Interview: Songwriter Ryan Curtis Discusses His Creative Process, Writing for NCT DREAM’s Candy, and More
Ryan Curtis is a multi-platinum award-winning Scottish singer-songwriter and vocal producer. After signing his first publishing deal in 2016, Curtis is now signed to Kobalt Music Group & One Hit Away. Moving from Scotland to Los Angeles, he has worked with artists globally. From the United States all the way to South Korea, he has collaborated with NCT DREAM, TAEMIN, Lu Han, HENRY, KUN, Tate Mcrae, Bryce Vine, Rei Brown, Louis Tomlinson, Jordan Sparks, and more. With his upcoming songs in 2023, Curtis has been working with SM Entertainment, Republic Records, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Groups, and Columbia Records, to name a few. HALSUG had the wonderful opportunity to discuss his songwriting process, reflect on recent accomplishments, and discuss goals for the future.
Photo Courtesy of Ryan Curtis
Q: Tell us about who Ryan Curtis is as a musician and what music means to you.
I’m a serious melody lover. Anyone who I’ve written with will tell you that. Find that sensationally catchy melody, and the rest is easy. Music means so much to me—it’s a form of therapy, a way to create a whole world in under 3 minutes, that not only helps me process tough times but helps other people too. That’s the beauty of music right there.
Q: What inspires your songwriting process?
Other people inspire me. My daily life, fan reactions, friends, family, and movies. There is so much inspiration out there. Sometimes in the thick of it being blocked, it’s easy to miss, but if you really pay attention and take a breath for a second, you see that there’s always a story wherever you look.
Q: What is your creative process like? And do you have any procedures you go through when writing a song?
Always always always, melody first. I’ll hop on the mic usually and see what I can mumble. It won’t be chaotic either—I will mumble the sections of a song and see what words follow. More than not, the title of the song is born this way. This helps you find the most natural vibe for the song, syllable-wise, and vowel placement-wise. I’m a huge fan of this process. When you listen to the produced music for the first time, it should be instinctual. Sometimes it can take a few tries, and sometimes it just doesn’t happen, and you move on. That’s part of the game though—knowing when to move on from an idea and keep the creative juices flowing. There’s something magical when the melody and the production just connect on one of the first vocal passes on the mic—it’s really special.
Q: For Korean musicians, you have written songs like “Take My Breath” by NCT DREAM. Did you pull from personal inspiration, look to the group's experiences, or think of the song theme for inspiration while writing the song lyrics?
So this is why I love K-Pop so much—they are also very melody driven. When co-writing the song with my buddies Willie Weeks and Justin Starling, we went back and forth on a bunch of different melodies—we did it all remotely too. Nothing was in person—we all live in different parts of the world. Then we eventually settled on the best possible melody and started filling in lyrics, and I recorded the lead singing parts, Justin [worked on] the raps, and Willie [worked on] the backings/adlibs with production. It’s a team process, and I couldn’t have done it without my incredible teammates Willie and Justin and, of course, my publisher Innerv8.
Lyrically, most of the time in K-Pop, they take the song and edit/translate the lyrics to something that really resonates with the band. So we had an original theme, but they put their spin on it and made it into the amazing piece it is today. It’s such a fun process!
Q: Is there anything different that goes into writing a song for a K-Pop group versus other genres?
So from a songwriting perspective, song arrangements are very different from K-Pop to the US. To put it simply, there are just more melody sections in K-Pop compared to US songs. You have to take into consideration that there are a lot of band members [usually], and even if it’s not a band and it’s a solo act, they still love their melody switch-ups and keeping the song moving. In the US, it’s more simplified. Both are so fun to write—it’s a blessing I get to do both.
Q: What was your favorite part of the writing process on the songs you’ve done with K-Pop and Asian artists?
My favorite part is the final product. Seeing the vision come to life. Seeing how the artist interprets your voice and melody. Most of the time, I’m singing on the final demos, so they take all my vocals as a reference, and the artist puts their spin on them. That part is so exciting, and hearing the final piece mixed and mastered is also amazing.
