Riya
“Pop star-in-the-making”, BBC Introducing artist Riya draws upon her Bollywood influences both in her music and image as an artist.
As with all of Riya’s releases, the debut single ‘Look My Way’ has been entirely written, produced and independently released by Riya, amassing close to half a million views and winning the top 9% ISC song writing spot from over 30,000 applications. A force to be reckoned with, Riya has attracted the attention of national and international TV and radio stations, including the BBC. Most recently, she was one of 12 participants across Europe selected for the MCN LEC project.
Riya has been scouted to perform at Tate Modern Liverpool by the renowned Sofar Sounds, with her performance uploaded to their global platform. She has performed various prestigious venues including XOYO London, Macron Stadium, Troxy London, Barbican Theatre and most recently, Bexley Square for the ‘Sounds from the other City’ music Festival as well as Manchester’s ‘First Street Festival’ . Riya is a classically trained vocalist achieving Grade 8 Distinction and preparing her diploma all before the age of 17. She has trained to high levels in Ballet, Tap, Modern, Jazz and Piano.
Riya’s unique dance-pop sound often utilises rhythmic tabla percussion and sampled sitar drones, particularly in her follow up singles ‘Reality’ and ‘Give Into You’. The video for ‘Look My Way’ incorporates a distinct sense of fashion with strong paisley prints as well as bold jewellery reminiscent of her Bollywood influences. Riya writes and produces all her original work. When attending the Manchester and Groningen MCN LEC camps, Riya’s song was chosen to be used in their social media promotion and advertisement campaign. The “young songstress” is working on her debut EP and hopes to fill a gap in the music industry.