HEADLINES

The Story of Ryan Douglas Michelsen Who Playing Piano with The Saguaro

Ryan Douglas Michelsen is a music producer and artist living in the sunny state of Phoenix, Arizona. As a pianist who learned Cubase, he specializes in cinematic instrumentals and melodic constructions, blending his sound into nearly any genre. Originally and native to Illinois, he performed in the metal group 29 Needles to open for major hits such as Avenged Sevenfold, Five Finger Death Punch, Three Days Grace, Dead Horse Trauma, and more. After writing a metal ep and two albums of his own, he moved to Phoenix, studied music business, and founded his own company called Pombrah Music Publishing. Intent on learning the industry, he plans to release hundreds of songs over the next few years, constantly seeking artists to collaborate. Writing in areas like hip hop, rock, electronica, new age, and soundtrack, he hopes to meld these between each other to create an electronica orchestra of massive proportions. 

Ryan’s first commercial album, a new age set list titled “Pursuit of Happiness” was released in May of 2019. Featuring harmonious piano, diverse guitars, and bouncing electronica, he captures moments of emotion in his life without words. Currently preparing an orchestral work designed for film and gaming scheduled for release this November, he spends much of his time writing music for Martin Novak, an artist who signed under his company. An award-winning stage actor and aspiring musician, Martin sees the potential in Ryan, and the two seek to create musicals, albums, movies, and beyond together. 

Ryan stated, “the goal is to hit every genre, but not to let the structure of those genres define the music. The definition is in the artistic experience, and so the soul of the listener, to share in the emotions the writer seeks to share.”

Granted the privilege of traveling the world, Ryan has stepped foot in Europe, Africa, and the Americas. A graphic designer by trade, he is a technology artist who learned design programs like CAD, Cubase, and Adobe to reach the limits of creativity. 

He was born in Arlington Heights, Illinois, to Michelle and Ian Michelsen in 1993. His parents divorced when he was aged two, and he was raised by his mother and great grandmother Mary. He spent his early childhood constantly on the move, living in New York, Maryland, and Nebraska, before finally returning to Illinois by the age of 8. From a middle-class household, he made friends from all walks of life, although too often found his shyness limit his circle to no more than a handful. By the age of six, his father had completely disappeared from his life, no longer partaking in yearly visits or phone calls. On his 8 th birthday, his grandmother gifted him a Casio musical keyboard, which he practiced for nearly every day of his childhood. 

When he was 12, his dad reappeared via a phone call from South Africa, his father’s birth country, and offered to fly him out to see him. Ryan quickly jumped at the opportunity and spent the next year of his life overseas, getting to know the father he never really knew. His father ran his own construction company in South Africa and wanted Ryan to take up in his footsteps by moving in with him, but Ryan missed his mom and his friends back home, so he chose to return to the United States. Upon returning to his homeland, Ryan was gifted with a love of architecture that became a passion, with a dream to be an architect for his dad one day. In High School, he enrolled in drafting and architecture courses, reaching honors college level coursework by his junior year. At the age of 15 however, his father passed away, devastating him.

“The morning I found out… it was as if a weight had fallen upon me greater than any I have ever felt before.” He received therapy wherever he could find it and changed significantly as a person from then on. His social circles transformed, and it was at this point he believes he became truly artistic. “I always wanted to be as successful as I could be, but once I lost my Dad, I felt as though living life was more important than success. Success became a metaphor for love, for pain, and for perseverance. I could express those feelings and that journey I was going through on the keys of my piano.” He graduated high school in 2011 with an impressive ACT score and the coursework to prove his dedication to architecture. He received a full ride scholarship for Architectural Technology at Robert Morris University, and started a job as a graphic designer. The path he had designed for himself was to alter though, when he dropped out of university to pursue his love of music. He joined the metal band 29 Needles and began touring with them for their album release, helped write their EP, and learned to use audio hardware and software to take his sounds further than he ever could on a keyboard alone. In 2015 he moved to Phoenix, Arizona where he studied music business and theory before starting his own company called Pombrah Music Publishing LLC.

Most of the time when Ryan starts a new song, it’s inspiration he formed that day from his emotional state. Sometimes it’s based on a feeling from another time, an experience, or just a memorable smell. Every triumph, loss, and situation guide the tempo into a solid work, one he completes roughly every two days. “Music can be a catalog of human experiences,” he says, “one that breaches language boundaries and preconceptions, to invoke a connection between artist and listener in a way that doesn’t need words.” While he doesn’t write lyrics to all his songs, he makes sure to capture a specific time, place, or emotion before he does. 

“When I get to a good point in the songwriting process, I just hear this story that falls into place with the music. I come up with ideas in my head all the time, so that way I have references to look back on when writing. If I had a voice suited for the notes, I would jump on the microphone right away, and sometimes I do. I just want the sound to be the way I envisioned it, so I prefer to work with other vocalists who have the skill and range to truly ignite the artistic concept.” Despite being a perfectionist, Ryan enjoys working with other artists on their projects. “Just how I like to make my dream sound a tangible creation, I know that others are just like me in wanting to share their experiences.” He enjoys working with artists from rock and roll to hip hop, using his diverse production and intense drive for the sake of others. 

“That’s one of the big reasons I started the company; I want to help others achieve their dreams just as much as my own.” When asked about his favorite instrument, he said “I like to use piano a lot, probably because it was the first instrument I really practiced and enjoyed. On the other hand, I love using brass to emphasize key elements even though I’ve never owned one myself. It all really depends on the situation, but I almost always turn on my keyboard to the piano setting to begin the night’s warmup.” Ryan is optimistically realistic about the future.

Though he was featured in recently released Lifoti's January/February 2020 issue 11, you can check it from below link's for your country:

1 comment:

  1. So some false information here. He did not start the company himself. He took the money from his ex who he beat and manipulated for years.(last I herd she still has a lot of evidence.) My wife was her friend before he started to isolate her from everyone. He screwed my cousin out of 200 dollars. This was before we discovered the true him. The agreement was one instrumental in two weeks. It took him a month and a half to even say he didn't want to collab anymore after many attempts at communication. So he kept the down payment for an unfinished job. If he even started it. He even uses illegally stolen artwork on his company page. He's a crap coworker, musician and person. Id keep searching hard before you settle for this guy. Watch who you get in business with and who you get involved with in general.

    ReplyDelete