Originally from Canada, RIELL is a dance-pop musician, composer, and topliner who has charted in the Top 40 and is now on tour abroad.
As a result of her toplining abilities and her collaborations with producers like as Egzod, Besomorph, and Unknown Brain, she has amassed more than 15 million listens on Spotify by herself.
Over the course of her career, RIELL has been on the charts more than 65 times spanning the continents of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa, with her most successful tune reaching number one on the Electronic charts in Taiwan.
In addition to this, she has done shows throughout three worldwide tours that have taken her to Africa, Asia, Europe, and Canada.
She just published a new double single, and it includes the track “Burn Our Bridges Down.” This song combines electro-pop and commercial sounds.
Riell’s vocals are quite expressive, and the tune has nice melodies set in a very productive beat.
During the interview, which you will be able to watch down below, we were given the chance to learn more about the composition as well as his career;
1- Where did you come from, where are you based now, and why?
I’m from Edmonton, Alberta, and I’m now based out of Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta. Everything I do is online so I stayed to be close to family and friends and travel for work when I need to.
2- What is the message behind Burn Our Bridges Down?
Burn Our Bridges Down is about someone treating you poorly and pulling the last straw before all civility goes out the window and all you want is revenge. It’s about that snap when your patience for someone runs out and you’re ready to be just as petty as they are because if you treated them the way they treated you, they wouldn’t stay either. I wrote a 5 song EP about my last breakup, and I heard the person it was about listened to it and told someone I know they didn’t like it and thought I was mean; that’s what started the ball rolling for Burn Our Bridges Down.
3- What is your songwriting process like?
It’s a bit different every time. For this song, I sat at the piano and just let it flow out because I was feeling pretty emotional and then I took it to my producer and we finished it from there. When I was writing it, I was hearing sirens and sound design that hinted at an upcoming riot and change of tides in mind.
4- How does your creative process change from your previous releases?
This song is part of a concept album and video game release so the process involved a lot of moving pieces and fitting things together so a bigger story made sense. I always knew this song was meant to be one of the first off the album because it ties in my previous EP and sets the world this new album is set in; it’s a progression of leaving my last project behind to start a new one. I had to sit on this track for almost a year while I finished everything else that’s to come after it so it would all be cohesive and make sense as a big story, so that was quite new to my creative process.
5- How do you approach making a new album?
I think of an overarching story I want to tell and how songs I already have fit into it and what songs I need to write to fill any holes. I think of a world I want it to be set in and concepts I want to cover and explore in this world. For this album, the overarching story is about the creation of a villain: the good, the bad, and the uncomfortably relatable.
6- What do you hope your music will achieve?
I hope it creates a world and story people can get lost in and find inspiration in. I hope people find comfort and empowerment in it when they need it and sparks for their own creativity.
7- What motivates you to continue making music?
Overwhelming emotions keep me writing song ideas for the future in my phone notes and the opportunity to work with other creative and like-minded people keeps me motivated to finish them and create visuals.
8- Who are your biggest influences?
I love everything Halsey does. I also find Holly Humberstone, Gracie Adams, Royal & the Serpent, and Taylor Swift super inspiring.
9- What challenges have you faced as a recording artist?
Being taken seriously as an artist in the EDM space has been a challenge even though the songwriting, singing, and recording offers so much to a track. It is a large reason why I’ve stepped out of the EDM space a bit and am focusing more on my solo project. As an independent artist there are challenges launching a project, getting people to listen, and not getting lost in the huge quantity of music that’s out there, but it’s definitely worth it.
10- What is next for RIELL?
I am finishing up the last bits of my upcoming album Hymns For The Bitter. There will be 16 more songs from the collection and a ton more visuals, some in styles I’ve done before like music videos, and some in styles I haven’t tried yet. The game for the album is officially out and some of the secrets and clues in the game will start to fall into place with the upcoming single artwork and song releases. Live shows are also something I’m really looking forward to in the near future.
The Hollywood Six 