STOPPED AT THE AT THE HAVOC HAVOC STOPPED
TRAFFIC TRAFFIC
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What Started The Musical Journey Ria Timkin made her musical debut in Bristol, as a solo multi-instrumentalist, creating a symphony in real time with a looper pedal and Kate Busheque vocals to slice through them. I saw a performance from Ria live in the Pavilion bar in Belfast prior to the formation of her current band and to hear a chorus of guitar, keys and even a melodica from one artist to create her unique sound, I had not seen a performance like it in our local scene. I knew this was an artist with a commitment to creating interesting soundscapes through innovative methods, the performance left a lasting impression. Ria has made her stamp on the local Belfast scene, when asked about her experience here, she gushed, “When I moved to Belfast, I was absolutely blown away by the local music scene and felt like it was time to expand my vision into a full band. We premiered our new setup at Oh Yeah Music Centre back in October 2024, and I’ve never looked back. Playing as a band is incredibly special!”. In her band, she is joined by Jamie McNamee on the bass, synth and vocals, Harry Whyte on the drums, and for her first Havoc Traffic show, she will be joined by Joseph Toman on the keys.
Keeping Identity at the Forefront I asked Ria on why she kept her name as the title of her group, she told me keeping her identity at the forefront of the project would always be the case, “When I started out, it was important for me to use my own name. I never wanted to create an alias or a separate stage persona because the music is very personal to me, and I wanted the name to reflect that. The project is always evolving, but my voice remains the same.” It’s a powerful statement to put your identity at the heart of your art, to have your name as your band title and essentially be the brand of the project, it's a confident show of authenticity from this band's front woman.
A Live Show from Ria Timkin A special part of being in the audience for Ria’s performance is that her open facial expressiveness on stage is part of the storytelling as she sings, her performance is confrontational in its emotional intimacy, as she expresses the feelings imbued in her songwriting under the stage lights. In a culture that pedestals non-chalance, and stoicism masquerading as depth, Ria’s sound and presence is a welcome change of pace. At the centre of her music is the joy of performing, when asked about what performing is about to her, she shares, “I absolutely love performing! This is why I do music to begin with - releasing tracks and creating content is fun, but everything I do is so that I can end up on that stage. Connecting with people through the lyrics I’ve written is definitely my favourite part - it’s such a magical moment. Every time my band and I step onto that stage and showcase our hard work, seeing people respond to it is just the best!” From interviewing Ria, one thing is abundantly clear about her as an artist, she is not encumbered by an obsession with popularity that is commonplace in today’s music industry where artists are encouraged to play not to the human listener, but to algorithms. She is dedicated to how creating music serves her joy as a person when she talks about performing.
Ria reflects on her time in in the local scene, "The past two years have been really incredible. We’ve had the opportunity to perform at some amazing venues for some wonderful audiences. One of the highlights for me was our performance at Output Belfast 2025 at Tetto Rooftop. It’s a very prestigious showcase in Northern Ireland, and I remember when I first moved to Belfast, before I’d even formed the band, I attended the showcase and felt like I’d do everything in my power to be invited to perform there too. It took a couple of years, but we got there, and it was a very special moment."
Inspirations to the Band Ria took me through the sounds that were in her and the band’s headphones in their downtime whilst they crafted their singles “The Difference”, “Our Time” and "Slow Mo", “I absolutely love the anthemic sound of Imagine Dragons. CHVRCHES is a big inspiration for us. When Halsey’s album If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power came out, I felt like it was exactly the type of music I want in my ears at all times. Aurora is an incredible artist and so unapologetically herself. We also take inspiration from books and movies and pour it all into our music.”
The Songwriting Process When asked about the writing process for her music, Ria explains that that she’s writing all the time in her head, in what you and I (or perhaps you do this too) would find to be the mundane background noise of life, Ria is constantly making a soundtrack out of the sounds around her - the sounds of nature she hears on a walk, the mundane sound of dishes clattering in a certain motion in the sink, the sound of a church bell she hears, “My writing process is definitely part of my everyday life. While I’m doing the chores, walking or driving, I’m secretly running rhymes in my head and humming melodies. I then take these fragments to an instrument and start forming a proper song. Where it really comes together for me is during the demo process - I have all these sounds and beats in my head, and it’s just a matter of finding the right ones and creating the first draft. I absolutely love making my own samples too. In the song Favourite Child from my upcoming EP, you can hear a church bell - it’s a real church bell from the Bristol Romanian Orthodox Church that we got to ring and sample right there. There are also the sounds of birds and wood creaking - all of this was recorded by me and my co-producer, Tom Wilding. I love finding these creative ways to make the songs as visual as possible.”
What's on the Horizon This band is on a flow of momentum, Ria filled me in on what’s next for them “We have a very busy few months ahead of us! We’ve just released Slow Mo, our third single from the upcoming EP. It’s a fun, catchy song with self-aware lyrics that will definitely invite you to reflect on the effects of paralysing anxiety and overthinking. Our upcoming EP, Favourite Child, comes out on 18 September, and we couldn’t be more excited about it. At its heart, the EP is about hope, resilience and the determination to keep going, but it equally explores the darker emotions that come with ambition and pursuing your dreams. We then head out on our first headline tour - the UK & Ireland Favourite Child Tour - with stops in Manchester, Bristol, London, Dublin and Belfast. We absolutely can’t wait and hope to see as many familiar and new faces as possible!”
Photograph Credits Page 1 - Katie Vickers Page 2 - Right - Anna Burnett Page 2 - Left - Michael McGlinchey Page 3 - Anna Burnett Page 4 - Anna Burnett Article Written by Anna Blakely