The wounded bird flies again: in conversation with Ryder The Eagle
Solo act Ryder The Eagle releases his new album and gets ready for another world tour.
Photo: Hand-painted photograph by Eloïse Labarbe-Lafon
The first time I saw Ryder The Eagle play it was at a basement warm-up act for Dean Wareham in Porto, Portugal. Ryder was fully clad in a beige mariachi suit and most of the show was spent with him performing in what some would consider unfamiliarly close quarters.
Ryder’s performance was unique and impassioned all at once – as he made his way through the dancefloor, apprehensive but clearly engaged spectators moved away from him in unison like a school of fish, creating a new and impromptu stage wherever he went. He switched effortlessly from singing and looking into the eyes of a randomly selected audience member to throwing himself on the ground and then leaping onto the sound deck, hand on crotch, belting out the lyrics to his ballad Wounded Bird, an audience favourite.
I’m now sitting in the hallway of my hostel in San Francisco, it’s 8:30 am and Ryder is talking to me about inspiration, music, love, life and loss – all from his living room in Paris. He tells me he’s about to go on tour tomorrow and I’m surprised to be met with his calm and intuitive demeanour.
I’m keen to jump right in and ask him about his performance style. “It first came from the frustration of being a drummer.” He tells me, “I was not able to express anything with my body in the sense of getting close to people and getting in the crowd.”
Ryder was previously in a rock band with his twin brother and two best friends, making the difficult decision to go solo in 2017. “I just wanted to say everything I had to say, do everything I had to do. I think it’s something anchored deep inside of me. I don’t know if it’s a need to be seen or a need to share something or a need to shock or a need to, you know, make something for me. I need to express something in a very intense way so it doesn’t stay inside of me.”
It’s interesting to be offered a more profound meaning to all the thrusting and jumping that colour his shows. My friend who caught Ryder in Madrid earlier that month confirmed that it doesn’t matter if there are five or five hundred people in the audience, the vigour is always there and everything Ryder has to offer gets left on the dancefloor.
Performance is a big part of what Ryder the Eagle gives his fans and he’s seemingly aware of this. “I think what I love in performance, is the idea of getting something out of yourself and getting it to people. They can do whatever they want with it.”
When Ryder’s performing, no one is looking anywhere else. In a time of shorter attention spans and imposed urgencies, it’s reassuring to hear that he’s not preoccupied with forcing or coercing his imagination. A seemingly inexistent fear of writer’s block and quiet confidence in his process is solidified through his ability to express himself freely when inspiration does come.
“It kind of happens naturally but I don’t have any control over it. Sometimes I don’t write a song for three months straight and then I write four songs in a row. It’s not something that I can really control. It’s sincere and truthful of the moment.”
In the spirit of giving up control, Ryder and his girlfriend, Eloise (who is a photographer and videographer), moved to Greece for three months last September to write and film his latest album, Megachurch.
The album was recorded using a four-track cassette recorder, an electronic church organ from the 80s and a lot of spontaneity. Ryder tells me he did what he could to recreate the feeling of giving up complete control, just like he does on stage.
Fans will be happy to find more love-fuelled ballads in the Megachurch album but this time love appears in many forms and variations. “I love making melodies, writing lyrics and filming in a theatrical way. And expressing feelings that come from inside, you know? They’re mostly about love, self-love and these things.”
Megachurch is filled with poetic juxtapositions within its lyrics. The album touches upon the past but is ultimately looking forward, flying over new terrain and bringing more movement and colour into the mix.
Megachurch is out now via Groover Obsessions.
