Biography

Rylan is a composer and vocalist working in experimental and divergent fields. His work has been praised as “haunting” by The Herald, and “rapturous” by The Scotsman, who named him ‘One to Watch’ 2021, describing him as “one of the brightest lights in Scotland’s new music scene”. He enjoys working across disciplines, most notably in dramatic live contexts, and explores a range of dark folk (EP Lawn Crypt), jazz-punk (class-work ensemble), avant-garde metal (Ashenspire), chamber music, and orchestral compositions.

Under moniker All Men Unto Me, Rylan creates genre-merging work, with 2023 debut album release In Chemical Transit reviewed as ‘a brave, fascinating, and triumphant view of transition’ in The Wire. Taking Cherubino’s aria from Le Nozze di Figaro, Rylan wove together recordings of his voice from over a decade, pre- and during transition, critiquing the trouser role and his relationship with his former mezzo-soprano voice. He works with producer and musician Scott McLean across projects, developing the next All Men Unto Me album on Sound and Music’s New Voices programme, and within the same realms has played alongside artists such as Maud the moth, Burd Ellen, and Helen Money.

His work with Paraorchestra (as a member, Musician in Residence 2022-23, and Trustee) has included recording at Abbey Road Studios with Oliver Vibrans and Pulled By Magnets, where his performance of Scott Walker’s The Drift was premiered on Sky Arts. His orchestral commission Straylight for The Anatomy of The Orchestra: Drone Refractions premiered at Bristol Beacon as part of the Association of British Orchestras Conference, with two repeat sold-out shows at The Southbank Center.

Recent notable performances have been with Ashenspire at Supersonic Festival, Roadburn Festival, Islington Assembly Hall (Perpetual Flame Ministries), Soulcrusher, Damnation, Northern Winter Beat, Amplifest, and ArcTanGent, and with class-work ensemble at Leipziger Jazztage, Industriesalon Schöneweide, and Stadtgarten Köln. For compositions, Rylan has written recently for Hebrides Ensemble (The Night With…Festival), The Sunday Boys (setting text from The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven by Jo Clifford at Manchester Cathedral), and FormidAbility Opera (Song in Sign UK tour).

Rylan serves on the ABRSM’s Music Education Advisory Committee and as their Youth Voice Lead. He holds an MMus and BMus in Composition from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, graduating with The Craig Armstrong Prize and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Composition Prize, supported by The Kenneth Barrett Scholarship from the RCS Trust, The Glasgow Educational and Marshall Trust, and a Dewar Arts Award.

Award: Silver Medal, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland 2020

Page updated: December 2020

Photo Credit: Unknown