Over these last few years, emerging artist Rhett Repko has cemented himself as one of the more enthralling names rising through the ranks. And with that reputation continuing to build, he is back once again to deliver his vibrant new single ‘How Cold’.
So we decided to catch up with him to find out more about his origins, his influences, and where he plans to take his sound next.
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Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got started in music?
I’ve always been an avid listener of music growing up. I fell in love with the Beatles at a young age. As a teen I got more into classic rock and eventually grunge music. I picked up a guitar in high school around age 15 and from there I haven’t stopped playing.
Who are your biggest musical influences and how have they shaped your sound?
I have countless musical influences. The Beatles and Nirvana are the biggest and always will have some impact on my sound. The harmonies of the Beatles, the singing style, the lyrical content. With Nirvana I love how punchy and hard hitting the music is, the tone of the distorted guitars and drums are some of the aspects you’d find in my music.
Going beyond those, I enjoy artists from every decade from the 50’s up until now. I kind of pick my favourite sounds and tones and will put them in my music as I see fit. I’ve tried emulating one era of sound before and while that’s cool, I’ve grown beyond that to combine the different decades of music. I’m not really sure I sound like anyone else because I have such a wide net of sounds I pick from to use and end up using them all in a musical collage sort of way.
Was there a specific moment or experience that made you decide to pursue music seriously?
At the end of high school I knew I had to go to college but all I cared about was music. I found out that you could study music production in college so I pursued that and from then on it’s been a no looking back type of mentality.
Can you walk us through your typical songwriting process?
I always start with a melody. I used to write half of the time on guitar and the other half on piano. These days I mostly start songs on piano, usually one of my synths so I can have an interesting tone. After I write a new melody that I like, I usually make that the main vocal melody and record it. I then add an acoustic guitar to it. From there I begin my production process of adding the rest of the arrangement/band. This includes bass, drums, electric guitars, synths, backup vocals, harmonies, and anything else.
How do you find inspiration for your music and lyrics?
Both very easy and hard. Writing music and lyrics comes pretty naturally to me. Writing something fresh however can feel daunting to me when I start from scratch every time when I’ve written over 100 songs at this point. I tend to find one element that feels new to me in the song. It could be a synth sound, a guitar tone, a new chord progression, or maybe a melody with 1 note that I normally don’t write with.
What themes or messages do you hope listeners take away from your music?
I hope that they simply just enjoy the music and maybe it helps them with any similar emotion that they are also going through at that time. It’s up to them ultimately to determine what the song means to them.
What challenges have you faced as an emerging artist in the music industry?
All kinds of challenges. Putting out original content is very hard. Getting people to find your music is hard. Once people listen I find they tend to enjoy it. But finding those people, or getting industry people to listen to help me push my music can be very difficult.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of your musical journey so far?
The most rewarding aspect is having a fan tell me that they love a song of mine. A lot of times they’ve shared experiences with me on how it helps them. At the end of the day that’s the most important thing to me.
How do you stay true to yourself and your artistry in a constantly evolving industry?
I’ve played the game of trying to put whatever’s trending in my music. Whether that be a production style, or a melody. I think it’s cool to be aware of that stuff but it’s even cooler to ignore that. As I’ve grown as a musician, I feel like my music has gotten more complex and interesting for better or for worse. They’re still simple pop melodies underneath it all but I love having my arrangements be captivating and interesting to listen to. I try to write with very classic sounds and tones even if I’m going for more modern sounds. That might not make sense but basically I want my vocals to sound pure. Guitars to sound pure. Synths to sound pure. Effects can be cool and really anything goes, but if I smother a guitar or synth in an effect like reverb, delay, chorus, distortion. Then I’ll have other parts of the song that sound natural as a way to contrast it. I pay a lot of attention to the way my songs and mixes are so the past year or so of music I’ve put out I’m extremely proud of. I’m always pushing myself to try new things. So if I listen back to a new song and I’m very happy and hear minimal problems I think that’s a great way to evolve and stay true to yourself.
What can fans expect from you in the near future? Any upcoming projects or tours?
Fans can expect new music every 2-3 months. I’ve been working hard and putting music out at a faster pace than ever. And every song I make needs to be special now. All killer. No filler. So it’s a great time to get into my music. There’s a large catalogue of 4 EP’s, 1 album, and extra singles to dig into.
Where do you see yourself and your music career in the next five years?
I could not tell you as I tend to only look ahead 6-12 months at a time. Hopefully I’ll be on tour!
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Listen to Rhett Repko’s new single ‘How Cold’ below.
