ryan mead, musician
:::: email monkslut at hotmail dot com :::: also visit my myspace page ::::

Click on the song titles to the right, below the little player, to hear some samples of my work. A thorough listen should convince you that I have no particular attachment to any musical genre.

All of these songs and loops were performed, recorded, mixed, and mastered by me, except for a lyrical and beatboxing performance by the inimitable Tanya Davis and a sampled drum loop in "folk-up".

goals

I am interested in providing background music for films, television, and emerging markets such as video games and ringtones.

I also want to meet singers and rhymers, especially socially conscious and/or conspicuously articulate ones, in need of beats.

biography

The story starts in Calgary, Alberta, Canada at the Royal Conservatory, where I attained Honours in Grade VIII classical Piano and got my Music Theory II certificate in 1986. During that time I also worked as a sales representative for Yamaha Music Canada Ltd. I then postponed university for a year to study studio recording techniques at SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology).

Later, at the U of C, I was an alternative DJ for CJSW 90.9 FM, the campus radio station, until 1991. I also sang (believe it or not) and played guitar and banjo for a folk-rock band "The Commoners" in Calgary around that time. I don't play the banjo anymore, but my self-taught guitar and mandolin skills continue to fester.

The scene changes to coastal rural British Columbia, where I hope to grow old and die. During what we'll call the stoned tent-dwelling period, there was a lot of twiddling of stringed instruments and a lot of drum circles.

An inevitable move back into the city, this time Vancouver, saw me rack up a bit more experience as a DJ, this time playing tech house at various parties and after-hours clubs in Vancouver. I also played keyboards for "VBC" (a hiphop collective) and the "One Love Reggae Band" and had a few collaborations, which were more enjoyable than productive, until 2003, when I moved to Seoul.

And here I am. Recently, the emphasis has been on dusting off the ol' piano skills and refining production and mixing techniques. It's gotten to the point where I hate sitting in coffee shops with bad acoustics.

Anyways, I cranked out all of the examples on this page, except for the last two, in 2006 and 2007. Happy listening!

gear list

  • hardware synths and samplers
    • Macbeth M3X Analog Synthesizer
    • Yamaha Digital Piano P-120
    • Electrix Repeater looping sampler
    • Roland MC-909 Groovebox
    • M-Audio Microtrack
  • outboard FX
    • Drawmer 1968 Tube Compressor
    • FMR RNC x2
  • the macbook (home games)
    • RME Fireface 800
    • Mackie Control
    • m-audio USB 4x4 midisport
    • Edirol PCR-1
    • logic studio 8 (yeah baby!)
    • Cubase SL3
    • Garritan Personal Orchestra
    • Reaper
    • HarBal Standalone Mastering Application
  • the macbook (away games)
    • Tascam US-122
    • m-audio USB 2x2 midisport
    • Mackie 1402VLZ
  • guitars etc
    • MD electric (Korean-made, coil tap switch, versatile, nice!)
    • epiphone Les Paul electric
    • Cort Earth 200 Solid-Top Acoustic
    • Vester Acoustic/Electric Bass
    • Samick Artist Series Bass
    • Samick Acoustic
    • Classical
    • Mandolin
  • mics etc
    • Rode NT2-a
    • Groove Tubes Convertible x2
    • Shure SM57 and 58 (duh)
  • dj gear
    • Allen & Heath Xone:62 mixer
    • Pioneer CDJ 1000
    • Technics 1200MKII x 2
  • monitoring
    • Presonus Central Station
    • Klein and Hummel O110 x 2
    • Tannoy Reveal Actives & Sub
---- you need flash to hear the tunes | HTML and Flash by the musician ----

:::: that's all folks! ::::