We had the good fortune of connecting with Matthew Ryals and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Matthew, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
Risk plays an important role in my life from pivotal decisions to my approach to performing.

Simply being a musician is an inherently risky endeavor, especially when you take into account the financial side of things. That risk feels compounded when working on the fringes of music, what many call “experimental” music.

In music, building a sustainable career is extremely difficult. There are many fields and types of work one can do, but if you want to find a balance between creating your own work and earning a living, there is no clear path. Everyone has to carve out their own way. But many folks do it and I find their journeys inspiring.

In my late teens, I began to embrace risk and started viewing this life as an opportunity to experiment, play, and follow my nose within my means. I grew up playing guitar, but I didn’t study music or learn to read notation. Going to music school was a huge risk, and I was okay with not knowing what would happen on the other side.

After finishing grad school, I went through another large shift artistically. Instead of trying to make a career with my classical training, I let curiosity lead and I quickly ventured into sampling, synthesis, and performing with electronics. It was kind of a strange move to many, but I followed my instinct, interests, and what felt compelling.

Risk-taking and discovery also play a fundamental role in how I approach a performance. I’m not interested in delivering a picture-perfect live set, in which almost everything is planned like a presentation. That approach is too common and overly prevalent in electronic music concerts. Just like many other improvisers, a significant part of my practice involves developing and expanding a personal language. In concert, I use this vocabulary alongside things discovered in the moment, to coalesce something true to that time and place. It’s risky to not know what will happen and if I’ll be happy with the results, but this is how I’ve found a deep sense of meaning and purpose in performing, and how I’ve come to view performance as an integral part of my practice.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a synthesist and composer-improviser based in Brooklyn, NY. I work mostly with abstract sound as material, and have found ways of making music with it both spontaneously and over time that occasionally lead to outcomes I’m happy with. My primary instrument is the modular synthesizer, an electronic instrument invented in the early sixties. What I like about it is that it allows me to work with electrical signals in a very raw way, akin to sculpting.

A huge part of my practice is focused on improvisation, which requires the building of a personal, musical language. In my more composed work, I often use generative processes, which are systems that allow music to compose itself to varying degrees within limitations. Whether improvised, composed, or a combination of both, some elements of my music include nonlinear feedback, noise, and embracing chance.

I’m also interested in experimenting with how I release my work, what I think of as manifold archiving. Some of the things I’ve explored are releasing multiple versions of pieces across different releases or even multiple versions of entire releases.

As an educator, I lead classes, workshops, and lessons in modular synthesis, music production, electronic music composition, and guitar. I find a lot of fulfillment in working with others, sharing what I’ve learned, and nurturing other artistic voices. With many students, I take on more of a mentorship role, which I always find deeply rewarding.

As for overcoming challenges and lessons learned – well, there are many challenges in music, and there always will be. Sometimes everything can feel like an uphill battle, but I’m fortunate that I’ve been able to release music on labels I admire, tour a lot, and collaborate with many wonderful folks.

Honestly, I’m always learning on the job. I’m very organized with my time, but I re-evaluate often and try to make improvements. I have a close group of musician friends and we are constantly bouncing ideas off each other. It’s important to have a supportive crew! Most importantly, I try to concentrate on a feeling of gratitude, being thankful for what I have, and living in the moment.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If a friend came to NYC, I’d bring them to Roulette in downtown Brooklyn to experience some incredible music. We’d spend a few evenings attending some of the smaller improv shows that are scattered throughout the city; a perfect way to hear how vibrant and diverse the community is here.

For food, I’d have to take them to Chinatown if they’ve never been, so we could go to some of my favorite spots such as Kong Sihk Tong, Gai Kitchen, or Spicy Village to name a few!

We’d likely do some gallery hopping, making sure to visit Perrotin & Swiss Institute. We’d catch a movie or a few back-to-back at Quad Cinema.

In the midnight hours, we’d head over to Nowadays, one of my favorite clubs here.

One of the best things to do is to simply take a really long walk and experience the different neighborhoods one after the other. That’s the best thing about New York, there’s always a neighborhood you haven’t explored before.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The first person that comes to mind is my college professor, Timothy Crist. Tim was my guitar instructor and taught several required courses and electives I took as a music student. We spent countless one on one hours together, in my lessons over those four years. Of course, he taught me how to interpret classical music and classical guitar technique, but he also believed in me and was full of encouragement. He exposed me to so much music from free jazz to early electronic music. He gave me huge discounts on private lessons during the summer months, which I desperately needed! We remain in touch to this day. He’s written numerous reference letters on my behalf, and has always expressed support as my creative pursuits have evolved overtime. Without a doubt, he’s one of the most important figures in my life.

Website: https://www.matthewryals.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthewryals/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsjJ_tUSdfVwitrp_WbYTNA

Other: https://matthewryals.bandcamp.com/

Image Credits
Eric Sorg
Triangle NY
Joyce N. Ho
Gabriela Del Valle

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