Photo Courtesy of Ryan Curtis
Q: In a recent interview with KpopWise, you said that you “dabble in so many music worlds'' and that your “voice works in lots of different genres.” Specifically, was it easy for you to write a K-Pop song, or were there any challenges? Do you have a favorite genre that you like to create music for?
Funnily enough, when I first started writing, my writing style accidentally fit the K-Pop scene. I think that’s what helped me a lot, it was a natural instinct, never forced, and to me, I was just writing a song that I loved. That really gave me a head start on the K-Pop scene, and of course, when I met my publisher Obi at Innerv8 Music, it all started to click.
There were definitely challenges, like anything—sure, my writing style fit K-Pop, but there was still a lot of learning and hard work to do to really take these songs to the next level. Every song, in my opinion, is a “skill point,” like in a video game—the more you write, the more you sing, the better you get. You really do have to write 100 or more bad songs to get to the OK ones and then get to great ones. I always tell younger writers to keep collaborating, keep writing, and networking—you’ll get to a point where all of your songs are great songs, and now you’re trying to get that 1/100 amazing hit-worthy song. It’s funny, but no matter what stage you are, you’re always learning and growing in music. Put in the 10,000 hours and really see the results.
Lastly, I love that dark moody pop genre. That Kid Laroi meets Post Malone. I love love that!
Q: NCT DREAM’s Candy hit over 2 million sales and was #1 in 19 different countries. What was your initial reaction when you were informed about getting to co-write a song for the group? How did you feel the moment when the album reached #1?
It was surreal, and seeing the numbers go up and up and up was mind-blowing. I’ve never had a project perform so well, it was a milestone for me, and I’m still in awe at how amazing the fan reactions have been. It’s been a journey!
Q: What is a favorite song or project you have worked on thus far?
For K-Pop, “Under My Skin” by TAEMIN will always have my heart because it was my first one ever. It was also written with my close friends Ronnie Marinari and Cesar Da Emperor. The music video is also soooo amazing. If you haven’t seen it, check it out!
Q: We saw on your TikTok that you started a “Hard Drive songs series” for your collection of music. What is an estimate of the number of songs in your collection? What genre or topics are most of the songs about? Creating many songs, do you continuously try to find artists for them, or do you have to let go of some eventually?
Oh, man! That’s so funny! I forgot I had that TikTok series going. So glad you brought it up. I actually have a playlist of all my major releases that I co-wrote—I can share it with you all here. You can hear all of my K-Pop releases, US releases, everything!
Yeah, so I am constantly trying to find the right artist for my songs—everything is timing. Sometimes a song can be written, and 2 weeks later, it’s coming out. Then another time, a song can be written, and it won’t come out for 3 years. It’s really crazy, but you just gotta keep pushing as a writer and keep pushing the songs you believe in. Nobody is going to work harder than yourself, and any upcoming songwriter reading this, you have to be your own entrepreneur—you’re the business. You have to continually hit up artists and make those relationships no matter what team you have. It’s one of the hardest industries to be in, so you have to truly love it to really conquer it.
Q: You recently mentioned in an interview that you would love to work with BLACKPINK, Red Velvet, or ITZY. Is there any particular reason why you want to work with these groups specifically?
I’ve had a bunch of friends that have written songs for them, and I’ve always been a huge fan of them. I also have never written for a female K-Pop band yet! So it’s on my bucket list to get a few songs with those or similar!
Q: What are some goals that you have set for yourself this year?
Just more cuts and more placements with artists I love in the Asia market. Then I’m doing way more direct artist sessions in the US, which is always good. Pitching songs is fun too, but being in the room with the artist who can really have a connection to the record is so important.
With Curtis’ passion and a vast collection of unreleased music waiting to find a home, he has a lot more to share with the world. Curtis recently dropped a new single titled “Nose Dive.” Make sure you check out his music! We look forward to seeing what Curtis’ collaborations and songwriting have in store for 2023.
What are some of your favorite works/collaborations that Ryan Curtis mentioned? Let us know by leaving a comment below or by reaching out on our Instagram or Twitter.
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