Today we’d like to introduce you to Marin Rylee.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born and raised in southern California around the Los Angeles area. My mom is a recording artist so I grew up around music, but my passion for most of my life has been dance. I started training at “Retters Academy of Dance” in tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, contemporary and hip hop when I was six. After a while, I joined the studio competition team and dedicated 7 years of my life to rehearsals, training and dance competitions/conventions. That’s when I found “LA Dance Magic.”
“LA Dance Magic” is the first competition/convention that made me feel at home. I’ve always loved performing on stage! Sadly most of the focus these days is on winning competitions not growing in your craft. When I first came to LADM (LA Dance Magic) the passion for dance was evident. It didn’t take long for me to join the LA Dance Magic Company which led me to work closely with the owner, Jackie Sleight, who has been such an amazing mentor to me.
Rewinding a little…. When I was about fifteen years old, my parents started building out a home studio for recording vocals. My dad ended up buying an Ableton Live Push and out of boredom and some curiosity I started messing around with the program. At the time, my whole life was my dance team so producing and writing music was just a hobby. Little did I know that I had just found my true passion!
My whole life I’ve been in love with movies and stories! Some of my happiest childhood memories are my family and I watching tv together at the end of the day. That passion drives me to create music. The words, the track, the melodies… I want everything to tell a story. I view my songs as three minute movies. I don’t just want the words to “tell” the story, I want the track to invite you into the story world.
Fast forward to 2020. The world had just shut down and my life of traveling and touring with LADM has come to a full halt. I was devastated and started spending all my time in our home studio. I was producing and recording demo vocals like a mad woman. I eventually showed my parents some of my work and they insisted we present a few songs to Jackie Sleight.
Jackie, being the renowned director, producer and choreographer she is… I never in a million years thought she would see potential in me and my music. But she did! And my mind exploded! Jackie and one of my other mentors and close friends Will Thomas started working with us on brand development and visual projects. We finished producing, recording, mixing and mastering eight songs.
January of 2021 I filmed a music video for my first release “Thank You For Your Time” which tells the story of my life and experience as a dancer and artist. Throughout this past year I released five singles, all of which I’m a writer and producer on. I’ve been so incredibly blessed to have such a supportive family and team surrounding me.
I never saw myself leaving California… but with the high cost of living on an artist’s salary, my family picked up and moved to Nashville. It’s been almost a year since we moved and I couldn’t be happier. The thriving entertainment industry here in Tennessee is amazing! I’m currently touring with LADM as an artist performing one of my songs each weekend with my amazing friends dancing behind me. We travel all over the U.S. and I look forward to all the adventures ahead.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think the biggest challenge has been balancing my career and my faith. I believe God gave me these gifts and this passion for music and dance. I believe every lyric, melody, and note comes directly from him. The reason this has been a challenge is because the modern world (the entertainment industry in particular) can be very divisive.
I’m not a christian artist, I create pop music. And I’ll be completely honest… looking back there are things I would do differently. I want to be a light in the entertainment industry… and unfortunately, I haven’t always stuck to that. It’s so easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing, but that’s not me.
I believe we need artists who make music because they love music. not because they love fame and money. In a world where literally anyone can make music and have it go viral… we’ve lost true passion for music. Personally, I’ve been caught up in this mentality many times.
I want to be someone that brings the music industry back to its heart. Why do people love music? Because it makes us feel something! It’s nostalgic, it’s relatable, it makes us realize we’re not alone in our experiences. God gave me these gifts, and I don’t want to waste them. I want to share my stories with the world… whether or not they want to hear it or not.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My favorite artist of all time is Michael Jackson! He is unlike any other performer I’ve ever seen. As a dancer and a singer, I have always admired his talent. His visuals alone are insane! I aspire to be that kind of performer. Lots of artists dance, (or are trained to move) but very few singers have real dance training. In the future, I’d love to incorporate intense dance numbers into my shows.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
You can’t do anything alone. Yes, I write and produce all my music… but I couldn’t create any of my songs all on my own. When you care about something, especially something in the arts it’s extremely hard to let others add to your project. You want to be able to do everything by yourself… but that’s unrealistic. It’s taken me a long time to feel comfortable with others collaborating on my songs and the truth is, most of the time it’s the more the merrier!
Contact Info:
- Email: trey@lioneyesrecords.com
- Website: https://marinrylee.com/
- Instagram: @marinrylee
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marinrylee
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_3j0R7EgBFxE6kwPd_Eghw
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/lioneyesrecords/thank-you-for-your-time
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0yYzKKfPongbBMNVrAjjoh?si=OqxS5kviTpOlKPdsEI-4dQ
Image Credits:
ShutterStorm Media
