Hailing from central California, Rixmey Virik is an up and coming artist who has been writing seen the age of 10 years old. Taking things more seriously since college, Rixmey Virik was originally known for his rock songs but slowly began transitioning and experimenting with a more indie-pop sound. Rixmey is always diving into other genres and plans to release songs in both English and Khmer. Rixmey Virik strongly believes that artists should remain fluid with which genres they represent to fully capture their artistic expression.
“Know What You Desire” is an alluring song from Rixmey Virik. Whether he’s weaving through catchy verses or the addicting hook, Rixmey’s powerhouse vocals remain strong over top of the addicting, sultry instrumentals. “Know What You Desire” focuses on what the title insists, it’s about focusing our energy on what we want the most. Although the vocals are slightly melancholic, they captivate you throughout the entire track. You’ll find yourself swaying to the music as you sing along with every word by the second or third listen. Rixmey’s positive energy shines through the speakers while the infectious rhythm takes the listener on a journey through the soundscapes he’s created. We welcome this budding indie artist onto the BuzzMusic playlists and we can’t wait to hear more!
Check out “Know What You Desire” here and stay tuned for more releases from Rixmey Virik.
Welcome to BuzzMusic Rixmey Virik! As an artist and film-maker, how do you find time to focus your energy on both passions? Does your creativity manifest itself in other ways?
Initially, I tried focusing on all of my passions simultaneously, but I realized that when you have to manage your career singlehandedly for the most part, you only have so much time to "perfect" all of your craft. I have learned to focus on one film and 2-3 songs at a time or only on 2-5 songs for a period of 2-3 months. During this time period, my goal is to give ample attention to the projects and polish my craft to the best of my abilities. Melodies come to me randomly, endlessly, it's quite funny, I think my sense of sound is my natural talent and my favorite aspect. However, I sing songs best when I'm going through the same emotions I'm supposed to convey in the song. Sometimes it takes a while for me to feel the same energy of the song again, but movies and articles help manifest those emotions.
You’ve been writing songs for a long time, and you mentioned you release some of your older songs in between new releases. Is “Know What You Desire” a newer or older composition for you?
I came up with the melody of Know What You Desire in the spring of 2015 after returning from a bonfire. I just had this inspiration to create a sensual melody, a bit off beat when compared to my other songs. I worked on some films and songs in between and wrote the lyrics around the summer of 2016. A friend and I created a slow jazz version of the song in 2017, and in 2018 Sony Music Producer Marcus Urbanski and I teamed up to take the song to its full potential. It now has a more suspenseful vibe and it suits it perfectly. Now it's one of my favorite songs and I never get tired of it, because it gives off such a unique mysterious vibe. When a strict artist can say that about their own song, they've done something right.
How has your songwriting style changed or developed from when you first began writing seriously?
I would say that the first songs I wrote were generally more of the pop/rock variety, somewhat along the magnitude of "If Love Could Touch" and "Being Superficial," which I wrote in 2011 and 2013 respectively. I wrote songs with a similar rock/alternative style since I began song-writing in 2003. However, I wrote some rnb inspired songs like "Seashore Sunset" and "Above" back in 2010. As I've gotten older, I've developed an interest in ballads and rnb, so I've been playing around with those genres more. If "Know What You Desire" becomes a hit though, I'll definitely continue to release songs with that same style. At the same time, I look forward to developing my song-writing ability in Khmer. Maybe I could blend the 2 and help create a whole new genre. Who knows?
"Know What You Desire" had a powerful underlying story to it. Are you able to dive deeper into the honest meaning of the track?
It was supposed to be a more optimistic song. I first wrote the lyrics to uplift. In the beginning, I always tried to downplay drama, so I would make my song lyrics more generic. However, after going through some troubled relationships and having some people I looked up to belittle me, I felt there was no more need to try to be dignified-because someone will always look down on you. I wrote that song when I was at my breaking point when I was transitioning from trying to be ideal to becoming a bit more spontaneous. Now, ironically, it's become one of my early releases. It was completed in 2018, but while I was trying to re-live and re-sing "If Love Could Touch" and other earlier more innocent songs, I didn't want to delay my music career for too long so I just released the darker song so I could just move forward. It's kinda funny but that needs to happen sometimes because you never know how long you'll live.
Thank you for telling us more about yourself and artistry! We’d love to hear more from you. Have you released any of your songs in Khmer yet? When can you listeners expect to hear that!?
I haven't released a Khmer song yet but I would love to. I've come up with the melodies, but I would need the elders in the community to check my lyrics to make sure that I actually make sense. I don't want to give them partial songs as well, they will definitely critique it. My plan is to release songs in both languages by the end of the decade, but my more upbeat Khmer songs I want to save for the beginning of 2020 as I know they would be partying a lot around that time. I'm excited to see how the genres I work with will fuse together!
Connect with Rixmey Virik:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/miracast.media
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rixmey