Ryan Lofty

Ryan Lofty
Birth name Ryan Loftsgaarden
Born (1988-05-19) 19 May 1988
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Genres
  • Tropical House
Occupation(s)
  • Producer
  • Songwriter
  • Musician
  • DJ
Instruments
Years active 2015–present
Associated acts
Website ryanlofty.com

Ryan Loftsgaarden (born May 19, 1988), commonly known by his stage name Ryan Lofty, is an American producer, songwriter, musician, and DJ. He is best known for his original tropical house songs and remixes which have garnered over one million streams on Spotify and SoundCloud.[1]

Career

Early beginnings

Lofty was introduced to piano and trumpet at a young age by his mother who is a piano teacher.[2] A near-death accident at the age of 15 inspired him to pursue music as a career.[3] He studied music business at Columbia College Chicago during which time he held an internship at a small record studio. After college Lofty worked as a composer at Disney's creative campus in Los Angeles eventually leaving to facilitate a songwriting contract in India.[4] Throughout this period he performed with multiple groups including a national tour as drummer with indie-electronic duo Bestfriends.[5]

2015–present

In 2015 Lofty announced his solo project, releasing four singles and one remix over the course of the summer. His single The Mountain (feat. Bonx) won Insomniac Events' Discovery Project with the award of a one hour DJ set at Life Is Beautiful (music festival) in Las Vegas,[6] opening the stage for Felix Jaehn, Robin Shulz, and Porter Robinson.[7] On the day, Lofty performed a surprise collaboration with Bill Nye the Science Guy who was booked to speak at the event about climate change.[8] The appearance was covered in major electronic music blogs[9][10] and after the festival Yahoo! Music named Lofty one of "Five Rising Acts to Watch".[11]

In early 2016 Lofty released eight-track album Tourists from the Future[12] which featured American Idol alumni Casey Abrams and Mansions on the Moon vocalist Ted Wendler.[13] The album contains heavy lyrical references to space and time travel which are recurring themes in Lofty's music. Popular music blog EARMILK called the album a "cosmic pool party" with "nothing but good vibes", and singled out track Dimensions (feat. Casey Abrams) as an example of Lofty's focus on melody.[14] Global Dance Electronic (GDE) called the album a "cinematic experience" and dubbed the genre "tropi-galactic" - a play on Lofty's blend of tropical house and space themes.[15]

Shortly after release Lofty performed in the capacity of an official artist at SXSW and Beyond Wonderland SoCal.[16][17]

Film and TV

The Mountain (feat. Bonx) has been featured on television programs such as Dash Dolls and MTV's Real World: Go Big or Go Home.[18] Higher (feat. Bestfriends) was featured on Season 14 of Bad Girls Club. An unreleased track from collaborative project BabeWave was licensed in an Apple Music Guided Tour.[19] Lofty has also completed custom work for brands such as Mountain Dew, Microsoft and Los Angeles Kiss Football via Future Vega, a publishing house he co-founded.[20]

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Insomniac Editorial Team (25 September 2015). "Ryan Lofty Artist Profile". Insomniac. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  3. ↑ Insomniac Editorial Team (22 March 2016). "How a Near-Death Experience Inspired Ryan Lofty to Follow His Musical Path". Insomniac. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  4. ↑ Brown, Alexcina (11 August 2015). "Aug '15 BRASH! Artist Spotlight – Ryan Lofty". BRASH! Magazine. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  5. ↑ Dorsky, Brandon (27 August 2015). "Ryan Likes to get "Higher" with his Bestfriends". Only The Beat. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  6. ↑ Insomniac Editorial Team (10 September 2015). "Discovery Music: See Who'll Be Joining Us at Life Is Beautiful". Insomniac. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ Dorsky, Brandon (8 April 2016). "Emerging Tropical House Producer Discusses Chasing His Dream, First Festival Performance". thatDROP.com. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  9. ↑ Davidson, Lucy (4 October 2015). "Life is Beautiful's third-annual weekend offered a diverse lineup and a new partnership with Insomniac, plus Bill Nye". Dancing Astronaut.
  10. ↑ Cha, Daniel (27 September 2015). "Bill Nye Makes Surprise Appearance at Life is Beautiful 2015". YourEDM. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  11. ↑ Baltin, Steve (6 October 2015). "Five Rising Acts at Life Is Beautiful Day 1: Ryan Lofty, SZA & More". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ Babaoglu, Jim (10 March 2016). "Ryan Lofty's Debut Album Tourists from the Future". EDM Sauce. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  14. ↑ Jefferson, Lauren (17 March 2016). "Ryan Lofty Debuts Tourists from the Future Album". EARMILK. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  15. ↑ Carr, John (17 March 2016). "Ryan Lofty Disintegrates Boundaries With His Album Tourists from the Future". Global Dance Electronic. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  16. ↑ Maher, Erin (March 2016). "Get Buzzzed SXSW Showcase 2016". Beautiful Buzzz. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  17. ↑ Insomniac Editorial Team (8 March 2016). "Beyond Wonderland SoCal 2016 Not-so-Silent Disco and Silent Disco Lineups Are Here". Insomniac. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  18. ↑ K, Chase (31 March 2016). "Music from Real World: Go Big or Go Home, Episode 3". MTV Soundtrack. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  19. ↑
  20. ↑
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