We always love bringing you new music on Unheard Gems and our hearts skipped a beat when we stumbled upon this gem on our TikTok For You Page.
Meet Ghostryder, a new pop artist born and raised in Southern California. This artist is such a rising star obviously with the songwriting ability from his experience as a songwriter, and now with his own artist project, he is sure to be unstoppable. We were so excited to chat with him and hear more about his music and upcoming projects.
Unheard Gems: Welcome to Unheard Gems! We are so excited to chat with you and hear all about what you are working on. How are you today?
Ghostryder: Thanks for taking the time to chat :) I’m great - currently on a flight to NYC for a writing trip.
Unheard Gems: For our readers who don’t know you yet can you give us a glimpse into your musical origin story?
Ghostryder: My mom is a vocal coach so I’ve been surrounded by music since a young age. But my self-discovery definitely started with musical theater and slowly found my way into the pop world with youtube instrumentals in high school!
Unheard Gems: I have to ask about your artist name - how did that pseudonym come to be?
Ghostryder: One of my best friends came up with the idea. First reason being in plain sight (I write songs for other people) but also has the same initials as my real name, so - win win!
Unheard Gems: I am absolutely in love with your single Indie Alt Boys. It is such a bop and I love how flirty and honest it is. Can you tell me a bit about this single?
Ghostryder: Thank you! I literally wrote the chorus after being in a session with a cute indie alt boy. Unfortunately, he was straight, so the song is inspired by unrequited love and basically my anthem for all the heartthrobs out there with guitars!
Unheard Gems: How did you select Indie Alt Boyss to be your first single?
Ghostryder: It happened pretty spontaneously. My plan was to release another song first to build up to IAB (since it was my favorite), but the second I teased it on TT, it low key overshadowed the other song. But i’m definitely not mad about it!
Unheard Gems: This single is the first off of your upcoming debut project ‘WHY’. What can you tell us about this project, what can we expect, any favorite songs from the project?
Ghostryder: Funny you ask.. I had this project done in December of last year, but I recently flipped it on it’s head to include some new songs. I’ve gone through a lot of change this year and I think the new version speaks more to what i’m going through! I also feel like with IAB out in the world now, my vision for the project became a little clearer. Don’t worry - the songs I took off ‘WHY’ are slated for the following project, which is also in the works and low key almost wrapped :) As for a favorite song, I literally can’t pick anymore! They all have a life of their own and represent something so different for me right now.
Unheard Gems: I’m sure you have so much in the works right now, is there anything we should be excited about that is coming soon?
Ghostryder: Definitely more songs! Trying to release a song every 6 weeks and 2 projects by the end of the year! Hopefully can also make some merch and more visuals that slay.
Unheard Gems: You have such an honest fun presence on social media. I found your music through TikTok but then totally fell in love with your other videos. What is your approach to creating content? Do you have a favorite social media platform or TikTok trend lately?
Ghostryder: I’m so grateful for TT! I honestly enjoy making content on there. Wish I started sooner haha. As a brand new artist I actually have no idea how I would’ve gotten the song out there without it!
Unheard Gems: You had what looked like a fun release party for your single where your friends came dressed like “indie alt boys”, who do you think did it best and who still has some room to grow into that aesthetic?
Ghostryder: Honestly… everyone killed it! I like that people did their own spin on what “Indie Alt Boys” means to them.
Unheard Gems: We always like to know who our Unheard Gems artists are listening to, if you could recommend to us another artist you think deserves more recognition in the music industry who would you recommend?
Ghostryder: There are so many great artists right now! Some of my faves are Mills, Kid Bloom, Aidan Bissett, Carlie Hanson, Nicky Youre, Peach Tree Rascals, Nolie
Unheard Gems: Lastly, for all of our readers, where can they find you and your music, and is there anything else you want to leave us with that we didn’t talk about in our questions?
Ghostryder: My music is available on all platforms! If you like what you hear, feel free follow me on Spotify and Social Media’s so you don’t miss all the new music. Thanks for having me :)
If you love Ghostryder as much as we do check him out on June 16th in LA at the We Found New Music show at the BlackRose.
Interview by Hannah Schneider