Ryan Jones Talks To Fanbase Music Magazine About His New Single, Oceans, And Much More

Interviewed by Duzzy Clayton

Intro

Ryan Jones (Ryan Botha) is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, born and raised along the coastline of KZN currently based in Johannesburg, South Africa. His sound is rooted in Folk-Americana with shades of Soft Rock, Blues, Country, and Indie. He strives to spread positivity and light wherever he goes, he writes authentic songs from the heart and he aims to make a connection with the listener. With his debut single ‘Ocean’ and various other songs in the works, he is excited to share his music and story.

Questions

Hi Ryan, welcome to Fanbase Music Magazine, can you first tell us where you are from and what got you into music?

Howzit Duzzy, thanks for having me. Sure, so I was born and raised in Kwa-Zulu-Natal, I grew up living on the South Coast from birth till age 14, that’s where I first started my journey in music, at age 9 I started guitar lessons, I was taught basic chord shapes and strumming patterns, once I started I couldn’t stop and by age 14 I had taught myself to play drums. In 2012 at age 15, I moved up to Richards Bay and that’s where I finished high school. I was a drummer and then a bassist in a band in grade 10. In grade 11 and matric, I started focusing a lot more on my songwriting and craft as a singer-songwriter and guitar player.

How would you describe your genre and sound?

It’s quite difficult for me to put it into one box, to be honest. I’d say it’s a healthy blend of Folk, Americana, Soft Rock, Country, and Blues. I just enjoy expressing myself through music, sometimes it’s mellow and sometimes it’s a bit more upbeat.

What sort of bands did you grow up listening to and how would you describe our musical taste today?

I grew up listening to a wide variety of music. My family’s musical taste is diverse so as a youngster I listened to everything and anything, from The Beatles to Nirvana. Growing up during the 2000s I most definitely enjoyed my fair share of R&B, Rap, EDM, House, and various other genres. As I’ve grown older, my musical taste has narrowed slightly but not too much, I’d say currently my top 3 bands/Artists are Caamp, Jack Johnson, and Xavier Rudd.

What is your guilty pleasure band or musician that people would be surprised you listen to?

I’m an avid ‘Rocker’ so I guess it would be a surprise for people to know that I’m into bands like Highly Suspect, The Dune Rats, and Nothing But Thieves. I’ll even throw it back with some Linkin Park, System of a Down or even some Korn… Rock and Punk, I’d say that’s my guilty pleasure.

What are some of the instruments you play and what is your favorite brand?

I’m currently confident in playing the drums, acoustic, electric, and bass guitar. I do have plans to learn more instruments too though, like the Ukulele, Harmonica, Banjo, and Mandolin. My favorite brand for acoustic guitars is Cole Clark, for electric guitars, and bass guitars I’d have to go with Fender, and for drums, I’d say Tama.

You are a solo musician, but can you explain how you record music or play live, do you have session musicians or people you jam with?

I tackle live performances completely solo at the moment. I perform with a kick drum acoustic guitar and occasionally a looping pedal. I do have aspirations to perform with a session band on some occasions, that’s something I’ll be looking into for 2024. With regards to studio and recording, the first track “Ocean” and most likely the next few to follow, were produced, mixed, and mastered by Rudolph Botha, he handled the instrumentation side of things for the recording too.

Let’s talk about your debut track Ocean, it is an amazing track, can you tell us what it is about?

Sure, Ocean is 100 percent born from the expression “absence makes the heart grow fonder”. I believe that everything happens for a reason and if I hadn’t moved from KZN to Joburg I don’t think I’d have written Ocean. Ocean is written about the feeling of visiting the coastline, it’s about my feelings and emotions associated with the big blue. I wrote Ocean as a “Biography” if you will, it’s an insight into how I was raised and it pays tribute to the place that made me.

Where did you record the track and who else worked on it?

Ocean was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Rudolph Botha. The instrumentation and all the nitty gritty things were, handled by Rudolph, he turned Ocean into what we hear now and I am massively appreciative and grateful for the work he’s done on this track.

What was the recording process like?

The recording process was probably one of the most enjoyable parts of my musical journey so far. It was a completely freeing and eye-opening experience. Dolph created a very comfortable environment for me to work in and that allowed me to express myself differently. I have the same feeling now that I did after I got my first tattoo, it’s like a whole can of worms has opened and now I just wanna record nonstop.

Will you be releasing new music soon and if so what can you tell us about your next release?

100 percent! I have aspirations to release a lot more music. I’ve been writing for a long time so I’ve got a couple of songs ready to record and release. I’ll be spending time working on recording and stuff in the new year so hopefully I can release a couple of tracks next year. I’m not entirely sure exactly what song is coming next though, to be honest. There is a slight chance that it will be “Let it Flow” which is a fun upbeat, sort of ‘Stomp and Holler” type Folk Song, the lyrics paint a picture of Love and the feeling of wanting things to just happen without expectation.

When you write music, do you come up with the lyrics or music first?

Most of the time I come up with a chord progression first and then I write lyrics based on the feeling generated by the chord progression. I’ve got the attention span of a goldfish when it comes to songwriting though, sometimes I’ll write one verse and a chorus and then get distracted and start playing something else, then the idea sort sits for a while and I eventually come back to it and finish it off. Other times a song just jumps out of me, like it was there all along I just needed something to trigger it.

Where and when can we see you playing live soon?

I’ve got one more show left for the year, I’m stoked to be ending the year off at Railways Cafe Irene. I’ll be jamming at 5 pm on Saturday the 23rd of December. I highly recommend coming through for some fun Christmas Eve Eve Shenanigans from 2 pm, it’s always a great time at Railways Cafe.

Thank you for doing this interview, do you have messages for your readers?

Thank you Duzzy, this has been an awesome experience. For sure, I’d like for my readers and fans to know that they are all massively appreciated, the reception of ‘Ocean’ has exceeded all expectations and I’m so stoked for what’s to come. May you all have a safe and blessed Festive Season. Peace and Love.