We’re looking forward to introducing you to Ryan Flores. Check out our conversation below.
Ryan, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What is a normal day like for you right now?
It’s pretty simple right now. Wake up: juice, coffee, breakfast, gym, recording studio.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a writer, music producer, and photographer based in Colorado. I make my living through music and I’m currently in the process of recording two albums of original music- one electropop singer-songwriter album and a latin instrumental album.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
People pleasing and perfectionism. They’re really two different expressions of the same thing, which is the fear of being judged. The advent of social media has amplified self consciousness in people because the disconnection from face-to-face interaction emboldens people to troll others and be hypercritical of them. This is especially true of artists. For me it materialized in starting projects and never finishing them. I’m over that now, thankfully. I’ve released dozens of songs in the last few years.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
Very recently. Again, social media affords people the luxury of curating a polished product without ever showing the mess, insecurity, anguish, or outright despair behind the process. My newest single, “The Darkling Thrush” under my moniker Ryancito, celebrates the power of vulnerability. I’m singing the song to myself, really. I think society too easily mistakes silence for stupidity and vulnerability for weakness.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Whose ideas do you rely on most that aren’t your own?
My abuela. She was a wellspring of wisdom and always made me feel like I was learning something crucial in every conversation I had with her.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
Absolutely! I feel like discipline is the most vital characteristic I’ve cultivated in my creative process. Voltaire penned, “life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.’ As a songwriter in late stage capitalism I often feel like the musicians who kept playing while the Titanic sank into the ocean. That’s a bit dramatic and despondent, I suppose. I still have hope in humanity and the United States but these are dark times. I will keep singing into chaos of it all, if only for my own sanity and service to love.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanaflores
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-flores-music
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ryanfooresband
