Exposed Vocals Interviews Morgan Riley
With an unbiased passion for music – regardless of genre – it’s clear that Skytone Entertainment artist Morgan Riley offers something new to country listeners. Her soon-to-be-released album Collage is just that… A melting pot of genres with an ever-so-slight country dominance. While the road to this release hasn’t always been smooth, Riley has handled each curve with hope and exuberance – all the while finding her sound and writing to connect with her fans. “I’m a firm believer in everything happening for a reason – everything that’s happened throughout my life has led to my relationship with Skytone and the release of this album. I couldn’t be happier.”
A Maryland native, Riley knew she was destined to be a singer from the start. “One day when I was younger, I started singing a Mariah Carey song… My brother heard, grabbed my parents and said, ‘you’ve got to hear this!’” Impressed by their daughter’s obvious talents, Riley’s parents quickly became the greatest support in her pursuit of a career in music – a dream inherited by her grandmother, who also sang. At five, Riley began performing at weddings and anniversary parties and by 15, she was recording at a local studio. Confident in years of practice and experience gained in live and studio performance, she made the move to New York City at 18.
In New York City, Riley found herself regularly performing with a pop-R&B group and recording at the city’s legendary Hit Factory Studio. In a struggle to find her true sound, she moved back south to Greenville, South Carolina and began to perfect her country edge. “I’m generally undeterred by any type of hardship or roadblock. My dad has been a huge inspiration when it comes to this. He won’t let me give up…” Auditioning for the Pride of Carolinas, she beat out 4,300 people and received single placement on the competition’s compilation album by Koch New York, featuring the best artists in North and South Carolina. Shortly after, she began working with producer Chris Clay (TLC) on her album Affinity. “Chris has always been such an incredible supporter of me and what I do and, of course, is an incredible talent. I so enjoyed working with him on Affinity. The album really represented where I was at the time… Still, I felt I had a bit more country in me that needed to come out.”
Affinity landed in the lap of veteran producer and engineer Frank Green, whose track record includes multiple #1’s and just as many gold and platinum albums. Riley met with Green, performed a few of her originals and was quickly signed to his label, Skytone Entertainment. “My whole life I’ve dreamed of being signed to a label by someone that believes in me and all I do. I’ve certainly found that in Skytone and Frank.” The deal was made sweeter yet when Riley and Green began writing together for Collage material – a writing relationship whose chemistry she describes as “off the chart”. Drawing inspiration from her top musical influences – everyone from Carrie Underwood to Alanis Morrisette, Evanescence to Jewel – has given her unparalleled flexibility when it comes to writing. “I find I can write any kind of genre. I’ve also taken bits and pieces from different genres and pulled them into my writing. Collage is very much a product of that.”
Until the album’s release – set for early spring – Riley continues to write, perform and work with children aged two through five at New Springs Church. “I’m really blessed to be where I’m at in life. I have no doubt given the team I’ve surrounded myself with that this release has the potential for great success. I feel like Collage is me – the first project I’ve done that truly represents my voice. While all other genres play a part in this album, my dad always encouraged my country side. Now that I’ve found it, I can’t wait to share it with fans.”
| Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Morgan Riley: I grew up in Hyattsville MD and ever since I was crawling I wanted to be a singer. God gave me the talent and put the desire in my heart and that’s always what I wanted to do.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Morgan Riley: Morgan is in the family it’s my niece’s middle name and Riley was just cool! They went very well together and I always liked the name Riley. Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Morgan Riley: I think online music sharing can be good if you want to give a way a few tracks for free to get people to buy your music. However singing is an artistic job and you have to make money otherwise you can’t devote all your time and energy in your craft. Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips? Morgan Riley: As an artist it’s very important to have people working for you promoting your music and booking your gigs. Venues will not take you seriously if you represent yourself. Make sure you have an electronic press kit that has footage of you performing and showcasing your talent.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Morgan Riley: I am usually inspired at the most in opportune times like when I am driving the car or in the shower. There really isn’t a process for me I usually just have ideas pop in my head and I immediately record them or write them down. I do have songwriting sessions and normally the ideas I previously came up with helps me elaborate fully into songs or the person I am writing with will create music and than usually the ideas just start flowing. Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Morgan Riley: My website is www.morganrileycountry.com I use soundcloud, YouTube, and Reverbnation. I use ITunes, Amazon, and any digital site to sell my music. You can connect to all my links through my website. Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Morgan Riley: I would use that money to take care of my family and pay back all the people who supported my career financially. I would use it to further my music career and use it for promotion. I would make sure I was well rested, use a little bit of my time on vacation with my family and than when it was time to return I would be ready to work. Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Morgan Riley: One of the key things in promoting your music is radio. It’s very important to get a radio promoter to promote your record. Start building a relationship with the stations. Online promotion can be very beneficial to your music career as well, so you should use all the social media outlets to promote your music. Look for any opportunities to get your music heard. The best way for me is promote it through radio and go on radio tours to meet the stations and have them interview me. Lots of people listen to the radio and it’s a great way to be heard and its a great way for your fans to get to know you. Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Morgan Riley: So next for me is promotion for my new radio single and promote my new video and release music on sound cloud. Also we are booking a lot more shows so my plan is to travel more and play venues all over the United States. Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing? Morgan Riley: The only other thing I enjoyed growing up was acting and modeling. But I really can’t see myself doing anything else unless it helps further my music career. Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Morgan Riley : I make music a top priority and work my schedule around my career. It just takes a lot of sacrificing and hard work to make it to the top so you have to keep striving and making it happen. Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016? Morgan Riley Fans can look forward to seeing us perform live and can buy merchandise at our live shows, like t-shirts, koozies, stickers, autograph pictures, etc. I have a new music video I am going to be releasing soon and I was just recently in the studio recording some new material. |