Chronicle Editor
BULAWAYO boasts a vibrant music scene, nurtured by its exceptionally talented DJs who have graced stages alongside international artists and have garnered acclaim across borders. Among these maestros of the turntables is Ryan Synth, a name that resonates with rhythm and energy.
Below is an insightful conversation we had with him, looking into his journey, inspirations, and aspirations.
Q: Define Ryan Synth in one sentence.
A: Ryan Synth is a talented deejay and producer known for creating innovative dance music.
Q: What/who inspired you to be a DJ?
A: My musical journey was heavily influenced by my uncle. He had a crazy music collection from the likes of George Benson to Bon Jovi.
Growing up around him made me have an ear for good music as it has helped shape my career.
My older brother had started deejaying at Youth Church functions and I would go with him to see what would he happening.
I vividly remember attending two of those functions and that’s when I knew I’m going to somehow make people as happy as they were at those functions.
Seeing happy faces, people losing their minds as he kept the crowd entertained, inspired me. It reminds me of a time I called in to Ingwe Studios requesting to learn how to be a DJ, the man on the phone just said “Go to school kid”. It actually pushed me to finish school and start learning the basics of DJ’ing.
Q: How best can Bulawayo DJs reach the level of excellence to perform beyond our borders?
A: I think we need to invest in ourselves more, we need more music. It’s no longer the same like back in the day where you could be a DJ only, now you need your own music so that it’s attached to your brand. Making it slightly easier to cross borders and even oceans.
Q: How is your discography looking like and what’s in-store for fans this year?
A: I have records released from 2010, songs like Spiritual Dance, ‘Bakumelele’ (2017), Ngaibake remix (2019) all up to the most recent release, Take It Slow with Asaph and Simba Tagz.
This year, expect more music from me. With 29 March around the corner, I will be releasing a project titled “EL J?FÉ”, which features Kinah The Music, Prince Joel & CUSTO.
Q: What are some of the challenges that you have faced and how have you tried to combat them?
A: Dealing with rogue promoters/club owners who either underpay you or simply say there’s no money at all. Nothing is as painful as being cheated of your hard earned money, but with time I’ve managed to set up structures that I no longer face the same problems I did when I was starting out deejaying.
Q: Given a chance, who would be your ideal collaboration (dead or alive) and why?
A: One person I’d really love to work with is Adam Levine (lead vocalist of Maroon 5) or Tyrese Gibson. Those two have amazing vocals, which I think would work great with any of my compositions. Their voices touch the soul.
Q: What’s your take on the nascent Artificial Intelligence (AI) musicians use nowadays?
A: I think AI came at the right time for me, it has helped me advance my DJ sets and productions. But I think it has its downside to it, like on copyright issues.
Basically, I can create a song then add an AI vocal of Rihanna singing and automatically, I’d have featured her on a song.
But, now the copyright laws haven’t really been enforced or better yet haven’t updated on how best they can protect an artiste from AI as it’s currently taking over the music industry.
So, I think it’s good to some degree and bad again to another.
Q: Given a chance to change the musical landscape in Bulawayo, what would you change?
A: My goal would be to create a more supportive and dynamic environment for musicians in Bulawayo, helping to nurture talent, celebrate creativity, and provide opportunities for growth and success in the local music industry.
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