Interview of Rya Park by Sandy Hsu
While we’re heading towards the end of the year, with party season upon us and many re-learning how to socialise after spending months and months in lockdown, Melbourne’s Rya Park has a new song called ‘NYE’ that might just be the soundtrack to this occasion. A song about meeting a stranger on New Years Eve, and then being ghosted by said person, this is an immediate add to ‘crying in the club’ playlist song.
Like many Melbourne artists, Rya had to work within the lockdown restrictions to create the clip to accompany ‘NYE’. Rya worked closely with her partner Nick Tamiakis who filmed and co-directed the clip, as well as Ellena Paskevicius who edited the clip.
Check out our interview with Rya Park, and the music video for her new song ‘NYE’.
Hey Rya! Congratulations on releasing your new song ‘NYE’, it’s so fun but heartbreaking at the same time. How are you feeling about it all?
Hello 🙂 thank you so much! I feel really excited to finally get it out into the world, but yeah it’s quite a sad song when you listen to the lyrics. I’m feeling better about the situation now, I was just feeling very vulnerable at the time and felt confused about the situation. I’m slowly learning to not give all of myself to someone too quickly now. I’ve been doing that a lot lately and then realising that I’m not getting the same back. It also makes me sad because it feels like the more I open up to people, the more they shy away from wanting to hang out with me. Maybe I overshare I don’t know. I just like to be transparent and open about who I am and what I’m feeling.
Can you share what the writing process for this track was like?
I wrote NYE with Sam Phay. He’s one of my best friends and we talk about everything! I told him about how I was feeling about this situation and said I wanted to write about it. I was sad at the time but also after being in lockdown for so long I wanted to write something that I could dance to and that others could dance to as well! We wrote and produced the song in one session which was pretty special. It just flowed. I was also a bit more open to writing something that didn’t necessarily fit my perceived aesthetic of myself. I’m used to writing slower, more depressing stuff.
‘NYE’ fits the category of a crying in the club track, which I love. Can you tell me about the inspiration for this song? Where there any other songs that had an influence on you?
Yeah I’m super into King Princess. Her song ‘Pain’ was definitely the main inspiration for this song! I’m not used to writing upbeat songs but I was pretty drawn to this song and wanted to create a similar emotive response. Sam and I also have quite different tastes when it comes to the music that we listen to so it’s pretty cool to combine our worlds like this.
I have watched the music video, and love the whole aesthetic. Tell me about how the idea come about, and the whole filming process?
Thankyou so much! Well I knew I had to film it in lockdown so I was limited with location and ideas. My partner Nick Tam who’s a photographer co-directed and filmed the video with me. I knew I wanted to create a vibe of a party that no-one showed up to. Kinda sad, but kinda cute haha. I just dressed up real cute and waited and waited for someone to show up. Passed the time by dancing by myself with sparklers and drinking lots of punch.
What are your plans for New Year Eve this year?
If I’m honest, I haven’t planned anything yet. I find the best New Year’s that I normally have are those that are not too planned and are a bit spontaneous. Almost a gathering of all the misfits who haven’t organised anything special.
Are you the kind of person who sticks to New Year resolutions?
Mmm. Not normally but I’ve already ticked a few off the list and it’s not even 2022! So I’m proud of that. My main ones are to quit smoking and drink more water! I’m going to share all my resolutions soon on my socials, so keep an eye out for that!
Speaking of future plans, what is ahead musically for Rya Park?
I’ll be releasing another single in Feb followed by my debut EP! Can’t wait, been a long time coming. I’ll also be heading to the UK/Europe next year for a little tour and writing sessions. I feel like I’ve found a really good musical partner and friend in Sam and I can’t wait to keep writing over the summer too.
Can you let the readers know where they can find you and your music?
Rya Park on all platforms hehe 🙂
