renforshort on her creative process, musical inspirations, and her single I Drive Me Mad

“I would want my fans to know that I am a platform that they can always come to for comfort and love and every chance I have to be there for them and interact with them…” says the rising 17-year-old artist ren to United By Pop.

The Canadian singer-songwriter has recently dropped her first EP ‘teenage angst’ and we spoke to her on all things music.

How does it feel to be a new artist at this time?

It’s interesting because what we see in the media with artist coming up at earlier times is so different then what it is now. It was more concrete then– for example, handing in discs when your albums finally done whereas now you just upload it to all the platforms and wait haha.

What/who inspired you to become a musician?

My parents and my family really inspired me to start with music, they started me really young and encouraged me to keep going with it and really have always supported my decision.

How would you describe the type of music you wish to create?

The music I want to create in a perfect world is bubblegum grungy with relevant, relatable lyrics.

What is your creative process like?

My creative process starts with a therapy process where I vent about my day–this could last a very very long time haha. Then, we start building the track and write from there while the ideas and feelings are still fresh in my mind.

Who would you love to collaborate with in the future?

My dream collabs are probably Dave Grohl cause he’s the sickest ever, Kevin Parker cause he’s a frickin genius, and Beabadoobee cause I love her!

What is the first thing you would want your future fans to know about you?

I would want my fans to know that I am a platform that they can always come to for comfort and love and every chance I have to be there for them and interact with them.

Can you tell us a bit about the process behind creating ‘i drive me mad’?

‘i drive me mad’ was written after I experienced a really bad panic attack and thought I wouldn’t be able to write a song. That panic attack ended up making the song so different and special to me. It was made to depict the feeling of anxiety, and lyrically it is comparing what it’s like struggling with anxiety versus not.

Which lyric out of all your songs do you resonate with most?

A lyric that resonates with me the most out of all my songs is probably from the song ‘bummer’–
“There are times I wish that I was somebody else
Pretending I’m okay but, shit, I’m hating myself”
because this is something that is so so so so true to me and something that I feel all the time.