RYL0 “Last Resort: Beach Club” Mixtape Cover (Photographed by Devin Kasparian)
It’s a big year for RYL0! Opening for Hyperpop legends like Ayesha Erotica, That Kid and umru, making her debut headlining performance at Brooklyn’s Elsewhere venue, then performing three Pride sets throughout one weekend—recently played WeHo Pride 2024 (check out a clip of her doing a Last Resort x “California Girls” mashup at WeHo Pride 2024 here) is not for the weak.
Still, the rising Black Hyperpop artist Zoom’d the next day from her colorful Los Angeles bedroom to chat about the seven new tracks included on Last Resort: Beach Club—the expanded edition of RYL0’s 2023 mixtape, Last Resort, with fresh features from Hyperpop legends Mel 4Ever & That Kid. Just as both editions are bound by brilliant worldbuilding, there is also a real part of the New Jersey-born performer in the mix, particularly on “RYL0VE Song,” which speaks to the toxicity around stan culture. Now, the artist calls its track “ironic” since its release coincided with a lot of Twitter/X hate when vocalizing the disadvantages of independent artists.
Ahead, RYL0 chatted about how photographers Devin Kasparian and Kaio Cesar helped bring the Last Resort world to life, why the rise of Chappell Roan is an inspiration to all independent artists, her friendship with HYRA through their collaboration “Side Eye” and the new direction for her next project.
Music Daily: I want to ask about what we were talking about a second ago, which was your two Pride shows. What’s the process of preparing for a show, especially with the new record, Last Resort: Beach Club, out?
RYL0: I love this question. I’m kind of doing everything myself in terms of preparing. For some shows, I have outsourced, and gotten, a makeup artist. That makes my life a little easier, but it adds another complication because I’m adding another person to my schedule that day. For the last couple of shows, I’ve been keeping everything in-house. I really love doing my makeup.
Styling has been something I’ve gotten better at over the years. I’ve always kind of been responsible for my “pop star” wardrobe. Planning out the outfit is huge. Am I getting new shoes? Am I getting a new bodysuit? Like, am I just going to recycle what I already have? What am I going to do to make it look fresh? I’m all about recycling things that I already have, but I never want anything to feel like you’ve seen it before.
Styling goes hand-in-hand with my setlist. In and of itself. I don’t think there’s really ever been “a set.” If I have separate shows with separate vibes, I’m going to do different sets every single time. I take a lot of pride in figuring out the flow for a specific show. For example, when I did WeHo Pride, that was really awesome ’cause that was really my first daytime outside street festival pride event. The Santa Monica pride [event] that I did had a very similar setlist, but I added two new songs to keep it fresh. Then, the Subculture set I had later that night had more of a “club girl” vibe.
MD: Since 2023, you’ve been slowly building up to a “main pop girl” moment. When I interviewed Moistbreezy last year, she mentioned you. When I listened to your music afterwards, I saw a resemblance of nostalgic Y2K electropop. You are even mentioned in many Twitter collages of the “best hyper surrealist artwork” next to Charli XCX and Namasenda. You have such a clear vision of the perfect pop girl, but what are the challenges to bringing it to life visually?
RYL0: I usually have a distinct vision from the get-go and take it to creative directors or photographers like Devin [Kasparian] and Kaio [Cesar] to make it happen. The actual deluxe mixtape artwork is from Devin’s shoot, while Kaio has been doing its promotional photography over the past six months or so. The creative process is nothing too dictatorial but, at the same time, I do take a lot of pride in ideation and building elaborate visual concepts.
But between the lack of time, funding, access, and resources, there’s only so much that you can do. So, for me, what’s made me the most creatively fulfilled is seeing how vastly we can explore the vision with just the [mixtape] cover. How can we set the tone in a way that’s really telling a bit of the story?
I’ve known Devin since 2018, I think. We have the same birthday. We always just happened to run into each other at different places. So I felt like a kindred spirit to Devin. We’d been talking about working together in some capacity for years. Since the mixtape was going to be so pop, I knew that it would be really special and important to bring him on because that’s just the world that he occupies so frequently.
I sent my mood board to Devin, who loved it. Then, I sent it to Euvn Allen, the visual designer and CG wizard behind the Last Resort world. He was also down with the vibes.
MD: How does that popstar energy translate into your music and visuals for Last Resort?
RYL0: What makes me so proud of Last Resort is that the project came together in a beautiful way. Especially with Last Resort: Beach Club out now, I can sit back and really enjoy it.
The first song I made for the initial project was “What You Need,” which was created with Taydex, Melo and KO in 2022. At that time, I was deep into my Hyperpop sound with my project I’m the Worst just coming out. Making this dance-pop song felt out of place compared to my rock-funky Hyperpop project. I wondered where the single would fit in.
I’m a big-picture person, always thinking about how songs fit together into a project, which inspires my approach. Initially, I felt lost, but over the next year, I continued creating more pop songs like “People Who Don’t Love Me” and “Loud Sex,” which started to communicate with each other. That’s how the standard version of Last Resort came to be.
After releasing Fragments in spring 2023, a dark pop-inspired mixtape, I wanted to go full-on pop. I had these pop songs and knew I could package them right. I can’t release random songs without context. Each song has to make sense within its own context. So, I aimed to create a perfect package for these songs.
At that point, we had “People Who Don’t Love Me,” “Loud Sex,” “What You Need,” “Everywhere I Go” and others. The last songs to join were “Don’t Let Me Push You Away” and “Side Eye,” pulled from various sessions. Once everything was pulled together, Last Resort was complete.
MD: I feel like “Side Eye” was the standard edition’s last single. Am I right?
RYL0: Yeah, it was the last single released, a week right before the standard [version of Last Resort‘s] full release. I think the whole mixtape was done by June 2023, and it didn’t come out until October.
So I was sitting on it for a while, mostly because I was like rolling it out. I was like, If I’m going to do the whole pop thing, everything’s got to be done right. The packaging and presentation are important. So let’s roll this out: Let’s give it time. Let’s give it momentum. Let’s do consistent singles, but also give enough space between the singles.
Um, so at this point, maybe it’s August 2023, and Last Resort still isn’t out yet, but I already know I want a deluxe.
Throughout my career, I put out four mixtapes, not including the deluxe. They’ve all had seven songs. I’m the Best!!, I’m the Worst!!, Fragments and Last Resort all have seven songs. For some reason, seven songs is just a mixtape to me. So, pretty early on, I decided that for Last Resort: Beach Club we were gonna double it—14 tracks. It feels right!
MD: Can you tell me a bit about your friendship with HYRA? I’ve seen you guys supporting each other on Instagram, everywhere, since the release of “Side Eye.”
RYL0: HYRA is definitely cool. I started as a fan. This actually applies to ChiChi, too, because we all did our show at Elsewhere together. I found HYRA on my TikTok’s “For You” page and thought, Oh, this chick’s cool.
I popped in on her TikTok live one day. Someone saw me, noticed my name, and suggested we collab. She wasn’t very responsive on TikTok. Now that I know HYRA, she’s not as chronically online as I am.
I went over to her place for the first time, but it wasn’t awkward since I’d worked with strangers before and made total bangers. Her producer, Mads Mason, was also there, and we all hit it off.
I wanted to make a song for Last Resort, so I played some songs I already had. We agreed to work together, but it wasn’t clarified how, despite already writing “Side Eye” together. When I left the house with my phone, it was just my voice. Yes, we co-wrote it equally, but I was singing both verses. The drop was also different and needed work.
A few months later, while locking in Last Resort‘s tracklist, I revisited the conversation with HYRA and Mads. I suggested HYRA get on the second verse, and we headed to the studio with a new game plan. Mads changed the drop completely, and HYRA nailed the second verse. That’s how the song came to be.
The dynamic on the song is like two longtime best friends, which was fun to lean into. Our easygoing, fun nature blossomed into a real friendship. I love being friends with other talented people at the same level, all trying to break through. I don’t like the idea of competition. It might be mental, but no one has to be competitive; we can all work together.
HYRA is such a star in what she does—she’s a talented singer, great songwriter and amazing dancer. I’m still a huge fan, even now that we are friends. Having other girly-pop friends is really affirming. This friendship is one I’ve come to really appreciate and value more than I initially anticipated.
MD: I also thought your collaboration with That Kid on “Beach Body” was super nice to have on Last Resort: Beach Club. He feels like a necessary counterpart to your world on a musical level.
RYL0: It was great, wasn’t it?! I’ve known That Kid since late 2021. But we didn’t start becoming close until my manager, Noah [Simon], also started managing him. Anytime he visits LA, I’m always seeing him. It just became a very natural friendship. The feature [on “Beach Body”] just like really worked out. He was really f****** with the song.
MD: Well, Last Resort has brought you new fans, new attention, and was really the beginning of your pop stardom ascent.
RYL0: It’s strange to talk about, but I obviously agree it has. But it’s no Chappell Roan overnight success either!
MD: Since we’re discussing her, she’s such a refreshing performance artist. Everyone should see her perform at least once in their life.
RYL0: I went to Coachella this year, my first time, and I didn’t really have an agenda. I was down to vibe. I told Noah, “I have to go see Chappell.” And he was like, “Who?” Anyways, we beelined to her tent, which we got there right on time, and it was already overflowing.
MD: Back to your new record, Last Resort: Beach Club, you have amazing collaborators from Mel 4Ever and That Kid. You’ve also opened for Hyperpop royalty like umru and Ayesha Erotica. You are also opening for underscores on August 7 at the El Rey theatre, which is no joke. What do you want to get out of this year doing these live performances? What do you hope that people recognize?
RYL0: Oh, that’s a great question. It’s hard to be an independent artist right now, but Chappell Roan such a beacon right now. She shows that there’s still a public curiosity to explore and support new artists, which is encouraging for me as a performance-based artist.
I aim for a strong one-to-one fan conversion at shows. If I perform for a hundred people, I believe 75 will remember me, and 50 will become fans. My goal is to gain exposure, go on tour, play festivals and reach larger audiences. I want fans who engage deeply with my work, noticing the visual elements and details.
Connecting with fans in person is meaningful at this stage of my career. I’m still developing, and live performances are the best way to build a dedicated fanbase.
MD: I saw you went to Charli XCX’s Brat in-store signing. Did you invite her to your mixtape release party? And If you could invite Charli into the Last Resort world, which track would you collaborate with her on?
These are wonderful questions. This was my first real meet and greet because I’m not much of a stan for anyone except Charli—she’s my girl.
The whole vibe was weird for me. I described it to Noah and my mom, saying it was a little humiliating and embarrassing, though Charli was very sweet. My relationship with Charli’s music transcends mere fandom—she’s my number one inspiration. Meeting her felt disorienting because it was just a quick line interaction. I had only 30 seconds, and while I’m glad we got a picture and video, I felt like she wouldn’t remember me.
The interaction made me feel both close and far from my idol and goals. It was a bit of a reality check, making me consider how to close the gap between where I am and where she is. That has been on my mind ever since.
On the other hand, there are so many songs that Charli inspired, especially on the new record. Collaborating on “Pop Princess,” though, would be sick. I could also hear her on a song like “Beach Body.” That song directly was inspired by “Hot In It” [by Tiësto & Charli XCX]. It’s a very fun dance song with a talk-your-s*** vibe.
MD: What about your song “Gimme a Break”? It’s slower than your other tracks but should get the same spotlight!
RYL0: That song almost didn’t make it. There are two songs with Crook on Last Resort: Beach Club: “RYL0VE Song” and “Gimme a Break,” both produced by Brando, too. Crook lives in Germany and was in LA briefly last fall, right after the standard version came out. It was our first time working together, and I loved it. He said he’d be back in 2024 and sent me a folder of starter ideas—beats and loops.
There was one loop with a cheery, summery melody that I liked. I produced around it, giving it a Cassie “Me & U” flow. I sent it back to him, but the song might have gotten lost in our messages, but I knew he was coming back to LA in April, so we decided to finish it quickly to submit it to our distribution.
Despite having the idea since last November or December, we didn’t have an official version until we met again in April. The melody was always stuck in my head. When he returned, we decided to give it a reggaetón beat. That was the final touch for the song.
MD: Is there going to be another extension of Last Resort? Is there going to be a “Turks and Caicos” edition?
RYL0: Are we going to Turks and Caicos? Right now, this is it for Last Resort. I’m sad about it because it’s been so fun, and people are really loving it. However, I’ve mentally committed to my next project, which is in progress. My next project is going to be my debut album. I started working on the album casually last August, around the same time I made “Pop Princess” and “Beach Body.”
The timelines have definitely converged, but the vibe of the album is not like Last Resort at all. It’s a big switch-up. What brings me joy from the Last Resort era is that it was a proof of concept—seeing how far people are willing to follow and indulge in what I’m trying to do. Musically, it will be different, but there will be songs for fans of Last Resort.
Now, whether Last Resort will ever come back? I can’t say for sure. In an ideal world, if I have a huge overnight sensation blow-up moment like Chappell Roan, I might want to do an additional Last Resort project on its anniversary for the day-one fans.
MD: Wrapping up the interview, we have talked about your artistic growth over the past two years. What do you hope to achieve in the next year or so?
RYL0: One year from now, I can confidently say I hope my debut album is out. Ideally, by June of next year. Along with releasing the album, I’d love to secure a publishing deal. I want to establish myself in the LA scene and beyond as an emerging songwriter, collaborating with influential artists.
Securing a working agent is also a major goal, as I want to play festivals and open on a national tour next year. I hope to be supported by a publishing and distribution company, hell, even Live Nation. We’ll see how it all unfolds.
