Hello, human!
I'm back from being away so long, but I bring good tidings!
I just released my dystopian EP, “Future Imperfect”, which is available on ryako.bandcamp.com for sale. I decided to release it on November 19th because, exactly one year after I had begun filming the “Starfleet Boys” music video. I thought it would only be right to begin something else, something special, on the same day.
I am always working on music. Always. There are still a lot of demos tucked away in my laptop that need polishing before release. I am never in need of material. However, the downside to all this unbridled outpouring of creativity is that I have to really sit down and focus to finish something properly. Otherwise, all I would do is create unpolished demos and never release anything new. Sometimes sitting down and focussing means I have to disappear for a bit.
The majority of the “Future Imperfect” EP was written two years ago during FAWM. I had decided that I would try my hand at playing the electric guitar so that I could add different elements to my normal songwriting. Adding electric guitar changed something in the way I wrote. I was still writing Nerdcore songs, but the sound became far more aggressive and, finally, I felt like using the F-word, which I often bust out in real life, but hardly ever in my music. Adding electric guitar gave me that extra oomph, that feeling of power, and allowed me to express my anger more deeply. I am not an angry person most of the time, but, I’ll be real, I have a temper and I’m impatient. When I feel rage, it is overwhelming and it’s usually because I feel an injustice has been done. I, as the person on the receiving end of this injustice, feel the need to express that anger. Usually I do that through a tweet or through a long rant, but, this time, I thought I would channel all of that into some of my 2016 FAWM tracks.
“Furiosa”, “Eat Me”, and “Sanctuary” were written two years ago, but were only polished and put together this year. I am so proud of these tracks. I loved smashing my inner fangirl and my rage together to produce something that, to me, sounds powerful and gritty. I love bending genres in an attempt to create something new. And, even, if no one likes what I've made, it's cool.
The cosplay for the cover is insane. I will warn you now that I am not afraid to look frightening and hideous. I decided that I would recreate the black makeup from “Mad Max: Fury Road”, then combine it with whatever looked post-apocalyptic. I bleached and cut up an old shirt. I painted an old sweater, then shredded it, then painted it again. I wore a necklace I already owned (which I actually wore on an audition day for a music conservatory...an audition I failed miserably). I bought some fake blood and some very light-colored contact lenses so that my makeup and eyes would make a cool effect. The photoshoot did not take a long time, but some of the poses required me to painfully tense all my muscles and open my mouth as wide as possible to look like I was screaming. It was all worth it.
Although the sound of “Future Imperfect” is different from the sound of “Fangirl”, I definitely included all the fan service and references of the fandoms. I am still a fangirl at heart, after all, and I feel that, if I write anything inspired by a film, I need to do the film justice. That’s how much respect I have for it.
So, if you are interested in my awesome EP, “Future Imperfect”, you can purchase it on bandcamp for a few coins. I have also uploaded “Fangirl” to bandcamp, but you can still download it for free, though you definitely have the option to contribute some coin. No, I don’t think I’ll be making any serious money from this, but I’m hoping to at least use some of the proceeds to fund future photoshoots and music videos.
If you don't have the funds to spare to buy the EP, then you can listen to it on my YouTube channel. I know what it's like to be poor and to struggle just to make ends meet. I'm broke AF, too, so I have to DIY most everything. But, if you do purchase the EP, understand that all the funds will go to making more fun music, videos, and photoshoots.
Find me on bandcamp at ryako.bandcamp.com
Witness me, human.