Ray Suen | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Raymond Liang Suen |
Born | Newark, Delaware, United States | July 5, 1985
Occupation(s) | Musician, Composer |
Instrument(s) | Violin, guitar, keyboards, Pedal steel guitar |
Website | www |
Ray Suen (born July 5, 1985) is an American musician based in Los Angeles, California, best known for his work with Childish Gambino, Lorde and Mariachi El Bronx.
He composed and produced his first film score for Elliott Lester's The Thicket (film), released September 6, 2024. [1] The score was released as a soundtrack album on September 13, 2024 on Lakeshore Records. [2]
Raised in San Diego, California and classically trained, Suen began playing violin at the age of three. He served as a principal violinist with the La Jolla Symphony Orchestra and also studied jazz while earning a degree in Psychology at UCSD. He became a fixture in the San Diego music scene performing with rock, folk, jazz, and world music groups as well as recording with such artists as Jason Mraz, Matt Curreri & the Exfriends, Joanie Mendenhall, and Gregory Page among others. [3] He would also occasionally feature with the Joe Firstman house band on Last Call with Carson Daly .
Upon graduation in 2007, he began his first national tour playing violin and keys with San Diego glam-rock band, Louis XIV [4] opening for the Las Vegas rock band, The Killers on the last leg of their Sam's Town Tour. Suen would later join The Killers in 2008 as keyboardist, guitarist, violinist, and backing vocalist for their Day & Age World Tour and appears on The Killers' live concert DVD, Live from the Royal Albert Hall.
Suen met members of Mariachi El Bronx when they opened for the Killers and began touring with them following the end of the Day & Age Tour. [5] He would later become a member, writing songs and playing vihuela, jarana, harp, guitar, violin, and vocals for albums "II" [6] and "III". [7] Suen left the band in 2014.
Other artists Suen has performed with include Devon Sproule, The Flaming Lips and Childish Gambino. Suen played with Sproule during a short tour in February 2009 [8] and played percussion with The Flaming Lips on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien in October 2009. [9] Suen appeared again with The Flaming Lips at the 2011 New Year's Eve Freakout playing harp, guitar, synth and other percussion for the first live performance of The Soft Bulletin album. [10] He performed subsequent Soft Bulletin shows as well as Dark Side of the Moon shows as an auxiliary musician.
Suen joined Childish Gambino during the I Am Donald tour playing guitar, keyboard, and violin. [11] He resumed playing with Childish Gambino for the Camp, Because the Internet and This is America tours. [12] He also contributed to the "Awaken, My Love!" album released December 2016.
In 2015, Suen was a touring member of Passion Pit in support of their third album, Kindred. In 2016, he toured with Australian R&B artist Jarryd James playing keyboards in support of his first American album, "High." [13]
Suen has released 2 EPs as his solo project, Savio Savio. [14]
In 2017, Suen began working as musical director for Lorde [15] in support of her sophomore release, Melodrama, playing keys and guitar as well as arranging band, vocals, strings and horns. He was also music director for Lorde's Solar Power tour (2021–2023).
In 2024, Suen joined the touring line-up of the American indie rock band Vampire Weekend, playing the guitar, keyboards, violin, and pedal steel, as well as singing backing vocals.
The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd, Derek Brown, Matt Duckworth Kirksey and Tommy McKenzie (bass). Coyne and Drozd have remained the band's only consistent members since 1991, with Coyne being the only remaining founding member following the departure of bassist and keyboardist Michael Ivins in 2021.
The vihuela is a 15th-century fretted plucked Spanish string instrument, shaped like a guitar but tuned like a lute. It was used in 15th- and 16th-century Spain as the equivalent of the lute in Italy and has a large resultant repertory. There were usually five or six doubled strings.
Mariachi Vargas De Tecalitlán is a Mexican folk ensemble of mariachi music founded in 1897 by Gaspar Vargas. Beginning in 1950 it was under the artistic guidance of the late Rubén Fuentes. The group's musical direction had been the responsibility of Don Jose "Pepe" Martínez from 1975 to around 2013-14. Now the ensemble is under the direction of Carlos Martínez.
Clouds Taste Metallic is the seventh studio album by American rock band the Flaming Lips, released on September 19, 1995, by Warner Bros. Records. It was the last album to feature guitarist Ronald Jones. The album's recording is heavily featured in the Fearless Freaks documentary.
