Rian Cult

ABOUT

RIAN CULT

Rian Cult is a Romanian singer-songwriter who has made a name for himself in the LA music scene with his heartfelt lyrics and storytelling, dynamic sound and genuine personality. Drawing inspiration from a diverse range of musical influences, including LAUV, Bazzi, Ed Sheeran, The 1975, Phil Collins, and Coldplay, Rian Cult has crafted a sound that is both familiar and fresh, creating a unique style that blends elements of brit-pop, organic singer-songwriter and electronic sounds.

He picked up the drum set at 12 at the push of his father and a Phil Collins live show, the rhythm has always played the biggest role in his music. Finding himself in a position of desperate need to tell stories, Rian picked up piano and guitar and began writing awkward and intimate songs at 15. As the clock hands spun through the years, he found and worked on his voice and began writing awkward and quirky songs still, but relatable this time. English being his second language he found inspiration in artists like Coldplay, U2, Justin Timberlake, The Eagles, Bee Gees, and moving onto artists like Ed Sheeran and Lewis Capaldi, who gave him a confidence boost.

Along his pursuit of the musical dream, he quickly became a constant presence in the local scene with his powerful live performances and his ability to connect with audiences on a personal emotional level. Rian Cult is a color harmony, a balancing act of pantones. Himself is a unique palette that injects a feeling of liveliness and heartfelt emotions. He’s the skinny guy with a guitar on stage or with a beer at the bar.

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MUSIC

HOME

I do Songfinch as a part-time job to get some money to put in my music and one day I had made this song for a couple. I had the guitar and the vocal loop intro and I loved it. I thought "what if I put some Ed and Coldplay type drums and just start talking about what it's been like lately living in this jungle? I missed home.

What they say is true, everything can be a stage if you’re brave enough to sing out to the world. You’ll make a stage out of anything if you have something to share, and there will be people who will listen. They will listen to your courage, your voice, your passion and your story. This is my story. Now I’m sharing it with all of you. Welcome to the Cult, welcome to the journey. Buckle up, I got some big plans.

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(Not) a love song

I had made the instrumental one night when I just wanted to have fun and it turned out as a great blend between Niall Horan and Maggie Rogers. I wanted to write something that would fit the vibe of the track but nothing came to mind except all the “have been said before” cliche’s about love and relationship. To me, in that moment, it meant that if the “water is running” I should let it run, get it out of me, cliche or not. I thought to myself: “How do I flip it into something I would love?”. And so, this sarcasm, teenage mentality, love song came out. A reflection of my mind on frustration of being stuck on something and also being afraid of saying the same things in my art over and over again.

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VICES

This song was written about a year ago, about something that happened 4 years ago, which goes to show that at times you can still find inspiration from your memories even if it’s been a while. Vices is a very descriptive, honest song that I think a lot of you can relate to, saying that none of these other vices can compensate for the thrill that one person gave you, both in a good and a bad way. So the song is about trying to get over the fact that they’ve moved on and you’re still here looking for vices to match that euphoria that you got from the other person.

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Dear 12-Year Old Me

Something About U

It was a rainy day in Bucharest, I was in a coffeeshop. She was at her day job and I was trying to write something for this record. We fell in love here in Romania but I was in the city for a brief second as I had to go back to Los Angeles. So I thought: what if we fell in love in New York City? What would that be like? Would the smaller distance make it easier?" And then this record became about us in NYC, cause in my head, it felt easier if she was closer to me.

The voice memo that started “Something About U” made it on the record. An ear-worm, telling a New York love story that feels like walking the rain with the one you’ve fallen for. The spoken rap verses and emotional choruses make you want to hit replay when it ends. Vulnerable through the writing process, the song changed 7 times before it found the right emotion to paint the story.

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Last Dance

Do you ever go to sleep and create scenarios in your head of how things could actually be, but it will only ever be just a dream when you wake up? then “Last Dance”

Songs are weird, they come sometimes when you least expect them and this one came to me as soon as i woke up. I always say that this song is the ballad i never intended to write, it’s like a “hold me tight and dance with me” type of song and I have the most fun playing it live cause it’s so raw and honest and there’s things in this song i’ve never said out loud before.

I ended up improvising the second verse while i was recording cause i thought the first version i had was kinda static. I think it was the first song I played live in LA at an open mic.

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The Answer

Have you ever felt so useless when your friend or your lover is going through a tough time and you wish you could fix everything, but you don’t know how? then “The Answer”

I was going through a rough patch and the person i had in my life was going through something even worse and i was talking to my friend Lina about it, i think we talked for like a few hours about this and that and what can i do. And i had this beat playing in the background and i said “i wish i had the answer to that”. So we started writing.

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What Keeps You Going? (intro)

Do you sometimes just wanna quit everything and disappear because nothing seems to work out? Then “What Keeps You Going?”

On this track you can hear the hearts of my close friends and collaborators, as well as my dad's on a VHS from 2004, way before I had discovered music or let it become everything I am.

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Heart Out

If you’ve ever been in a long distance relationship and it didn’t work out because somebody else came into the picture, then “Heart Out”

This was the last song I decided to put on this EP. i had written it with Cole Schillinger and Joe Begalla in North Hollywood in one sitting. We did a couple more sessions to wrap everything up and we had the song. This song concludes one of my past relationships while in Boston, trying to make a long distance relationship make sense. It didn't make sense.

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Family Flowers

Do you ever wish your family never broke apart, but after some time you find it in your heart to love them unconditionally just like they love you? then “Family Flowers”

Family is hard, it can feel like war sometimes and we hate to admit when we’re wrong. Through the process of writing this song I had realized that in order to be a songwriter, you have to be vulnerable, open to what scares or hurts you most, open to sharing and singing about it. I had never even thought about what i'm singing in this song, but after this, i finally understood what being vulnerable in your music is like. And it took me years to find that out.

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