First up, can you introduce yourself to our readers and tell us a bit about your music?
Hey, my name’s Riordan! (that’s pronounced ‘re-orden’). I’m a singer-songwriter in Geelong. My music consists of mostly pop, folk, and some Celtic vibes too. My music is heavily influenced by my life and my faith and all the ups and downs that come from relationships and my own crazy personal emotions. That was a mouthful. I like to think I lead a pretty interesting life, but honestly, you’ll usually find me baking brownies and then writing songs with my guitar, whose name is Brownie, whilst eating those brownies I just baked.
How did you begin your pathway into music?
I wrote my first couple of songs when I was about eight, but at that time I was spending a lot of time focusing on ballet, so it wasn’t something I really thought about much. Ballet was my first love, and honestly, it was the thing that my parents, my teacher and I thought I was going to pursue as a career. I still miss it to this day and often wonder what it would’ve been like if I had pursued it, but looking back, I see God closed that door because He had something far better planned for my life. And thanks to my cousin, I got to begin recording my songs and ideas. He’s honestly a massive part of why I’m doing what I am now, and I couldn’t thank him enough. I played him one of my songs in 2011 and he decided he would record it for me. And after that, I was hooked. I began doing busking and playing little gigs here and there at a few churches. I’m 21 now, and to be able to play gigs on a more regular basis is such a blessing.
We understand you find inspiration for your music in everyday life, but do you have any major musical influences?
I can’t say I have any major musical influences. Some artists and bands I enjoy listening to are Switchfoot, for KING & COUNTRY, Reliant K, Flyleaf, and twenty-one pilots, just to name a few.
The rawness and honesty in their lyrics are just amazing. That’s something I hope to be able to bring more of to my music as I develop as an artist. I’ll listen to all kinds of different genres though; rock, pop, country, heavy rock, Celtic, classical, and punk. Genres are just so much fun to explore.
Where can we find your music?
People can hear my music at my gigs. I don’t have anything available online currently. There are a few vids I post to my social media though, so go check those out! But this year has been a year of working on new things which I hope to continue doing next year, ready for a release.
You’ve got some shows coming up very soon, what do you love about performing live?
I love connecting with an audience through live music. Looking out into a crowd and seeing the emotion from my songs reflecting back to me on their faces is amazing. I’ve definitely had some really low points in my life and written songs about those seasons. So I think just writing about those things and singing about them just lets others know they’re not alone. Music is such an amazing gift and I feel so blessed to be able to share it with people.
Do you prefer that, to being home in the studio?
It’s funny, I feel like being in the studio, I’m very creative when it comes to my music, and then being on stage I get to show people that creativity. Live shows are amazing in that each and every one is unique – it’s all there in the moment, and there’s something so beautiful about that.
But I definitely love being in the studio. It’s just you and a million different possibilities in a space like that.
What’s next for you?
Just playing more gigs, writing more songs and discovering new ways of expressing emotion and telling stories through my music. Oh, and collaborations. That’s another goal of mine to kick for sure.
When & Where: The Workers Club, Geelong – August 23
Photo by Malise Stewart-McDougall