one’s self, of wanting and wanderlust, that stems from all his surroundings – starting with a childhood spent on an isolated island in the New South Wales village of Angourie.
“I’ve been based between LA and Berlin for the last decade or so – it’s still weird being around so many humans,” he says. “Right now I’m three hours’ north of LA sitting on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, soaking it in before I go to Europe. That wanderlust is part of who I am. Dawn got imbued with all those things. There’s a saying I love, and I’m paraphrasing – ‘As far as you go out into the universe, there is equal distance to explore inside.’ It’s cool to think of us as this midpoint between these two places.”
Now, Cuming is set to bring his meditative outlook back home for Falls Festival. “I get strangely nervous coming back to Australia,” he says. “I have this want to connect with my country. There’s also a huge sense of humility, coming from such a tiny town and having experienced so much, that I get to share this with the culture and community that raised me. That’s a pretty sacred thing. The fact that I am received there at all is a huge honour.”
Falls Festival 2016/17, featuring Ry X, happens Wednesday December 28 – Monday January 2 at Lorne, Marion Bay and Byron Bay. Ry X also appearsat Newtown Social Club on Friday January 6.Dawnis out now through Liberator/Infectious.
