MAESTRO
M A E S T R O
Changing his ways of keeping his creative process simple and under blankets, DJ and record producer RYAN HEMSWORTH is coming out of his shell and reveling in the magic of interpersonal collaborations. By Denise Mallabo Photographed by Ben Rayner
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espite having a great childhood in Halifax, Canada, DJ Ryan Hemsworth was determined to leave the city to pursue a serious music career, prompting his move to Toronto. “But regardless, I have a great family and they’ve always been supportive,” says the soft-spoken 27-year old record producer. Ryan took up journalism for four years and was prepared to use that as his backup plan in case his musical pursuit didn’t take off, but it did. Growing up with two older brothers, his background in music was varied, ranging from Green Day’s Dookie and Radiohead’s OK Computer to Wu-Tang Clan and Mobb Deep. “In the city that I lived in, you grow up and start an indie band; there wasn’t a specific thriving scene for rap,” he shares. It was also in this stage that he realized that he’s more comfortable working alone than running his ideas by other people. “I just like working independently. I think that’s always been pretty natural to me,” he explains. Ryan’s sound is a combination of electronic, hiphop, and rap and he recalls leaning towards that way because the people he would email to collaborate with were mostly rappers. “In 2010 or maybe earlier, I was emailing this rap group from San Francisco and
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