Ryan Lofty

Ryan Loftsgaarden (born May 19, 1988), commonly known by his stage name Ryan Lofty, is an American producer, composer and songwriter.

Ryan Lofty
Birth nameRyan Loftsgaarden
Born (1988-05-19) May 19, 1988
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.
Genres
  • Electronic Music
Occupation(s)
  • Producer
  • Composer
  • Songwriter
Instruments
Years active2015–present
Associated acts
Websiteryanlofty.com

Career

Early beginnings

Lofty was introduced to piano and trumpet at a young age by his mother, who is a piano teacher.[1] A near-death accident at the age of 15 inspired him to pursue music as a career.[2] He studied music business at Columbia College Chicago during which time he held an internship at a small record studio. After college Lofty worked as a composer at Disney's creative campus in Los Angeles eventually leaving to facilitate a songwriting contract in India.[3] Throughout this period he performed with multiple groups including a national tour as drummer with indie-electronic duo Bestfriends.[4]

2015–2017

In 2015 Lofty debuted his solo project, releasing four singles and one remix over the course of the summer. His single The Mountain (feat. Bonx) won Insomniac Events' Discovery Project with the award of a one-hour DJ set at Life Is Beautiful (music festival) in Las Vegas,[5] opening the stage for Felix Jaehn, Robin Schulz, and Porter Robinson.[6] On the day, Lofty performed a surprise collaboration with Bill Nye the Science Guy who was booked to speak at the event about climate change.[7] The appearance was covered in major electronic music blogs[8][9] and after the festival Yahoo! Music named Lofty one of "Five Rising Acts to Watch".[10]

In early 2016 Lofty released eight-track album Tourists from the Future[11] which featured American Idol alumni Casey Abrams and Mansions on the Moon vocalist Ted Wendler.[12] The album contains heavy lyrical references to space and time travel which are recurring themes in Lofty's music. Popular music blog EARMILK called the album a "cosmic pool party" with "nothing but good vibes", and singled out track Dimensions (feat. Casey Abrams) as an example of Lofty's focus on melody.[13] Global Dance Electronic (GDE) called the album a "cinematic experience" and dubbed the genre "tropi-galactic" – a play on Lofty's blend of tropical house and space themes.[14]

Shortly after release Lofty performed in the capacity of an official artist at SXSW and Beyond Wonderland SoCal.[15][16]

2018–present

In 2018, Lofty announced a collaboration with composer Jay Vincent, writing electronic music and songs for DreamWorks Animation's Harvey Street Kids, a Netflix Original series based on characters from the legacy Harvey Comics franchise.[17] In an interview with Animation Magazine, Lofty and Vincent discussed writing and producing the songs featured in the show, voiced by guest stars Nick Lachey, Joey Fatone, Joey McIntyre and Shawn Stockman. The duo are co-composing another series for DreamWorks Animation that features electronic music genres such as “future bass, dubstep, grime, jungle, drum & bass, complextro and... riddim.”[18]

In 2019 the pair co-composed DreamWorks Animation's Cleopatra in Space and Netflix's Fast & Furious: Spy Racers, an animated spinoff of the blockbuster Universal franchise. [19] [20] Lofty previewed the Spy Racers score at CTNX Animation Expo ahead of the series premiere.[21]

Licensing

Lofty's single The Mountain (feat. Bonx) has been featured on television programs such as E!’s Dash Dolls and MTV's Real World: Go Big or Go Home.[22] Higher (feat. Bestfriends) was featured on Season 14 of Bad Girls Club. An unreleased track from collaborative project BabeWave was licensed in an Apple Music Guided Tour and on season three of Daredevil (TV series).[23] Lofty has also completed custom work for brands such as Mountain Dew, Microsoft and Los Angeles Kiss Football via Future Vega, a publishing house he co-founded.[24]

References
  1. Insomniac Editorial Team (September 25, 2015). "Ryan Lofty Artist Profile". Insomniac. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  2. Insomniac Editorial Team (March 22, 2016). "How a Near-Death Experience Inspired Ryan Lofty to Follow His Musical Path". Insomniac. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  3. Brown, Alexcina (August 11, 2015). "Aug '15 BRASH! Artist Spotlight – Ryan Lofty". BRASH! Magazine. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  4. Dorsky, Brandon (August 27, 2015). "Ryan Likes to get "Higher" with his Bestfriends". Only The Beat. Archived from the original on April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  5. Insomniac Editorial Team (September 10, 2015). "Discovery Music: See Who'll Be Joining Us at Life Is Beautiful". Insomniac. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  6. "Life is Beautiful Festival – September 22-24, 2017". Archived from the original on April 3, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  7. Dorsky, Brandon (April 8, 2016). "Emerging Tropical House Producer Discusses Chasing His Dream, First Festival Performance". thatDROP.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  8. Davidson, Lucy (October 4, 2015). "Life is Beautiful's third-annual weekend offered a diverse lineup and a new partnership with Insomniac, plus Bill Nye". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on March 27, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  9. Cha, Daniel (September 27, 2015). "Bill Nye Makes Surprise Appearance at Life is Beautiful 2015". YourEDM. Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  10. Baltin, Steve (October 6, 2015). "Five Rising Acts at Life Is Beautiful Day 1: Ryan Lofty, SZA & More". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  11. "Tourists from the Future". Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  12. Babaoglu, Jim (March 10, 2016). "Ryan Lofty's Debut Album Tourists from the Future". EDM Sauce. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  13. Jefferson, Lauren (March 17, 2016). "Ryan Lofty Debuts Tourists from the Future Album". EARMILK. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  14. Carr, John (March 17, 2016). "Ryan Lofty Disintegrates Boundaries With His Album Tourists from the Future". Global Dance Electronic. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  15. Maher, Erin (March 2016). "Get Buzzzed SXSW Showcase 2016". Beautiful Buzzz. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  16. Insomniac Editorial Team (March 8, 2016). "Beyond Wonderland SoCal 2016 Not-so-Silent Disco and Silent Disco Lineups Are Here". Insomniac. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  17. Sevcik, Macey (June 28, 2018). "How Ryan Lofty Helps Make Every Day Sound Like Saturday on Harvey Street". Motion Picture Association of America. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  18. Zahed, Ramin (May 9, 2019). "Animated People: Jay Vincent & Ryan Lofty Craft Boy Band Hits for 'Harvey Girls Forever'". Animation Magazine. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  19. "Cleopatra comin' atcha! - the music of Cleo in Space". November 25, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  20. "Jay Vincent & Ryan Lofty Scoring Netflix's 'Fast & Furious: Spy Racers'". Film Music Reporter. November 18, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  21. Milligan, Mercedes (November 18, 2019). "Animation Songwriters & Composers in Tune at CTNX". Animation Magazine. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  22. K, Chase (March 31, 2016). "Music from Real World: Go Big or Go Home, Episode 3". MTV Soundtrack. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  23. "Ryan Lofty". IMDb.com. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  24. "Future Vega | Electronic music for media". Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
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