From Romania to the U.S.A, singer/songwriter and producer Rian Cult releases his heartwarming single "75// Summertime". Impressively, Rian Cult has played drums for many notable names across Romania and is continually working on his musical direction. Influenced by British and Romanian artists mostly from the '80s, Rian Cult's music has blended into more of a pop-style over time. With the release of his balladic single "75// Summertime", Rian Cult sweetly serenades us overtop filtered acoustic guitar. Going back and forth from soft and sincere, all the way to the whole-sounding pop beat drop at the hook, Rian Cult truly brings in many dynamic aspects to this single.
Kicking off with nothing but a filtered acoustic guitar, "75// Summertime" gradually expands with Rian Cult's fresh vocals and the accompanying modern pop beat. Whoever Rian Cult is serenading is extremely lucky, as the words he's crafted to pour his emotion are so pure, while he wishes to love this person into their old age. Going back and forth from sole acoustic guitar to the hi-fi pop beat, Rian Cult even goes in on a short rap spiel and adds different sonic aspects to the track all the way through. A fun-loving song that reminds us of true love, Rian Cult's "75// Summertime," brings all the affection we're looking for.
Discover "75//Symmertime" here.
Hey Rian Cult, welcome to BuzzMusic! We're falling head over heels for your single "75// Summertime". Could you tell us about what inspired you to write such a passionate single?
Thank you so much! Yeah, so, it literally came out of nowhere, I had posted on my IG a photo asking my followers to shout random songwriting prompts, titles or ideas and the first one was called "Summertime". So I went ahead and wrote something in 10 minutes just to have an idea to put out on my story, little did I know that the 1-minute song would get stuck in my head. I normally think too much but for this one, I shut my mind off. Most of the song is based around memories and things that have happened, but some parts in the song are about moments that I wish had happened but never did, compiling a series of events that make for a lovely story. The whole song is about that summer love that doesn't seem to ever fade out and how you wish to have moments like that even when you're 75. I couldn't choose between 75 and Summertime as a title so I chose both.
There are many different sonic aspects to your single "75// Summertime" that bring vast authenticity. How long was your creative process, and what did it look like when forming such unique verses?
The first part of the song came really quick, the ideas were there, but the hook was missing something and I never know what it is when this happens, so I just flow with it, knowing that at some point during the recording/production part I will start singing or mumbling something that simply just works, If I have to force it, it's probably not gonna be good, so I let it write itself sometimes. It took about a month or so, between writing and producing it, doing the promo and artwork and so on, but this is the first song I make and release like this, in a matter of a month, I still have songs written from 6 months ago and they're chilling on my hard drive. I guess I was inspired by Bazzi to do this, as he did with his latest single, I figured, what have I got to lose? But, yeah, I had to go over a couple of times and polish some of the verses, especially the spoken ones, so that the words would flow.
Rian Cult mentioned that your sound has moved into more of a pop-influenced style, rather than your initial funk, soul, and rock influences. Have you ever experimented with these nostalgic sounds in your released music?
I have actually, in a song that's unreleased. It's really different and has that Billie Eilish vibe to it, with a heavy drum beat and some distorted guitars. I want to keep my personal touch when I make music so the song still sounds like me even though it's kind of dark. The song is about the paranoia you get when you listen to other's opinions too much and then doubt yourself. It's really an alt-pop track.
We've heard that you have worked with many different artists as a drummer, musical director, and producer. Have these endeavors been impacted by the world's events, and how do you still collaborate?
Fortunately, in terms of making music, no. As most of my friends and collaborators are staying safe and well, we have managed to keep in contact and keep writing over facetime, sending music back and forth and even sign a couple of tracks to labels. Me and my amazing friend and producer ABRAM have opened up a donation program for our latest song "COLD FEET" and all the proceeds go to a COVID-19 relief foundation both here in Romania and in the U.S., so we're doing our best with the music to support people who need help. Overall, I have releases planned out for this summer, already signed and ready, and continuously working on more.
What can fans anticipate next from you?
I like to think of myself as constantly growing and evolving, there's so much amazing music coming out every day it's so hard not to get inspired and add new things to your songs. So that's something you can expect from me, to never expect that you're going to listen to the same thing over and over again. I'm not afraid to be weird, someone out there is going to vibe with me. I have two amazing songs coming out, one with an incredibly talented producer, KASTELO and another one with R3birth, an Italian duo. On both these records I am featured as a singer and writer, they're both Electronic, Dance songs, so that's gonna come as a surprise so some of my listeners but I do know that they'll enjoy these songs. I like to think of these songs the way Calvin Harris invited Dua Lipa, a Pop artist, to write and sing "One Kiss".
I always liked to spice things up and play around with ideas, always coming up with interesting ways to express my thoughts. So yeah, bottom line, nothing I will ever make will sound like the previous record, music is a journey and if you find yourself going back where you've been already, then it's not the right path.