Rylai Turns Heartbreak Into Late-Night Pop Gold on “Issues”

There’s something quietly addictive about “Issues,” the latest release from Rylai. It doesn’t explode with unnecessary theatrics or chase oversized pop moments. Instead, the Seoul-born artist leans into restraint, vulnerability, and atmosphere, creating a track that feels intimate enough to read like a diary entry while still sounding polished for repeat late-night listens.

Built around minimalist production, soft acoustic textures, and heavy low-end emotion, “Issues” captures the emotional limbo that follows a breakup when memories refuse to fade as quickly as the relationship itself. Rylai’s vocal performance becomes the centerpiece almost immediately. There’s a fragility in the way he delivers lines like “If you love me, can you let go of me?” that gives the song genuine emotional weight without ever sounding forced.

What makes the track particularly compelling is how naturally it blends genres. Elements of pop, indie, and contemporary R&B coexist effortlessly, creating a sound that feels globally informed yet deeply personal. It’s easy to hear the influence of emotionally driven storytellers in his approach, but Rylai never loses his own identity in the process.

The accompanying music video elevates the experience further. Wandering through lonely New York streets and industrial landscapes, he visually mirrors the emotional isolation embedded within the song itself. Every subway ride, empty sidewalk, and cold skyline reinforces the feeling of searching for closure in places that no longer feel familiar.

With “Issues,” Rylai isn’t just making emotional pop music. He’s building immersive worlds around heartbreak, and the result is both haunting and memorable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FTkQGdHj94

What personal experience or emotion first inspired “Issues”?

I like writing lyrics in a way that leaves room for different interpretations. It allows listeners to attach their own meaning to the song and make it their own. But the hidden context behind these lines is that I wrote them as if I were speaking to my father. Growing up, there was always a distance between us. He was always quiet, focused on work, and it often felt like the family came second. 

A lot of things happened as I grew up, and by the time I started taking music seriously, my family had already scattered, and we were all living separately. Well, what has already happened cannot be undone. After hearing this, maybe 'Issues' will start to sound a little different to you. 

How did your background in physics and sound design influence the production choices on this track?

Physics does give you more insight into synthesis, harmonics, and how certain effects work, but I think what it really gave me is this framework: for any given melody, there is always a combination of production choices that can maximize both its artistic and popular potential. 

And based on that idea, I think about what needs to be added to the current production, and I try to recreate the sounds I imagine in my head as closely as possible. When I was building up the climax, I felt like the song needed a gritty electronic bass. So I opened Serum, added some distortion and effects, and that is how I got that bass sound. There are also synth chord stabs in that section, and knowing a bit of sound design definitely helps me get closer to the sound I envision.

The song feels incredibly intimate and cinematic at the same time. Was that balance intentional from the start?

I usually have a vague picture in my head of how a song should go. But for 'Issues,' when we first started working on the instrumental, I told Skyler Cocco (my co-producer) that we were going acoustic and asked her to record an acoustic guitar.

I didn't know what kind of acoustic guitar parts she would send me. At that point, the main vocals were already set, so the intimacy might have already been there, but the cinematic feeling was not there yet.

After I received the files, I was blown away by what she did with the acoustic guitar. There were so many layers playing at the same time behind the main strumming lick. From there, I started thinking about what I could add next to the guitar production she had sent me to bring out the song's potential even more. Since the acoustic guitar pattern repeats throughout the song, I felt like we needed moments that could heighten the emotion and pull the listener's attention back in. So I added more vocals and sounds like synth bass and pads. That is how we got that cinematic feeling.

What was the creative vision behind the New York-based music video?

It started from a brainstorming session with my team. We were really inspired by the visuals from the movie 'Past Lives,' and we felt that the tone of the film matched the song perfectly.

From there, I came up with the idea of burying my issues and traumas. We captured some of the loneliest scenes in New York, and the video ends with a graveyard scene where I cry, touch the gravestone, and walk away as an act of letting go. That ending scene symbolizes releasing the issues and traumas that have been weighing on me.

Do you see “Issues” as a defining moment in shaping your artistic identity moving forward?

When I make a song, I always try to make sure the musical ideas and sincerity behind it come through. I definitely did not favor 'Issues' over the others. If anything, judging by the overall workload, it was probably the opposite, because there were no drums, so there were fewer instruments, haha.

I would be very grateful if 'Issues' became a defining moment in my artistry. But I will keep evolving as I continue exploring new sounds that I have not used before, and I hope listeners will keep watching with anticipation.