ECHO PARK, CA- Mating Ritual was the solo project of Pacific Air’s Ryan Lawhon. I had heard a lot of positive things about Mating Ritual from another Blurred Culture contributor, so when I heard that they were asked by Swimm to perform a set at Swimm’s Love You Down festival, I was excited to hear what they were all about for myself. I was not disappointed.
For some reason- maybe it was the just their mostly black attire and dimly lit stage lights, or the fact that I listened to their somewhat brooding cut “Swim” on the way to the venue- I anticipated their performance to be a little on the darker side. It wasn’t and I found myself dancing along with the rest of the audience when I wasn’t busy trying to get the right camera setting to capture some decent images with the available light.
When their songs aren’t venturing into an atmospheric soundscape, their music has strong dance/rock vibes. I read in their Facebook bio that their sound was partially influenced by 80’s synth pop, and that was exactly the type of feels that I got. They had the kind of energy that could be found in early INXS recordings- pre “Kick- and that’s not a bad start. Ryan also kind of has the Michael Hutchense hair thing going on too, so there was that
A few days ago, the Ryan Lawhon made an announcement on Instagram letting their fans know that Taylor, Ryan’s Brother and also formerly of the band Pacific Air, co-wrote most the music they have planned to release in 2018, and that Taylor would be officially joining the line-up. The release of their new single in imminent, and I’m anxious to hear how they sound.
Follow Mating Ritual on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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LIVE CLIPS
Mating Ritual at The Echo 2/2/18. Review and photos coming soon to @BlurredCulture. pic.twitter.com/wOM4K6OtNm
— Derrick K. Lee (@methodman13) February 13, 2018
Mating Ritual at The Echo 2/2/18. Review and photos coming soon to @BlurredCulture. pic.twitter.com/AqflD0VMA8
— Derrick K. Lee (@methodman13) February 13, 2018
