If indie-pop rising star RYLAI isn’t on your radar yet, he’s about to be in a big way. The singer, songwriter and driving creative force behind his latest single “Fall For You” is already making waves since his debut in June- and listeners are taking notice. This latest song is a passion project that brought together four artists from three countries for a rock-driven masterpiece that is ready-made to be unleashed on the world. Atlas spoke with RYLAI via email about this new song, finding his musical path and connecting with listeners through his work.
Atlas Artist Group: Our readers might be unfamiliar with your music- can you tell your origin story as a musician and how you decided that this was going to be your life path?
RYLAI: I’ve really had quite a journey to get here. I don’t recall much music being played in my family while I was growing up, but when I was in 6th grade, I came across a couple of songs that really struck me. From that point on, I started tinkering with the piano, and soon I realized I could create melodies of my own.
I was surprised by how naturally sentimental yet catchy melodies came to me. I never wrote them down or recorded them, but I can still remember some of the good ones from back then — and who knows, they might turn into songs in the near future! That’s when I knew that making music was my path. The road wasn’t easy — my parents didn’t understand much about a musician’s life and were against it. I went through many challenges and setbacks along the way, but in recent years, my father has come to accept and support me.
And here we are now!
Atlas: Your new single is out today- congratulations! What is the story behind this track and what does it mean to you? What do you hope listeners will take away from your new music?
RYLAI: Thank you so much! Looking back on my musical journey, this song means a great deal to me. It was the first project where I assembled a team, and it became the reason I set foot in the U.S. for the first time — crossing the Pacific to attend meetings — now already two years ago. Along the way, I met many wonderful people, and thanks to them, I’m now launching “Fall For You” with my amazing team.
Think about it- I’m not from the States. Four boys from three different continents came together and poured their passion into creating this truly joyful listening experience. Because of this song, I was able to embark on such an ambitious project and collaborate with so many talented people.
I hope listeners enjoy every single moment of this song! This song features three choruses, each returning with a fresh arrangement, but beyond that, every element of the production, every articulation and timbre of the guitar, the sound design of the synths, and even the tone-setting and recording of the vocals were all crafted with care. We put every effort into making sure every sound is beautiful and locked into the perfect groove!
Atlas: When you’re creating music, do you prefer to start with lyrics and then build the song around the words or the opposite? Or does it just depend on what inspiration strikes you? What are you finding inspiration in these days?
RYLAI: I would say it depends, but most of the time I start with a good melody. Melodies often come to me unexpectedly, and since I don’t usually write them down or record them, some stick with me, but many slip away.
When I first came up with “Fall For You”, in my head it sounded like this: you’ve listened to the song, imagine the hook melody in the intro and outro played over the rhythm of OneRepublic’s “I Ain’t Worried,” but slightly faster. The combination felt a bit strange, but the melody was good, and it stuck with me. Soon after, I went back to my studio, brainstormed further, and came up with the verse melody using that dun dun tss rhythm. Then I thought, what if I put these two parts together? And that’s how I came up with the overall structure of the song.
How I get inspiration varies from song to song. I’ll just mention one thing — I recently came up with a melody that’s difficult to sing, but incredibly catchy and full of emotion. I’m planning to save it for my fourth album.
Atlas: We also saw that you’re the main creative director in all aspects of this project which is amazing. How do you approach each element of an endeavor this size? It’s a lot to focus on- how do you bring that vision to life?
RYLAI: Oh! That’s because I promised myself to take the time to make this song perfect. I even told the friends I worked with in Korea to build up the track that we’d do the same. If you focus on one thing at a time, no matter how much work it is or how tricky it gets, you’ll eventually get it done.
When we first started building up the track, it was Faekt, Liner, and me — and I remember we exchanged files dozens of times over about four months. Later, I took the files to Dylan’s studio and worked on the song for another two days, adding many new ideas to the production.
I think the part that took the most effort and time was recording the vocals. I recorded all of the background vocals myself. The “Na Na Na Na” section appears three times, and you can hear the crowd vocals there. For this song, I was experimenting with the groove, so I had to match the length of each “Na” in every background vocal as precisely as possible. In the end, I’m extremely happy with the result — but I must have recorded well over a thousand takes, and honestly, I’ve lost count.
Atlas: What would be a dream collaboration for you- either on the studio side or even within a live show? Do you have any plans to perform live soon?
RYLAI: Oh, I have a list of artists and producers I want to collaborate with! That is, after this journey, I’d love to dive in and make those collabs happen! I haven’t really thought much about doing collabs in live shows, though. I’ve only been to a limited number of shows in certain genres so far, so I think I’ll need to figure that out for myself as well.
We’re currently planning a lot of things, so follow me on IG, X, or Bluesky — you’ll be the first to know when we start coming to your city!
Atlas: What else is coming up for you- any spoilers you can share?
RYLAI: I think it’s safe to say that all the songs we’re releasing now are made with the album in mind, and that they’re connected by a narrative within the album.
And we have three bomb tracks in stock. “Fall For You” is one of them.
Atlas: Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you or your music or is there anything you wish you got to talk about more that people may not ask you?
RYLAI: Stay safe! And have a great day! While answering these questions, I just learned that Riot Games recently posted an AI-generated video to promote League of Legends, but took it down only a few days ago after receiving negative public feedback. We are artists — and we understand the value of art, the human creativity, effort, and aspirations that go into bringing such works to life.
Support good art and creators who put genuine effort into their work. That’s how we can create a world full of music and harmony — and keep it from becoming more like a cyberpunk reality, where everything, including music, is controlled by businessmen who don’t understand the true value of things.
Please cherish the people right in front of you. America still has the grassroots power to achieve great things, and there are tight-knit communities that feel very much alive. Treasure them.
Stream “Fall For You”, out now!
Photo courtesy of RYLAI
