Ryland James Interview - Songs, Thank The Rain, The Reason

Ryland James, a young Canadian artist who’s a two-time Juno Award nominee, has recently released three excellent new singles: “Thank The Rain,” “The Reason” and “Heart of Me” (on the 21 Entertainment label). These songs, which combine pop & soul music for an appealing style and sound, are the first releases from his upcoming EP, which James will release later this year. And impressively, it indicates that James’ EP could be his best work to date.

What makes James’ music stand out is his powerful, soulful lead vocals. His voice has a rich, smooth sound, that is accentuated by his soulful style. His melodic, mainstream single “Thank The Rain” provides a fine showcase for his lead & harmony vocals. In addition, James’ other two new songs are equally effective. “The Reason” is a playful, uptempo song, and “Heart of Me” is heartfelt, emotional ballad.

In his new bio, James discussed his music, and his own personal development over the past few years. “This new music is about the vulnerability, trust, and courage it’s taken to face the awakening of my true self in the past few years,” he said. “After multiple back-to-back life-altering events, I spent a lot of time in my own space contemplating, searching, and questioning harder than I’ve ever questioned before. This chapter of my life was in some ways the most challenging period, but in the end, it was also the most rewarding. I’ve never felt so clear about who I am and the true nature of my purpose in this world.”

James, who is 25, is from the small Canadian town of Deseronto, which is east of Toronto. He had a breakout hit in 2019 with his song “In My Head,” which was certified platinum in Canada. Then in 2020 he released his debut EP, Ryland James, which furthered established his popularity,. Also in 2020, James released a holiday EP called A Little Christmas.

Notably, in 2021 James received two Juno Award nominations, for Pop Album of the Year and Breakthrough Artist of the Year.

We are pleased to do this new Q&A interview with Ryland James. He tells how he wrote his new songs “Thank The Rain,” “The Reason” and “Heart of Me.” He also discusses his earlier EP and how he got started in the music business.

DK: I read that you’re from a small town in Ontario, Canada. How did you get started with singing and writing songs?

Here’s the audio of Ryland James’ single, “Thank The Rain.”

Ryland James: Yeah, I’m from a very small town called Deseronto. It’s about two-and-a-half hours east of Toronto. I’ve been singing from the time I was really young, and I grew up with a strong gospel influence. My grandma played gospel piano growing up, and she had gospel records playing. She grew up singing with her sisters, and she learned how to sing all the harmony in gospel music. So I learned harmony from her, and we always sang these songs on the piano.

When I was around 10, I focused more on my singing. My mom and grandma heard this kid singing “Who’s Lovin’ You” by the Jackson 5. He was my age and they said, “I think you could sing this.” So I belted it out, and they were like, “Wow, you have a talent, you can sing.” And from then on, I realized I had something maybe deeper than a normal kid. Then I started posting covers on YouTube, and I became interested in writing songs when I was 11 or 12. I wrote my first song on the piano in the basement. At first I was into singing and I loved covering songs, but then the songwriting naturally came over time.

DK: What was your first big break in the music business?

James: Before I was in the music business, I was on this kids TV show called The Next Star in Canada. It was a big show for teenagers and I was on the last season of that. I made it to the top six, so that was my first time being on a set every day, and experiencing some success.

Afterwards, I went back home and I started posting on social media. I posted some covers, and then I started writing and learned how to play guitar. Then in 2016, I got this DM on Twitter from Tyler Shaw, who’s a big Canadian artist. He said he loved my music and wanted me to work with him on some demos. So that led me to working with my management company, which also represented Tyler and Alessia Cara.

Then when I was 17, I had my first big song when I put out “Good To You,” which I wrote with Gray Hawken & Curtis Smith. It got about 5 million streams, so that was a big moment.

DK: After that, you had a chart hit in Canada with your song, “In My Head.” Can you talk about writing that song, and how did it become a hit?

Here’s the audio of Ryland James’ single, “The Reason.”

James: I wrote “In My Head” in early 2018. I had signed to Universal Music Canada, and I went on a writing trip, to write songs for an EP. I went to London and Stockholm to write, and that’s where “In My Head” came from.

I was in Universal’s studio in Stockholm, and I was working with a few other writers. At first we wrote a song that we weren’t really feeling. But then we said, “Let’s start on something else,” and we started playing the chords for “In My Head.” Then the first line poured out, and that was the starting point for the song, and it came together. Then we finished the song and made the demo.

When I got back home, my parents and other people loved the song. So we thought it was great, and then I went to L.A. to work with Jon Levine, who produced it.

DK: In 2020 you released your first EP (called Ryland James). Can you talk about making your EP, and what are your favorite songs on it?

