Music News is proud to host the exclusive world premiere of "Issues" by Rylai.
Music as an art form is largely considered a purely creative practice. Yet clever artists like Rylai recognize that a scientific mind can bring a great deal to the table when producing high-quality arrangements that resonate with listeners worldwide. For Seoul-native Rylai, unique and enchanting melodies are always bouncing around in his brain. “I have my own radio in my head,” he says. But it was not until his early teenage years, when he began plunking out melodies on an old digital piano that had sat untouched for years, that he truly connected with music. As soon as his hands grazed across the keys, he knew music would play an instrumental role in his life.
After graduating with a physics degree from a top university in South Korea, he naturally gravitated toward audio engineering and sound design, a discipline that brought together two lifelong passions and gave him the rare opportunity to engage both the scientific and artistic sides of his mind at once. Once he fell in love with the craft, it was not long before he crossed the Pacific to pursue his dreams in the City of Angels. Inspired by a wide range of influences, Rylai’s style shakes up the staples of R&B, pop, indie, and more, drawing from the genre-blending sensibilities of K-Pop legend Seo Taiji and the introspective lyricism of Kendrick Lamar. Working closely alongside indie pop artist, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Skyler Cocco, his musical journey is just beginning. With two singles already behind him, including fan-favorite “Fall For You,” Rylai is quickly carving out a space that feels entirely his own.
“Issues” reverberates with the resounding melancholy of heartbreak, the love-laden, wounded voice of someone desperately trying to move on after a relationship's breakdown. As devastating as a separation can be on its own, Rylai’s longing crests and falls like waves crashing into the ocean, reflecting the turmoil of leaving behind the memories of a relationship where, looking back, he realizes he may not have truly known his lover that well at all. Channeling the pure expression of R&B, tastefully paired with a minimalist soundscape, the track feels like a page ripped right out of Rylai’s diary. “If you love me, can you let go of me?” he pleads, as gentle acoustic strums mirror his anguish. As he works through the aftermath, a chorus of soaring harmonies floats above the cold, heavy bass, and it begins to feel as though he’s finding his voice again, and with it, his strength to leave the “issues” of the past where they belong.
Rylai’s ethereal vocals not only radiate a vulnerability that immediately pulls at the heartstrings but also carry a sense of imbalance, that uneasy feeling of being stuck between two places with no clear path forward. In the “Issues” music video, he drifts through “some of the loneliest scenes in New York” like a ghost, trapped in his own mind and fully in the thralls of his torment. Wandering through the contrasting industrial and natural landscapes of the city that never sleeps, it becomes increasingly clear that he’s trying to work through the dark cloud hanging overhead. He searches for catharsis in every traffic light, subway ride, and beach stroll, and eventually he finds it. Burying his traumas deep in the ground with a few tears and a gentle kiss, he walks away, this time for good.
