Inside Voices sees Bella & Lehtu celebrate Black History by discussing Black Artists in the music industry. This month, they have an exclusive interview with Ryan Koriya for Black History Month.
Ryan is a singer-songwriter, film composer and music producer from Zimbabwe who is currently based in Ibiza Spain after touring to 20 countries on 4 continents in recent years, having also been based in the UK for many years.
Under his own label called Runway Vertical Records, Ryan is developing various multimedia projects such as African Astronauts which aims to empower and unite Africans all around the world by providing a platform for Africans to tell their own stories. By doing so, he plans to help update the world’s perception of Africa with a more modern and truer understanding of the magical continent.
Ryan is also a business marketing and branding consultant who helps creatives and entrepreneurs around the world succeed in today’s fast-paced digital world.
During the 2020 pandemic, Ryan founded ZimXcite, which is a cultural fashion brand that promotes a fun spirit of inclusion and global diversity inspired by all things Zimbabwean. Branded clothing, mugs, African Artwork and various items for the home are available to buy online with free international delivery included.
As a musician, Ryan has single-handedly built his label to house and promote his various projects that span a range of genres from Acoustic, Folk to Rock, Pop, Ethnic, Classical and Electronic to name a few. This is why he says making music for film is a good fit for an artist who creates a wide range of music styles.
Ryan composed the original score for Cook Off, which was the first Zimbabwean feature film to make it to Netflix in 2020
Ryan’s music, including the full Cook Off Score is available on all streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple/iTunes, Deezer and YouTube. He has recently launched his Passion Folk project called I See Hearts and his Symphonic Dance Music project called Kyllo Blue, both also on streaming platforms.