We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Raays a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Raays , really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
For me its a bit of a paradox. On one hand, I feel like I had a sense of my purpose from 2 years old, when I would find my way into the neighbors garage at 6am and start banging on their drums. On the other hand, it can feel impossible at times to even create a blue collar existence as an artist these days. That seems to be the framework of the paradox I suppose: Soul vs Money/Sustainability. Ultimately for me, Soul wins. I continue to work on my “trusting of the process”, with a believe that there are other currencies (besides money) at play when we engage our purpose and that those currencies will take care of me and my family.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’ve been enamored by music since I was very young. Firstly the drums, and then shortly after, my dad taught me some piano during my 2nd grade home school year. The places that music, and sound can take you are some of the most fantastical, saddening, exciting, energetic places imaginable, and I suppose my aim as an artist, specifically working in the genre of ambient and experimental music, is to paint those (sound) pictures for people to get lost in, hopefully coming out a little more clear, nourished, and knowing themselves a little better.
I just finished a 3 week tour all over Asia, touching China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan, playing drums, and opening up solo, for longtime ambient luminary, The Album Leaf. This tour came at an important moment for me. I just lost my best friend, my brother, and my dad all in a span of 4 months, and so that trust I spoke of earlier had wavered quite a bit, not to mention this insane war going on right now…
Through it all though, I was brought back to purpose, and felt although its not much in the grand scheme, doing this work is my most powerful contribution to the peaceful world I hope to see in my life.
I’m back home in Los Angeles now, working on my next record(s).
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Firstly I’d have to say communication. Figuring out ways to express yourself respectfully can make a huge difference in enrolling people in your vision. At the end of the day we need community in our corner and a big part of maintaining a crew is being able to communicate effectively. It also helps to have those skills when we need to advocate for ourselves or negotiate the terms of something. All round major useful skill I still try and continually sharpen. For my path, I think reaching some level of mastery on an instrument, drums in my case, was and is a critical piece of the puzzle. It’s highly competitive out there, and thats not to say theres room enough for everyone, but in actuality, being really good at something goes a long way…
lastly and probably most important is maintaining your mental health. It’s something I think gets overlooked inside of this very hectic world we live in, but its more important maybe now more than ever to slow down and take care of your mind and body. Whatever that means for you.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
Just hang on for dear life and wait for it to pass lol. Trust the guide and glide baby.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaronraays/
Image Credits
photos by Hung Hsu Chen & Chad Corhan
