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We’re super-excited to be speaking today with acclaimed Indie Soul Americana artist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Van Dordrecht. Greetings and salutations, Ryan! Before we dive into the Q&A mosh-pit, how has 2024 been treating you so far?
Nice to meet you!
I feel like 2024 has been all about trying to stay in the moment of releasing new art. There’s a special energy that can surround the creation of something. And when you recognize that you’ve captured that kind of energy, you want to stay in that moment as long as possible.
Kudos and major accolades on your beautiful and freshly-minted album Undone which was just released on January 5, 2024! Starting at the very top, can you give us the VH1-Behind the Music origin story on what inspired the album?
Ha! I grew up watching VH1-Behind the Music.
In general I live my life gathering experiences and knowledge that gets translated into songs. So I’m constantly writing, and taking stock of ideas that seem to fit together. When I see enough of a cohesive body of work begin to form, I start to explore ways to organize and present it. I’m always asking myself which pieces of my work feel the most relevant. I may have a song written years ago that didn’t feel relevant then, but does now, and vice versa.
Undone began with a trip I took to France and Italy to gather some life experience and do some writing. I came home with two songs that felt relevant. I was interested in working with some new people in the studio, and a friend recommended a producer in Portland named Raymond Richards. We went in for a few sessions and were getting some really great stuff. So I took a look at my material and asked the question of what felt relevant. The 10 songs that make up Undone are what emerged.
Undone explores moments of falling apart and letting go while at the same time celebrating connection and coming together. One of the most important criteria each song had to meet was that regardless of the lyrical content, they all had to be fun to sing and play. I think that’s what makes you want to smile even when listening to the sadder songs.
“Human Nature” off of the new LP knocked our proverbial socks off! What’s the story behind this gem of a ditty?
With “Human Nature” I was thinking a lot about groove. Songs like Daft Punk and Julian Casablancas’s “Instant Crush” that just stay in the pocket the whole time and never rise above a low boil because the groove feels so good. I was also playing with the amount of space to leave between phrases, so that lyrics have a chance to linger in the listener’s mind a little longer.
“Human Nature” is a collection of thoughts we all need to hear, but often fail to remember to tell ourselves. It’s really a song about being good to ourselves and each other, while recognizing what a mysterious and complex needle the human experience is to thread.
How is Undone similar to some of your past music? How is it different?
The two things that differentiate Undone from my past work are maturity, and writing almost everything on the piano. I have experienced a lot since writing my last record. I’ve traveled the world, loved, lost, become a parent, and had a successful career. It was new and exciting to approach making new music with that kind of experience bank to pull inspiration from.
The piano was actually the first instrument I learned to play, but over the years I haven’t always kept one around. I was able to get one sometime around 2016, and it inspired a new season of songwriting. I spent hours learning other people’s songs, and then finding a chord or rhythm that would inspire one of my own. I tend to utilize a broader range of keys and rhythms when writing on the piano, in comparison to the guitar. I was playing drums quite a bit too, and spending a ton of time finding the feel of a song.
I like a lot of music from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. I love the sounds and instruments from those eras. I suppose I’ve always been influenced by records from those times. With Undone I finally had the right people in the studio to capture my music in a similar way as they did it back then.
Who did the producing honors on the new album and what did the collaboration between artist and producer look like in the studio?
Raymond Richards produced the record with me. I start every record by stating the same thing. We’ll do everything in service of the songs. No egos about who plays which parts. If no one in the room can execute something we hear, then it’s time to call someone else in. We started out just the two of us and a drummer friend of ours. We ended up inviting 13 other musicians to participate in the sessions for Undone.
With the release of Undone, it looks like you’ve been quite busy on the touring/performing circuit! Can you give our ever-inquisitive readers a hint as to where they can check your shows out at and what they can expect from a Ryan Van Dordrecht performance?
We started out really focused on making the album release show something really special. I had almost everyone who played on the recording, in the band for our first couple shows. Ultimately it was a 12 piece band, including horns, piano, and guest vocalists. I wanted to celebrate everyone who helped me make the record. For our tour we scaled down to a 4 piece, and swapped out Adam Beam who played drums on the record for my friend Brian Koch (Blitzen Trapper).
Our shows end up feeling like a little looser version of the recordings, giving a little more time and space to let each of the musicians in the band shine. On the right kind of night I enjoy talking about the songs, and some nights are better for just vibing out and playing our set.
Check my website for tour updates. After our initial tour run, I’ll be spending a little time in Los Angeles writing and gearing up for more shows this spring and summer.
Who inspires you musically? Who were some of your earliest influences and who do you find yourself listening to now?
My first memories of listening to music were of Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, The Beach Boys, Willie Nelson, Prince, and The Beatles. I later got into stuff like Springteen, Petty, Dylan, AC/DC, and Aerosmith amongst others.
I couldn’t buy all the records I wanted as a kid due to my strict conservative upbringing. But I could listen to whatever I could find on the radio. So I ended up listening to a lot of top 40. As soon as I could drive, I was living at the record store, sneaking home all the music that was inaccessible to me when I was younger. Stuff like Nine Inch Nails, and Metallica. All the while going back and forth between that and classics like Simon and Garfunkel.
I have a 15 year old daughter, so we listen to a ton of SZA and Taylor Swift. Both amazing artists BTW. However we’ve really bonded over our mutual love for Frank Ocean. On my own, I’m all over the map. I love old school jazz like Antônio Carlos Jobim, Bill Evans, Grant Green, and Miles Davis. I usually have a couple pop artists that I’m obsessed with at any given moment. Right now it’s Rosalía and Yebba, they both have amazing voices, and really interesting songs. Besides that I’m constantly listening to other artists both past and present within my own genre. I really love Chris Stapleton’s latest record Higher, and lately I’ve been revisiting some 90’s gems like The Wallflowers, Bringing Down the Horse.
In your humble opinion, what differentiates Undone from the other releases on the music landscape?
We often create what we want to hear. In my case I have a real nostalgia for the eras of Queen, Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac and many more from those golden ages of rock. Without thinking about it too much, I think we can just gravitate towards creating things that fill spaces we don’t see being filled as much these days.
Can you introduce our readers to some of the other talented musicians who lent their musical alchemy into making Undone a reality?
Absolutely! I am so lucky to have had such a wonderful bunch of musicians lend their talents to help make Undone. First off there’s my fellow highschool choir mate Eric Early, who also happens to be the singer for the band Blitzen Trapper. Eric sang harmony and played classical guitar on “Don’t Hide Your Love.” Haley Johnsen who plays bass and sings backing vocals for the band Big Wild sang on a few tracks, along with guest vocalists Megan Diana, Mila Phelps Friedl, Jen Deale, and Chris Spicer. We had an incredible horn section made up of my friend Trevor Rasmussen and Sam Dechenne. Our rhythm section was Adam Beam, and Alex Chapman. And we couldn’t have achieved such a classic sound without the help of Nathan Trueb on guitar and Michael Elson on piano and organ.
At the end of the day what do you hope listeners walk away with after listening to the new album?
In all seriousness – a good time!
I aimed to create something that is fun to listen to, play, dance, cry, laugh, and sing along to. If the music moves any amount of people to do that, then it is a success.
Thank you for spending some time with us today, Ryan! Where can people go to find out more about you and your music?
Thank you!
Follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rvandordrecht/ or visit my website https://www.ryanvandordrecht.com/
