Ryland Bouchard
| Ryland Bouchard | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ryland Louis Bouchard |
| Born |
October 16, 1979 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Folk, Electronic, Experimental music, art rock, indie, folk |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments |
Vocals Guitar Woodwinds Synthesizers Piano Electronics Percussion |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels |
Swim Slowly Records 5 Rue Christine Kill Rock Stars |
| Associated acts | The Robot Ate Me |
| Website | www |
| Members | Ryland Bouchard |
Ryland Louis Bouchard (born October 16, 1979) is an American vocalist and musician who has gone through many distinct phases, in which he has incorporated aspects of folk, electronica, jazz, psychedelia and avant-garde rock. Previously known as the Kill Rock Stars recording artist The Robot Ate Me, has been labeled by Daytrotter as “One of the most creative and potentially scary minds of our generation” and by Spin Magazine as "purely artistic, baffling, and almost completely uncommercial".
In 2002 he released They Ate Themselves, his first record as The Robot Ate Me and played his first shows in San Diego opening for notable touring acts such as Daniel Johnston, Tegan and Sara, Metric, Stars and The Blackheart Procession. Skyscraper magazine described his first release as "Quite possibly the year's most arresting experimental pop record, They Ate Themselves is a dizzyingly vibrant trip through death and multi-layered dissonance".
The controversial and highly experimental On Vacation was released in 2004 in which Adam Gnade declared "It's not even music outside the margins. Here the margins were never there, and if they were to encroach, The Robot Ate Me would probably up and croak."Punk Planet followed suit describing the album as "A hypnotic two-disc record that will score your twisted nightmares and fanciful dreams."Splendid summarized "It is impossible to understand a Robot Ate Me album from a written description."
After the release of On Vacation in 2004 he signed with Kill Rock Stars and toured the US heavily the next few years playing close to 600 shows in the following three years. His shows relied heavily on audience participation and were known for being fairly unpredictable. As part of his shows he would sometimes be dragged across the floor by attendees, wear masks, scream loudly, have the audience play the supporting instruments for his songs without rehearsal, or abruptly leave after playing one song.
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Wikipedia