- Words Millie Dunn-Christensen
UK dance artist REYUS talks creating universal music about "accepting, embracing, and confronting difficult things in life".
Emerging as one of the most exciting new voices in independent dance music, REYUS is rapidly carving out his unique place in the electronic music scene. With a fresh, genre-blurring approach to production, the UK-based artist has earned a reputation for creating deeply emotive, yet irresistibly danceable tracks. Following the release of his highly anticipated single ‘On My Own‘, the artist is poised to come back and make an even bigger impact.
Over the past few years, REYUS has caught our attention with his distinct blend of dance, pop and melodic deep house, crafting a sound that is both atmospheric and energetic. His music, inspired by artists like Rufus Du Sol, Fred Again, and Zhu, is emotionally rich and sonically captivating. But it’s his ability to weave personal experiences and raw vulnerability into his tracks that sets him apart. ‘On My Own’ encapsulates this: co-written with acclaimed vocalist Jordan Grace, it speaks to themes of resilience and overcoming challenges, topics that are very close to the DJ-producer’s heart.
The song was crafted across continents, with REYUS in the UK and Jordan in the US, but despite the distance, the duo’s creative chemistry shines through. The track blends lush melodies, driving electronic beats and evocative soundscapes – complete with rain and thunderstorm effects – adding depth to the song’s already poignant message.
For REYUS, ‘On My Own’ is more than just a song, it’s a personal journey. “I wrote the lyrics about accepting, embracing, and confronting difficult things in life,” he explains. “It’s something that has a lot of meaning for me, and I hope it resonates with others in the same way.” We sat down with him to discuss his artistic vision, how life events inform his music, and what’s coming next.
‘On My Own’ is a deeply emotional and personal track. Can you tell us more about what inspired the lyrics?
I wrote the lyrics about accepting, embracing and confronting difficult things in life, as they’re part of life and need to be overcome. They were inspired by my own experiences, which is why they hold a lot of meaning for me, as I’m sure they will for others. I also knew for a while that I wanted to write something like this and I wanted it to be with Jordan Grace as he has such a perfect voice.
What do you hope listeners take away from the track once they hear it?
I hope that people like the song melodically, but if they do take anything away from it, I’d hope it’s that they know other people go through the same difficulties and that they’re a part of life.
The song blends dance, pop, house, and melodic deep house elements. How would you describe your unique production style?
My production style, I would say overall isn’t a style. I write what I like. I like creative freedom and trying to blend things, whether new or not. I’ve got a wide array of genres that I write for. Some people say it’s better to have a tight niche, others disagree. My niche is that I don’t have a tight niche. In itself, that’s a niche because it’s not common.
You’ve mentioned that the song was inspired by your own experiences, what challenges have shaped the track’s lyrics?
That’s a personal question and I thought about how to answer it, but music is personal and this song is very personal. I have had depression since I was a kid and I have anxiety disorder. I have anxiety attacks and they’re usually debilitating. The point is, you’ve got to grit your teeth and live with them, so I try to accept the feelings. When I was a kid, I had a problem with my heart and I nearly died. As an adult, even knowing that my heart’s fine, it plays into my thought process when I have an anxiety attack and makes them worse. The reason this has shaped the lyrics on this record is living with this means I often feel terrible at unexpected times, but I get through them and live my life. Sometimes, it can be easier to accept the feelings and flow with the current rather than against it, and you end up not drowning, or in this metaphor, feeling better.
Collaborating remotely with Jordan Grace must have been a new process. What was it like working with someone across the world?
Firstly, Jordan’s amazing. He’s got a great voice and made working remotely a lot easier than it could’ve been. As you can imagine, there was a lot of back and forth. The song was recorded both on my end and on Jordan’s. Jordan recorded the vocals I wrote on his end in the US after we’d been working over Zoom to find the right melodies and cadence. I recorded and produced the rain sounds, piano, synths and other instruments on my end. The writing process took a while, lots of Zooms as we’re both based in different countries. It was always a very productive process and we spent a lot of time going back and forth finding the right direction for the song. I knew what the essence should be, but both of us being busy people and not wanting to rush anything, it took us a while to get there!
‘On My Own’ includes rain and thunderstorm soundscapes. How do you approach creating an emotional atmosphere through sound design?
I’m glad this was asked because it’s a big part of most of my songs. Creating an emotional atmosphere through a soundscape can add so much to the overall mood of a song. In this case, it was very early on in the writing stage of this song. In my studio, the piano is right in front of a window (I think you see where I’m going), so while I was writing some of the lyrics and playing with the main chords, it was raining. The mood at that point with me behind the piano, the melancholic vocal developing and the thunderstorm going on is what I wanted the song to feel like. I opened the windows so I could hear the rain more clearly, as if the piano was being played in the rain. Then I recorded some thunderstorm.
Having worked with big names like Martin Garrix, Steve Aoki, and Afrojack, what did you take away from those experiences that influenced this track?
First time I worked with Martin Garrix, he told me, “I’m not working with you because I want you to sound like somebody else, I want you to sound like you.” Probably one of the most powerful things someone has ever told me. Since then, I’ve never tried to conform to how other songs sound, but always try to stay true to myself and who I am.
The track is about embracing and confronting life’s challenges. How do you personally cope with tough moments, and how does that inform your music?
I’ve covered this a bit as it’s a similar topic, but it depends on the challenge. On average, I cope by gritting my teeth and getting on with it. However, doing that for years on end is not good for your mental health. It’s better to try and accept things as part of life. It’s not an easy mentality to develop; it’s one that I’ve not adopted fully yet, but I can see that it’s a happier and more successful way to live. Fight hard and if you lose, move on to the next fight. Accepting things is something we all struggle with, but I still try.
As an emerging independent artist, how do you balance staying true to your artistic vision while also appealing to a broader audience?
That’s very simple for me, if I think something is cheesy, I stay away from it. Obviously, everyone has their own opinion of what that is, but when I try to write a song with a broad appeal, I will still make sure that I like it and that it connects with me emotionally. If it doesn’t, then it’s just another cheesy pop dance track that has nothing unique about it. If it’s a song, I make sure it has an emotional connection with me and I make sure it doesn’t feel like “just another radio dance song”, I’m sure we all know what I mean. If it’s the underground stuff, I do the same thing really, I do what I want, what I like. There’s a lot of politics in the underground scene, lots of cliques and I have unreleased records played by all of them. At the end of the day, it’s just club music, it’s almost all good objectively. That’s different when you’re writing a song, for me at least, I make sure there’s real meaning to me.
What’s next for REYUS?
Releasing more music and continuing to develop the brand. I will continue releasing a record every one and a half months, I’m setting up a radio show currently, with some very special guests and I will be doing some live shows next year in the UK and Europe. The music industry is not an easy place, I can’t release music in the way I want to yet, despite having a huge backlog of songs both commercial and underground. There’s a lot of politics in the industry and even as an independent artist, having taken out several business loans to run everything myself after turning down a bad offer from a major (who will remain nameless), I still need to build things and that takes time. Thankfully, writing music has never been a problem for me, my problems have always been the industry, but I am navigating it as best I can to develop more exposure for my brand, profile and music.