RY X's Video for "Howling" Is Sweaty, Carnal, Perfect

RY X is a man known to his fam as Ry Cuming, an itinerant artist (he's called home Costa Rica, Indonesia, Stockholm, London and Berlin), who's been knocking around for a minute writing lithe, soft spun songs that verge on hypnotic hymnals, thanks to his ripping guitar lines and gilded falsetto. Imagine a meeting point between James Blake and Jeff Buckley, Active Child's "Hanging On" and Fleet Foxes' "White Winter Hymnal," with an extra dose of existential sad and you're getting close.

This year he released ​Dawn,​ his debut album under the moniker RY X,which opens with a string-laden, instrumental title track that sets the tone and pace: dramatic, emotional, sacrosanct. When he's not making music under this moniker he's one half of Howling, as well as a member of the trio The Acid, both of which meld glitchtronics and boomier beats, painting his reverbed dreaminess into a dancier frame.

Below is the premiere of the video for "Howling." Truth be told, I first heard "Howling" a few years ago, bewitched by the lovelorn tear in his voice, but this is the first time it's been included on an album, and this video adds another dimension—a sweaty, sensual carnality—final touches, a lingering embrace. And some painted up dancers wigging out in slo-mo.

"It was a deep hope to bring the same sense of sensuality and raw heartedness to the video that was surrounding my life when I created this song," he explains. "It is based around the emotional connection and impact of past lovers into the present space. About the way we hold onto their energy and carry it, and them, with us, into new relationships, and into our lives even as we grow. I collaborated with dear friends on this piece with artist Elena Stonaker creating visual worlds, choreographer Nina McNeely for dance, and the three lead women in this are dear friends of mine. That way the intimacy and connection was real. Ever present. Im excited to share a video created by a community of friends, and am also really excited to come on tour in the US for the first time and then back to Europe for wider spanning shows around releasing new work."

Watch below and catch him on tour.

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RY X Tour Dates:

October 11 – Cathedral of Saint Vibiana, Los Angeles, CA
October 12 – The Sanctuary at the Unitarian Society, Santa Barbara, CA
October 13 – Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
October 14 - The Old Redwood Barn, Sonoma, CA
October 17 – Neumos, Seattle, WA
October 18 – The Old Church, Portland, OR
October 20 – Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL
October 22 – Wexner Performing Art Center, Columbus, OH
October 23 – The Great Hall, Toronto, ON
October 24 – Le Gesu, Montreal, QC
October 26 – The Side Chapel of The First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA
October 27 – Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA
October 28 - Roulette, Brooklyn, NY