Ryan Alexander, better known as DJ Private Ryan, is not just a DJ – he is a sound designer. Sound Design is a craft that is typically associated with film and television. It’s the process of using music stems, sound effects, and dialogue stems to create a sonic landscape. If you’ve ever listened to a DJ Private Ryan mix or Podcast, that is exactly what he does. He uses sound effects cerebrally to accentuate the fluency of his mixes and song selections. He uses seductive dialogue stems from females to not only introduce his mixes, but also to add flavor and texture throughout the mixes keeping his listeners engaged.
The ability that soca music, and by extension Carnival, has to unify our people and electrify the hearts of the masses is truly unmatched. Even in the midst of our heart-wrenching absence of carnival, it would be remiss of us not to acknowledge the incredible talents that contribute to the region’s unification through soca music; and one such individual is undoubtedly DJ Private Ryan. Ryan who is known for his popular Soca Brainwash series has inoculated the hearts and minds of Caribbean soca fans for the better half of the last decade with scintillating mixes that get us ready for the season.
The ability to scratch, understanding beats per minute (BPM), and selecting the right sequence of songs to play are all a part of the rudimentary principles that make a DJ outstanding. These are all qualities that DJ Private Ryan possesses, but he has evolved his craft beyond just being a DJ. Even though DJ Private Ryan is renowned as soca DJ, his eclecticism and overall love for music don’t limit his capabilities. He is as prolific in his craft playing dancehall and hip hop as he is playing soca music. To achieve heightened success in any field requires more than just technical ability and talent. There is a relentless determination required, and a willingness to overcome the artistic challenges that are required. We initiated our conversation with the iconic Trinbagonian DJ by asking him about a facet of his creativity that is often under-discussed which is his work as a music producer. He frankly stated, “as a producer, I’ve been releasing original content for three years; but the way I injected dialogue stems into my mixes and podcasts was how I first started experimenting with production. I would also be someone artists would come to for advice in terms of what works from a DJ’s perspective, so I grew to understand how to piece together music and what works. The pandemic is a great time to experiment.”
DJ Private Ryan is extolled for his ability to identify hits and help to popularize them, but he shared with us a beautiful soca story that exemplifies his uncanny proclivity to predict what the masses will connect with. DJ Private Ryan was instrumental in helping to encourage the creation of one of the greatest soca songs of all time – “Differentology”. “Fay-Ann Lyons, who is my really good friend, was doing a law course at the time so we are not able to lime as much as we use to. She invited me to the studio one evening, but Bunji Garlin had just left. Bunji had been recording some demos and ideas so Fay-Ann asked me to take a listen. ‘Differentology’ immediately caught my ear but at the time, he didn’t have the words yet, just the melodies. The only part he had was the chorus – ‘We ready fo di rooooooooad’. Out of everything they play for me on the day, I said to them that is the definite hit! After I left the studio, I messaged Bunji and told him he needed to finish recording the song. When he finished the song and I heard it, I knew it was going to be a monster hit.”
We put DJ Private Ryan on the spot and asked him who he would choose if he could put together a super collaboration with one soca artist and one reggae/dancehall artist that had never been done before. Without hesitation, he responded saying, “Kes & Tarrus Riley would be a wicked one!” We hope that this collaboration becomes a reality, but we continued our conversation and asked about his views on Trinibad music. He thoughtfully asserted, “It definitely has potential and you can’t ignore that it struck a chord with the youth in Trinidad & Tobago. There are a lot of talented artists coming from the streets who are representing the culture well. So I do see it having a future, but I would definitely encourage a little bit of content diversification.” He too mourns the loss of K Lion & Rebel Sixx, but he praises the work ethics of the artists within the genre saying: “Just like dancehall in Jamaica, the rate of releases is astounding. They just keep recording, recording, recording. They are even outpacing how much soca artists release. Whenever they feel inspired they just record, so I know these guys are unto something the world really likes.”
Trinibad music, in many ways, faces the same criticism that dancehall music faces in Jamaica. It is accused of glorifying violence and other unscrupulous street activities that contribute to the disorder in the island; raising the question once again – Does art mirror life or does life mirror art? Private Ryan answered by saying, “The artists are singing about their truth and what they are exposed to. They also understand what sells, and sex and violence do sell. It would be hypocritical of me to sit here and say that just because the music is violent, that creates violence in society. The dangerous thing, though, is that some people can’t separate entertainment from reality; but I can’t honestly say the music directly impacts crime. It’s more important to focus on how we socialize our children.” Evidently, DJ Private Ryan is not just technically gifted in his craft, but is also conscious and culturally aware. We anticipate that his astronomic rise in Caribbean music will continue, but humbly he ends the conversation by saying, “I have not arrived yet! I still think I have a lot more room to grow and a lot more to achieve.”
