Musician Ryan Prasad to release new music this August

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: MALCOLM DONALDSON
Fanshawe Music Industry Arts (MIA) graduate Ryan Prasad worked hard from start to finish in creating his latest album out later this summer.

Fanshawe Music Industry Arts (MIA) graduate Ryan Prasad is preparing for his album release this summer on August 29.

The Brampton, Ont. native showed talent early on with his parents impressed he developed an ability to pick out melodies by ear with an old piano at their home.

Music lessons by age nine followed and with a variety of music growing up as well as a family that had huge boxes of records consistently on rotation, Prasad was always surrounded by sound.

Family parties were also times for appreciating music.

Prasad’s newest album, self-recorded and self-produced, involves him playing and programming all the instruments and singing all the vocals.

“Every song is different, sometimes you start with a chord progression you’ve played on the piano or guitar, or a little vocal hook, or even obscure lyrics from a concept and when the creative spirit finds the material world, that’s when a song goes from an idea to an actual song and that’s the creative high artists live for and spend their life chasing,” Prasad said.

When it comes to musical inspiration, Prasad draws from Michael Jackson.

“He has had such an indelible footprint in my life that it’s probably almost part of my DNA makeup and probably anything I’ve ever done or will do, musically, will have its roots in him,” Prasad said.

Prasad also counts the Red Hot Chili Peppers (especially John Frusciante), Led Zeppelin, Motown (particularly Stevie Wonder), Steve Vai, The Beatles, The Everly Brothers and Jesse Cook as musical inspirations.

“I’m all over the map and timeline when it comes to music, I feel it’s important to learn and be wellversed in as much music as you can. You don’t have to like them all, but respect the artistry in them,” Prasad said.

Prasad’s previous album was a concept album in the form of a story. His new release is also a concept album, but sonically.

The idea was to imagine how artists from the ‘60s and ‘70s would hear music today and how they would go about making that music with the lack of technology presently.

Limiting the amount and types of technology forced him to make creatively informed decisions in the process.

For example, if there was a 2017 synth sound he really liked, he had to figure out a way to recreate that sound by either layering certain instruments with analog synth sounds and/or treating them with vintage effects instead of modern ones.

“I had to use my iMac and Logic Pro/Pro Tools because I don’t have a vintage tape machine to work on, but placing these limits even with modern technology helped to yield very interesting and [creatively] satisfying results and the principles are something I’ll probably carry on with my music going forward, it wasn’t just a sound I was after, but a mindset,” Prasad said.

When the album comes out, Prasad has a great team behind him who’s helping him find people to be a back-up band for a few shows.

His dream is to play a few shows as he has never played lived as far as his own music. Places such as Aeolian Hall and London Music Hall are spots he has his eyes on.

If he had to choose a different career path, acting and directing would be his choice.

Prasad is incorporating those creative muscles with two music videos for this album with his creative team.

Fanshawe Alumna and MIA graduate Emm Gryner has also played a role in Prasad’s career and even wrote a very positive review about his first album, Lucid as well as on his musicianship.

“One of the most interesting things I felt she said would be that my music would do very well in Europe since it’s ‘off the beaten path’. I loved hearing that because I’d love to establish an audience there because I feel they value creativity a little bit more over there in their arts,” Prasad said.

Prasad encourages other musicians to step outside their comfort zones and take risks with the different opportunities and all the different people you’ll meet.

“I went [into MIA] with the intention of learning to record and produce my own music and to do the same for others.

I ended up learning that as well as the business side of things, broadened my musical horizons, as well as discovered a love and hidden talent for Audio Post Production,” Prasad said.

Prasad was extremely ill his whole time in school, but suggested that if you’re in better health, to take advantage and actively learn everything you can, even if it may not be your cup of tea.