Photo credit Christian James
Heavily influenced by iconic eras in music and electronic sub-genres, Cultivate the Silence is the upcoming EP from LA based, UK electro-pop artist, Sunny Riot.
The four tracks are immersed in pop and electro sounds with pristine melodies and unassailable rhythms. Featuring everything from an anthemic pop ballad on “Babylon” to spoken word on “Lonely People.” Each song reveals more of Sunny’s personal journey surviving with clinical depression from a young age, and the personal growth he found through surrender. In discussing the EP, Sunny said, “I was lost in life for so many years and no doubt I will be again if I stop cultivating the silence. All wisdom is stored in the silence, in between the noise.”
Many artists attempt at some point to take the past, drag it into the present, and rip it apart so they can break free of it for the future. Sunny spent his childhood in and out of hospitals with a condition that, at the time, claimed the lives of most that were afflicted with it. He spent his teen years trying to drown out those memories with anything he could get his hands on. Like many a conflicted and twisted young person, he channeled this torment into dark poetry, fleshing it into heavy acoustic songs.
In a time when songs are so often written by committee, Sunny Riot’s music is a taste of authenticity, grit and stark personal narrative, crafted straight from his experience and motivation – visceral for the listener and cathartic for the writer. Although today he’s clean and sober, father to a toddler and living in LA, the journey that got Sunny here is deeply ingrained in his songs and vision – as well as the bubbling intensity behind everything he does.
How did you get to where you are now?
It was an unplanned, organic process but not without its ups and downs. Long story short, I took a break from my job as a songwriter in 2016 and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, for a few months, to be with my wife who was working over there. I wasn’t happy at all. I didn’t enjoy the process of collaborating on commercial, pop songs anymore and I decided to quit the music industry. A series of chance meetings (all non music related) lead me to meet a music executive, who was having the exact same music industry crisis as I had. He suggested doing a music project together and that was the genesis of what eventually became ’The Sunny Riot project.’ I probably wrote and recorded 15 songs for this project but eventually whittled them down to 4 for this first EP titled, Cultivate the Silence due July 30. Most of the songs I wrote were quite politically charged but I decided I wanted to keep the first few songs I released as personal to me as possible.
How would you describe the highs and lows of being an artist?
It can be confusing at times, being an artist. I feel like every, single human is an artist. It can be confusing being human. The high of creating art, for me, is the recording process. Once I have everything written and I get to start painting on that audio canvas, the high kicks in. I can go for days, often without eating, before I come out of that room. It alights my brain like nothing else. The low is the comedown. Often, it was the realisation that nobody may ever hear what I created and facing the fact that I would always have to revert to doing something I didn’t care about in order to pay my bills.
What’s a musical era you couldn’t go without?
Anything 80’s. George Michael, Phil Collins but probably the biggest is anything made by Bon Jovi in the 80’s, before they stopped writing good songs.
What inspires you?
Critical thinkers, like George Carlin, Bill Hicks, Alan Watts and Russel Brand. Anything or anyone that makes me look at life differently than before I’d encountered it/them inspires me. David Bowie, Ray Davies and John Lennon are big inspirations for me when it comes to music.
Who is an artist that you look up to more than others today?
Most artists I’ve looked up to in my life are already dead. But if I had to pick someone who is alive then I guess it would be Elton John. He has continuously made great music throughout his career, he speaks his mind and appears to be an authentic figure and defied the odds in becoming a global superstar, because he certainly doesn’t look like your typical archetype.
Favorite activities to blow off some steam?
Football (soccer), running, martial arts, callisthenics, meditation, sex.
Tell us about your latest release and how it came about
“Ghost”is a collaboration between myself and my long time musical partner, Rob Ellmore (Kygo, Jonas Blue, The Mowgli’s, Selena Gomez, Little Hurt). It’s a song about ancestral baggage and limitations, a subject that had been on my mind for about a year or so before we wrote it. It came together really quickly and it was written and recorded within a couple of days of starting it, always a good sign. The feedback we received on it from friends and business colleagues was mind-blowing and it was pinned as a calling card for this project pretty quickly. Obviously, all art is subjective, but we are both really proud of this song and I believe it can be of service to whomever hears it.
Do you experience creative blocks quite often?
I’m in a creative block now funnily enough. Historically, I’ve always put pressure on myself and tried to force creation, which never worked. Right now I’m letting it go and just riding the wave and seeing what organically comes up, which, so far, has been nothing haha. I’m going to start taking long walks through neighbourhoods I’ve never been to before to see if anything hits me. Upping my meditation also usually helps, especially with anxiety, it takes that layer of conditioning of temporarily and helps me get more grounded.
How do you see yourself in the future?
Without sounding like a wanker, I don’t look to the future anymore, it’s never served me well. The future is now, for me. It’s how I choose to look at this existence. I would like to say that in the future I’ll be free of worries, I’ll be fully present with whatever I’m doing, I’ll be creatively fulfilled and I will be raising my baby boy in a loving way….but who the fuck knows? I think it will depend on how I conduct myself in the present.
What inspires your visuals?
Good question. Visuals and videos are something I haven’t given a lot of thought to. I’ve never considered myself talented enough in those departments to make any key decisions. I’ve always left them for someone else to take the reins. I enjoy working with my friends on different elements of projects so I enlist them to help me in those areas. I stick to what I know I’m well versed in. As for looks, I’ve alway had my own style and have decided to just stick with how I always present myself. I’ve been described as an androgynous, football hooligan on more than one occasion.
What is the most embarrassing memory and most proud moment of your career so far?
They both fell on the same day. Being asked to perform at Glastonbury Festival, whilst still being a teenager, was probably the proudest moment of my career. It’s not an everyday occurrence and I still can’t believe that happened for me. The review I got in NME afterwards…..is the most embarrassing!
What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
That I am powerless over people, places and things. Straight from the 12 steps. The pathways that opened up in my life after applying that simple sentence over and over again in my life has been phenomenal.
