RY-GUY
- bizzarre
- 7 minutes ago
- 3 min read
RY-GUY shares new single "Push Me In The Water". EP 'like a river' out this week & UK tour dates announced.
Following the release of recent singles "Dunja’" and "Change Is Gonna Come", South-London based psych pop artist RY-GUY releases the final single, "Push Me In The Water" from his new EP ‘like a river’ out this Friday, March 27th.
RY-GUY will also be touring the UK later this year with a headline London show on March 31 at the Shacklewell Arms.
Recorded and co-produced at Speedy Wunderground and RAK Studios by Adele Phillips, and mixed by George Murphy (The Specials, Hotel Lux, Major Lazer), RY-GUY reveals this about how "Push Me In The Water'" came together:
“Contorted by expressionism and surrealism, ‘Push Me In The Water’ delves into a world of displaced individuals and the societal neglect they face. It portrays an urgent picture of survival and longing amidst a broken system.
And while the track is launched with a drum machine beat influenced by Senegalese djembe rhythms, it ends with a call upon a divine intervention.”
The music video was produced by Tom Walker on Super 8mm film.
RY-GUY's music sits at the intersection of soul, psychedelia and art-pop, shaped by a deep sense of heritage and a commitment to telling stories often left unheard. Born in London to a West Indian/Caribbean family with roots in Guyana and Barbados, RY-GUY is highly influenced by the soundsystem culture of his Guyanese / Caribbean heritage as well as art movements like Impressionism and Surrealism and treats songwriting as both personal expression and cultural document.
Classically trained on piano from a young age in South London, RY-GUY’s early immersion in artists such as Otis Redding and Al Green laid a soulful foundation, while a formative encounter with Jimi Hendrix opened up a more expansive, boundary-less approach to composition.
After years of writing and recording demos on a 4-track recorder, RY-GUY emerged as a project driven by the desire to release the kinds of musical narratives he felt were missing from the contemporary landscape.
RY-GUY’s work often centres marginalised perspectives through abstract lyricism and textured soundscapes. His upcoming EP ‘Like A River’ was conceived as an honest, self-contained artwork - one that balances a direct pop sensibility with enough sonic grit and ambiguity for listeners to lose themselves within it.
Themes of strength, defiance and self-affirmed freedom run throughout the record, portraying life candidly and in the present tense. The project’s DIY ethos extends beyond the music itself, encompassing self-shot artwork, deliberately chosen track titles, and a visual world that reinforces the EP’s emotional core.
Written primarily on piano (with “Dunja”, originating on guitar), the EP was recorded across Salvation Studios, Speedy Wunderground and RAK, with Speedy Wunderground becoming a creative home during the process. RY-GUY co-produced the record with Adele Phillips, with additional guidance from long-time mentor Sir Robin Millar CBE. Mixing and mastering were handled by George Murphy and Dyre Gormsen of Eastcote Studios, while contributions from live band members and collaborators added further depth.
Closing track “Oil In My Hair” stands as the emotional and thematic heart of the EP, a moment of resolution that encapsulates its pursuit of freedom and self-belief, blending psychedelia, soul and art-pop into a final statement of quiet triumph.
Live, RY-GUY has graced headline shows at The Shacklewell Arms and The Windmill in London, as well as playing outside his home city at venues such as Yes in Manchester and Supersonic in Paris and is set to play a run of UK tour dates later this year.
Photo by Tom Walker
Tour dates
31 March 2026 // London, Shacklewell Arms – EP release show
22 April 2026 // Brighton, The Prince Albert
7 May 2026 // Bristol, Trinity – supporting DEADLETTER
8 May 2026 // Leeds, Wardrobe - supporting DEADLETTER
15 May 2026 // London, Koko - supporting DEADLETTER
23 May 2026 // Southampton, Wanderlust Festival
3 June 2026 // Newcastle, The Grove - supporting DEADLETTER
4 June 2026 // Glasgow, Glasgow School of Art - supporting DEADLETTER
5 June 2026 // Nottingham, Rescue Rooms - supporting DEADLETTER
