Ian Ring has been at the forefront of indie electronica for years, first cutting his teeth in the dance world with Young Wonder in the early 2010s. Moving his productions to a more emotional realm, the producer worked with the likes of Talos and Daithi for he received multiple Choice Music Prize nominations for Irish Album of the Year. Taking things solo, Ring ventured out on his own, beginning to produce as Boku in 2019 after the ending of a long-term relationship. Releasing ‘Rise’, ‘Game’ and ‘Vermillon’ over the course of a year, each track sees him venture deeper into uncharted territory. DMCWORLD checks in as he releases his new track ‘Fortune’ from his new 3 track EP…
Ian a huge welcome to DMCWORLD, let’s get into it! In terms of the production process, tell us a little bit about your new 3-track EP?
Nice to be here guys. Well, the ideas for these songs came about pretty fast. It was about making decisions quickly without overthinking the process. If you don’t make decisions fast when producing you can get caught in a loop. The core idea has to resonate with me before I commit to building the song. I spent a lot of time building spacious textures and atmospheres around the main elements and using foley sounds which really help to bring the listener to another place.
What aspects of your direct Irish surroundings do you find creatively inspire you and your music?
The main direct Irish influence I have from my surroundings are my friends in the Irish music scene like Bantum or Daithi and the music that they make. But outside of that, I grew up listening to a lot of music that wasn’t Irish. I try to find obscure pieces of music to sample, manipulate and take influence from. Movies and scores have been a big influence for me as of late.
How has your approach to crafting downtempo electronic music changed since your last release in 2020, ‘Vermillion’?
I feel the music I am creating now comes more naturally to me. Sometimes the more you learn technically as a producer/engineer the more it can hinder the creative flow. I really tried to just separate all that this time and to create more on instinct and feeling. There are certain rules in production we try to obey and you have to know what they are to bend them.
You were once in the electro-pop duo Young Wonder alongside Rachel Koeman — what was the impetus behind recently going solo with your own project?
The birth of the Boku project came from wanting to make music for me. You have to comprise a lot when you produce for someone else. This Boku project is the total opposite of that – it’s freeing. I kinda went back to the Young Wonder routes in a way on this record with the way the creativity flowed. I still stay in touch with Rachel a lot – she’s great fun and is doing fantastic work as a psychiatric nurse in the UK and even more fantastic work as a mum.
What is your reasoning behind wanting to make such peaceful, contemplatively soothing electronic music?
This record was a massive part of a healing process for me after the end of a long term relationship. I sometimes find it hard to express how I feel so this was definitely a form of release for me. What I like about this instrumental music is that it doesn’t tell you what or how you should feel. It can speak to people on totally different levels.
Over the years, you’ve released on renowned labels such as Ultra Records, Universal Music Group, and Sony Records, in addition to garnering support from BBC Radio 1 — how does it feel to have such staunch support from key major players in the industry at the moment?
I have been fortunate enough to work with different labels/publishers over the years and it has taught me a lot about what to say and more importantly when to shut up ha. The sole purpose of being a producer, in my opinion, is to serve the artist and the artist’s vision but also the record label is paying you so you have to take that into consideration. The best advice I was ever given is to ”be the guy in the room that fixes the problem”. If you can be that guy people will want you around.
This 3-track EP is on the Ireland-based Feel Good Lost imprint — how did your relationship with the label come to fruition?
Brendan Canty (Feel Good Lost) and I have been working together for over 8 years now on numerous projects. We met through a mutual friend called Stevie G who is a renowned Irish Hip Hop Dj here in Ireland. I would hate to think where I would be if I had never met Brendan, he pushes me and supports me in every way that you could possibly ask for from a label and as a friend. He truly is one of the most amazing people in my life and an incredibly established director as well.
If you could perform anywhere in the world post-lockdown, where would it be and why?
I would love to play somewhere like ‘Into The Valley’. I’ve seen the likes of Four Tet and John Talabot talk about it and it seems like it would be an incredibly unique experience. The inner audio geek in me would love to hear how this music would sound in a valley like that.
What direction do you see yourself and your music taking ten years from now?
I just want to be able to look back and say that I am proud of it, I will never stop writing music and I hope it always feels true. I think it might get more experimental in time as that’s what keeps things fun during the creative process for me.
Are there any upcoming projects in store for the rest of the year that are worth mentioning?
On the Boku side of stuff, I am working on something a bit more ambient / contemporary classical right now. Which is totally new territory for me and incredibly exciting. I’m also working on some records for the incredible Denise Chaila, Murli and God Knows. That whole crew are making big waves right now and are an incredibly positive force to be around, in-studio they have an energy that I have never experienced before, I really love working with them!
