Zenya Ray is a composer, with a rapidly growing and loyal following, based in Sacramento, California. Despite only making his music debut in 2022, he’s managed to get off to a flying start, with his poignant, folk-influenced sound already accumulating hundreds of thousands of streams on Spotify alone, and he doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. 

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Zenya Ray about the music, memories, dream collabs and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

What’s something you’d like readers to know about your latest project?

“Even the Angels” is about a real-life husband and wife couple who helped me through the difficult times following my divorce. My producer, Haris Pranowo, and I wanted the song to be super uplifting and poignant with a clean, moving piano-led melody with a touch of electric guitar. The duo who sang the song pretty much nailed the improvisational chorus, and I hope the listeners appreciate the chemistry between them.

How does this project compare with your other release(s)? Was there anything specific you were trying to accomplish?

This is my first song that is a male-female duet, and I was deliberately minimalistic with the instruments to make the vocals stand out. My producer and I wanted to give the song a clean, serene vibe in the verses and slowly build up to the powerful chorus in the second half. I think this song is the most uplifting of all the songs we have released so far. There is also a lot of improvisations in this song, which is something new to us.

What motivates you to create music?

I started out writing music to give back to the community. I write/gift songs for the brokenhearted, the bereaved and the unfortunate, and it is all charity. It’s a lone but fulfilling mission, and I am lucky to have a creative partner (producer Haris Pranowo) who is a veteran in the music industry. I am extremely introverted, and songwriting gives me a way to connect with the world in a meaningful way.

What’s one of your first or most powerful music memories? Did that play any role in driving you to create?

I rarely perform live but when I do, sometimes people cry. I’ve always been a quiet type, so when I started sharing my songs a couple of years ago, I was shocked that I had the ability to evoke such emotions in people. It definitely drives me to write and share more songs. I also have complete strangers come up to me and pour out their souls after my performance.

If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown – who would it be and why? If it’s an indie/DIY artist, please include a link so readers can check them out

My idol would be Kat McDowell, who is an indie singer-songwriter and part Japanese and part Kiwi. When I just started out writing, I was hugely influenced by her creativity and the way she crosses over between J-pop and acoustic pop. Her rendition of “Nagoriyuki” sang in part English and Japanese is absolutely mind-blowing. Her Instagram account is as follows: https://www.instagram.com/katmcdowell.

What was the last song you listened to? And who is one of your favorite all-time bands/artists?

The last song I listened to is “Soulmate” by Flora Cash. It’s a beautiful song that I think many can relate to with a nice acoustic touch. My favorite all-time artist would be Mark Wilkinson. I look up to him because all his songs have beautiful melodies, and he is also an amazing lyricist. I also think Lizzy McAlpine is very, very talented.

Where is the best place to find you and stay connected?

The best place to find me would be on my YouTube channel and Instagram. Feel free to drop me a DM – I am generally pretty responsive.

I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?

I really appreciate the opportunity to share my story. It really means a lot to have a forum like this. