Ryan Farish

Composer and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Farish characterizes his sound as "positive chillout," yet the blend of dance, electronica, and chill-out elements has drawn listeners across conventional genre lines. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Farish started music lessons and composing melodies at the age of four. During his teenage years he pursued music performance studies at Old Dominion University in Norfolk before completing coursework in music business at UCLA.

In 2000 he began sharing tracks publicly on MP3.com, where an enthusiastic audience quickly formed and eventually produced 1.8 million downloads. That same year his debut album, In the Day, appeared on a modest independent label; four years later EMI released the breakthrough project Beautiful. Farish has since maintained a consistent output of albums and singles while operating his own Rytone Entertainment imprint to oversee marketing and distribution.

A major career lift came when The Weather Channel incorporated his compositions into regular programming; the calm, melodic style became a fixture of the Local on the 8's segment, selections appeared on the compilation The Weather Channel Presents: The Best of Smooth Jazz, and he was asked to create the theme for the network’s Storm Stories series. Additional placements have placed his work in television shows, films, advertisements, and promotional videos. Collaborative credits include vocalist Donna Lewis and musician-producer Paul Hardcastle, while the partnership with gospel vocal group Trin-I-Tee 5:7 yielded the track “Listen,” which received a 2008 Dove Award from the Gospel Music Association.

On YouTube, the song “Pacific Wind” soundtracked a tribute video honoring U.S. troops in Iraq that has surpassed 30 million views. Farish continues to release material at a steady pace, including Bloom in 2010 and Upon a Dream in 2011, the latter reaching number 60 on the iTunes dance chart; Spectrum followed in 2013. His 2017 album United introduced a gentler aesthetic shaped by the arrival of his daughter.