Ramsbottom: Musician uses creative talent to make album at home

Ryan Brown, 28, from Ramsbottom, creates alternative pop rock music using electronic dance music and hip hop lyrics as inspiration.

His album, titled Alice, which was made in his bedroom using an old laptop and a microphone bought from a charity shop 10 years ago, reflects his life over the past four years.

Ryan Brown (Image: Ryan Brown)

Ryan said: “I took a lot of my lyrical inspiration from hip hop and rap, using words that wouldn’t rhyme if you said them out loud but fit within the context of my music.

“I also used artificial intelligence tools as an easy way to create music videos on a budget.”

His parents encouraged him to take piano lessons when he was aged just four but Ryan found it challenging.

“I hated the piano because I couldn’t play rock,” he said.

“I once deliberately put my fingers in a door but still ended up doing lessons, just with swollen fingers!

“Pop punk was a heavy influence in my life when I was younger. I wanted to be like Billie Armstrong and dyed my hair jet black when I was a teenager.

“Learning the guitar seemed like the next step for me so I applied for lessons at school but places were limited.

"I didn’t get through and it put me off playing the guitar for 14 years.”

Despite the rejection, Ryan decided to start writing his own music and released his first song when he was aged 19.

The cover of Ryan's debut album Alive (Image: Ryan Brown)

He said: “One day, a bright yellow guitar turned up at my door and I had no idea where it had come from. It turns out I bought it online while I was blind drunk.

“That sparked the idea of creating a 'Gorillaz' type band, but after some practice it didn’t work out. I did create one song at that time which had real meaning and inspired me to create the entire album in a similar vein.”

Alive is due to be released on Friday, February 23. You can listen to Ryan’s music on Soundcloud and Spotify.