The guitarrón mexicano (Spanish for "big Mexican guitar", the suffix -ón being a Spanish augmentative) or Mexican guitarrón is a very large, deep-bodied Mexican six-string acoustic bass guitar played traditionally in Mariachi groups. Although similar to the guitar, it is not a derivative of that instrument, but was independently developed from the sixteenth-century Spanish bajo de uña ("fingernail[-plucked] bass"). Because its great size gives it volume, it does not require electric amplification for performances in small venues. The guitarrón is fretless with heavy gauge strings, most commonly nylon for the high three and wound metal for the low three. The guitarrón is usually played by doubling notes at the octave, a practice facilitated by the standard guitarrón tuning A1 D2 G2 C3 E3 A2. Unlike a guitar, the pitch of the guitarrón strings does not always rise as strings move directionally downward from the lowest-pitched string (A2, which is the 6th string from the lowest-pitched string, is a perfect 5th below its adjacent string E3).
Canciones de mi padre is American singer Linda Ronstadt's first album of Mexican traditional Mariachi music.
The Bronx is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally formed in 2002. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Matt Caughthran, guitarists Joby J. Ford and Ken Horne, bass guitarist Brad Magers, and drummer Joey Castillo. The band has released six studio albums, as well as three additional albums of mariachi music under the moniker of Mariachi El Bronx.
Wonderama is an album by Randy Stonehill released in February of 1992 on Myrrh Records. It contains several memorable songs and was his last major label album.
Clifton Thomas "Kliph" Scurlock is an American musician. He was the drummer and percussionist for alternative rock band The Flaming Lips from 2002 to 2014.
Un Nuevo Amor is the sixteenth album from Mexican pop music singer and actress Lucero. It was released in 2002.
Crow Jane Alley is an album by Willy DeVille. It was recorded in 2004 in Los Angeles. For this album, DeVille was joined by members of the Chicano rock band Quetzal, David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, and Peruvian Afro-Cuban jazz drummer Alex Acuña, among other prominent musicians. Crow Jane Alley was produced by John Philip Shenale, the third album Shenale produced for DeVille.
Me Estoy Enamorando is the sixth studio album by Mexican singer Alejandro Fernández. It was released by Sony Music Mexico on 23 September 1997. It marks a musical style change where Fernández performs pop ballads and boleros as opposed to ranchera music. His decision to record a pop album transpired after having aspirations to expand his audience. Fernández asked Emilio Estefan to produce his next project after listening to Mi Tierra (1993) by his wife Gloria Estefan. Recording took place at Estefan's Crescent Moon Studios in Miami, Florida. Estefan's partner Kike Santander co-produced the recording along with Estefan and composed most of the album's tracks. The musical style consists of pop-boleros with ranchera influences while the lyrics reflect the theme of love. Four singles were released from the album: "Si Tú Supieras", "En El Jardín", "No Sé Olvidar", and "Yo Nací Para Amarte". Each of them reached number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States. A tour to promote the album was launched in the US and Latin America.
Mariachi El Bronx is the fourth studio album by the Los Angeles rock band The Bronx, released on September 1, 2009 through Swami Records in the United States and Wichita Recordings in the United Kingdom. It marks a divergence from the band's usual hardcore punk and hard rock sound in favor of a mariachi style. To promote and perform the album the band adopted the alter ego persona "Mariachi El Bronx", and have performed under both identities concurrently.
Entre Tangos Y Mariachi is the title of a studio album released by Spanish performer Rocío Dúrcal on 15 May 2001 by BMG Ariola. This was the second album produced by Argentinian songwriter Bebu Silvetti for the singer.
"Me and Your Mama" is a single by American singer Donald Glover, under his stage name Childish Gambino. It was released on November 10, 2016 worldwide, and is the first single from his third studio album "Awaken, My Love!"
"Terrified" is a song by American singer Childish Gambino from his third studio album "Awaken, My Love!". It was sent to urban contemporary radio as the album's third single on September 19, 2017.
¡México Por Siempre! is the 20th studio album by Mexican singer Luis Miguel. Released on 24 November 2017 via Warner Music Mexico, it is his second full-length mariachi album following México en la Piel (2004). The album was produced solely by Luis Miguel, with instrumentation done by mariachi ensemble Vargas de Tecalitlán.
Erik Arvinder is a Swedish violinist, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, orchestrator and conductor known for his work with artists such as Avicii, Childish Gambino, John Legend, Galantis and deadmau5.
Flor de Toloache is an all-female mariachi band based in New York City and founded by Mireya I. Ramos and Shae Fiol in 2008.
Bando Stone and the New World is the fifth studio album by American rapper Childish Gambino. Released on July 19, 2024, through RCA Records, it is also the soundtrack album to his upcoming film of the same name.