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Music

Ryan Hemsworth

RYAN HEMSWORTH at Blk Box (1087 Queen West), Saturday, June 15, 1 am. NXNE wristband or $15. nxne.com. See listing.


Ryan Hemsworth is thrilled to be playing NXNE, not so much because of the all-nighters fans are anticipating, but because of what comes after.

“I’m moving to Toronto the day of the NXNE show, so it’s going to be exciting to come home and actually sleep in my own bed,” says the drowsy 23-year-old Canadian electronic producer from his UK hotel room.

Constant travel due to his rapid ascent in the past few years means it’s hard to find time to make new music.

On top of hectic touring, his in-demand status as a remixer for rappers and singers keeps his plate full on the few occasions when he’s home.

His production style reflects his wariness of being stuck in any particular box. One minute he’s rewiring Lil B cuts into dreamy ambient rap songs, the next he’s making R&B-tinged techno tracks.

And while most of his collaborations have been done remotely by passing files back and forth over the internet, he’s now fielding calls to take on a more traditional producer role in fancy studios paid for by major labels.

“I was recording with Mikky Ekko last month in L.A., my first time in a real studio. At first I wasn’t even sure how to collaborate in a traditional producer/artist kind of way. It’s very different from sitting in your living room alone with your laptop.”

The Halifax native currently resides in Ottawa, and the Toronto move will bring him back to those more private endeavours, allowing him to refocus on his own material.

“Remixes are a really easy form of collaboration, and once people start asking you to do them, it snowballs,” he says. “I got into a pattern of turning them around every couple of weeks, and eventually people started calling me just a remixer. I want to make sure the world knows I do original productions, too, and that I started that way.”

benjaminb@nowtoronto.com | @benjaminboles

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