ryderoncrack is a Los Angeles producer with an otherworldly soundscape. Just three months ago he released his debut album, Die Hippie Scum, which we at the MSQ Shop have high praise for. We recently got a chance to catch up with Ryder to discuss the trials and tribulations behind the making of Die Hippie Scum, dream collaborations, the GOAT DAW, and what he's been cooking up next.
Interviewed by Max Olarinde.
Max: So how’d you get started making music?
ryderoncrack: I picked up the drums at the age of 8 or so after I watched a live Led Zeppelin performance. I was instantly hooked and wanted to learn how to be like the people who were on stage. At the age of 14, I picked up the guitar after a back injury that didn’t allow me to sit behind the drum set for a while. When I was injured, I learned my way around the piano and bass guitar as well. When I was 16, Kanye West entered my musical mental that made me wanting to start learning how to make beats. And from there I’ve combined the knowledge of real instruments, guitar pedals, and software to create my sound.
Max: Die Hippie Scum caught our attention the day it dropped, is the work you did on the album more within your comfort zone from a producing standpoint, or was this a challenging new atmosphere that you tried to create?
ryderoncrack: In my opinion, I executed the exact sound I wanted for the album. Organic, electric, and psychedelic. A very colorful album, created with many muted sounds. I’ve had this sound I’m trying to push in my head for years. Simply, real instrumental melodies with synth/omnisphere counter melodies with the hardest trap drums you could find.
Max: Were there any obstacles that came up during the making of Die Hippie Scum, and if so, how did you overcome them?
ryderoncrack: There were countless obstacles that came with creating it. Mostly relating to funding because everything is self-funded. And I had no help paying for everything. I sold my car for the Lil Gotit feature and was car-less for about 6 months while finishing up the album. But the main situations that came about were, getting scammed by multiple artist that I won’t mention but, biggest one was originally getting scammed by Yak Gotti and having to wait about 7 months to figure it out with YSL and get my feature back. But as far as specific challenging songs. All love was my most challenging song as far as arrangement and layering goes. I had so many ideas for it, had to be careful it didn’t sound like too much was going on at once.
Cover art for Die Hippie Scum
Max: What artists & producers would be a dream for you to collaborate with and why?
ryderoncrack: Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Travis Scott, Tyler the Creator, Tame Impala, Paul McCartney. Simply... the plethora of timeless music we could create is scary to even think about.
Max: There is still much debate over Ableton vs. Logic vs. FL Studio vs. Pro Tools, etc, being the superior workstation, my question is, which DAW do you prefer?
ryderoncrack: I use Logic because I feel like it allows me to lay down synths and guitars better. I like the interface of Logic and how it maps the instrumental stems. FL is really good with trap drums and would say if you wanna make Redda/Metro sounding beats go with FL, but if you like that James Blake feel, go with Logic.
Max: Is it true that you’ve got a track with Matt Ox in the works? And if so how’d that come about?
ryderoncrack: Yes that is true. The name of the track is “MISFITS” produced by Redda and me featuring Matt Ox. It came about because Redda and Alien (producers I work with) have gotten a few placements with him already so the connect was there. And I really think his sound fits what I'm trying to accomplish with this track, and that is just a straight hyper song to kick off the year. With production other producers can’t touch.
Max: Is there anything else you can tell us about your upcoming projects/work?
ryderoncrack: Currently building the team of underground Avengers for this next tape.
Set for June of 2023. I plan on dropping 3 singles this year. All will be on the tape.
Max: Are there any indie artists you’d like to give a shout-out to?
ryderoncrack: Crumb. They're my new favorite band! Their vibes are unmatched and would love to work with them one day. Other than them, I don’t really listen to a lot of music besides my own and a bunch of samples. I don’t like letting other people’s work influence me like that anymore, purely because I have a sound in my head that I need to push and I know will work, and I don’t want others art to disturb my vision.
ryderoncrack has more music coming this month, so be sure to stay up to date when his new visions come to life.
Follow ryderoncrack on IG here.
Stream Die Hippie Scum on all platforms here.
Written by Max Olarinde, @mobeige1 on all social media.
Comments