James: Most of the songs on the EP were from my Europe writing trip, and then some from writing in Toronto. So the songs had been written a couple years prior to 2020, and I took those songs and we started to perform them on tour. I went on tour with Alessia Cara and performed a bunch of those songs, and we had the audience members knowing these songs before they had been properly recorded. So it came together when we saw what songs were hitting with people.

My favorite song on the record was “Day Too Late,” which I wrote in Stockholm. That was a song I had a real connection to. I liked the messaging of it, about living for today and just being alive, and musically it’s so great. And Jon (Levine) did so well with the production. It had originally been like a pop song, and then it became this gospel, soulful vibe when it was produced. So “Day Too Late” was my favorite, and “This Moment” was another favorite.

DK: Two months ago you released your song, “The Reason.” Can you talk about writing that song?

Here’s the audio of Ryland James’ single, “Heart Of Me.”

James: Yes, “The Reason” was a fun one. That’s one of my most upbeat, lighthearted memories in a session. I wrote that with Good Grief, which is a songwriting duo (Bryn McCutcheon & Kirstyn Johnson) in Toronto that I’m good friends with, and with Sam Arion, who is also a producer and a good friend in Toronto that I wrote the bulk of the new music with.

At the time, I’d been listening to a lot of Chris Stapleton, listening to good soulful, bluesy, classic styles of music. Just keeping it simple and taking it back to basics. We went in and Sam’s really great at putting that together. He played a chord progression, and I think the storytelling was very easy to create over those types of chords. It was definitely was one of those sessions and where the song flowed out. And to me, it’s my universal love song. It’s about anybody who’s ever felt the feeling of love, whether that’s a relationship, whether that’s something you’re doing with life, or whether that’s just the feeling itself. Like love is the reason for being, and I always come back to that.

DK: I like your new single, “Thank the Rain.” It’s a strong song and you’re vocals are excellent. Can you tell the story behind writing that song?

James: I’m glad you like it; it’s one of my favorites too. We saved that one for this time. I wrote that in early 2022, about three years ago. I was living in Toronto at the time; I had moved there from my small town. I was living in Toronto, and going through this period of waking up to a deeper view of life and perspective. You know, I’ve been going, going, going for a long time.

I was 17 when I signed to management. So I was in this go, go, go sort of grind mentality, but not really paying attention to some deeper parts of myself and what was going on. And I really like lost myself. I found that even though all these amazing things were happening on the surface, like the tour and EP, and these cool looks and moments. But under the surface, I was not feeling myself. I was not feeling who I was. And when the pandemic hit, that made me go within and I started feeling some of those deeper emotions.

Here’s the lyric video of Ryland James’ hit, “In My Head.”

So I moved to Toronto, and I remember reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, which is this great book about mindfulness and being present. And it was the first time I was able to actually practice that principle. I’m a person who’s so in my head all the time, that when I was able to practice just being here now and feeling what’s here, and letting creativity flow from that place. And when we wrote “Thank The Rain,” it was my first time meeting Good Grief, who I wrote “The Reason” with. They understood everything I was talking about. I said, “You know, I’ve been in this space where I’ve been doing a lot of inner work and taking a step back, and just feeling into my experience more deeply without all the go, go, go. And they totally understood.

“Thank the Rain” was one of those songs where it felt like it wrote itself, and had that rising energy, like a gut feeling. But it was even more intense because I wasn’t trying to make it anything. It was almost like channeling it from something higher. And yeah, the song really is that death and rebirth metaphorically, of letting go of this old concept I had of myself, and having the courage to feel my experience and let go of those things I was trying to hold onto that wasn’t really me anymore. So that’s what “Thank the Rain” is about.

DK: Now that you’ve released these new songs, do you have plans to release a new EP?

James: Yes, I have a new EP coming out. I’ve put out three songs from that EP so far. I put out “Heart of Me” back in October and then “The Reason” and now “Thank The Rain.” Then I have some new songs coming out over the next few weeks and months. And the central theme of the EP is very much in that wheelhouse of what I was talking about with “Thank The Rain.” It’s very self-reflective, introspective, questioning universal concepts, questioning what it means to be here, to be living. Yeah, it’s big concepts like life, love, transformation, all those kinds of things. So I’m very excited to put that out.

DK: I want to ask you about your live show and performance. Do you have some shows lined up or a tour?

James: I have some shows coming up. I have a few things in the works through this spring up here in Canada, and I’m hoping to get out there and perform live because that’s my favorite thing. And I’m going to be singing a lot of these new songs for the very first time while I’m doing those live shows through this spring. So I’m very excited for that.