RYTERBAND - Stay Awake

LA songwriter & producer RYTERBAND releases his debut EP Undefended, available to stream now on Spotify, Apple Music, and all DSPs worldwide. The EP features six tracks, highlighted by recent singles “Lighthouse,” “Brilliant Eyes,” “Take Me Over,” and “Stay Awake,” and was co-produced by multiple-GRAMMY-winner Robert Cutarella. For RYTERBAND, Undefended is the ultimate symbol of surrender—to be fully open, fully able to feel, fully listening, fully vulnerable—with no armor between himself, the truth, and the world.

“I feel very new at this,” RYTERBAND admits. “Most days I’m just scratching the surface. But from what I’ve gathered, making art is equal parts discipline and surrender, and the surrender part has always been a challenge. ‘Letting go.’ Letting the emotion come. Letting the words come out. Trusting the first keys my fingers play. Listening to the universe before I start trying to mold anything into anything.”

Throughout Undefended, RYTERBAND inspires with universal stories of heart and human potential, fueled by the depth of his own spiritual journey as a meditation teacher. His music combines haunting vocals with lush production that spans the continuum between rock, ambient, and EDM. “It can just as easily make you dance as it can make you cry.”

“I jumped a few hundred times during the photo shoot,” he goes on to say. “Each time, I intended to have a split second of complete surrender in mid-air. Not a tense muscle. Not even a concern for how I would hit the ground. A moment of suspended animation. The best of these was captured. These moments, this body shape, holds the feeling that I strive for in making art. Expression without resistance. The bursting of the cocoon.”

It is RYTERBAND’s mission to deeply connect with all aspects of the human experience, and to use his art as a healing platform. For his single “Lighthouse” (featured on the EP), RYTERBAND will release a crowd-sourced music video collage, with proceeds supporting United Way's Worldwide COVID-19 Relief Fund. Additionally, 20% of streaming revenue from the single is being donated to 350.org, an international environmental advocacy non-profit.

In conjunction with Undefended, RYTERBAND will release a series of remixes this summer, in collaboration with Jody Wisternoff and Indian Wells.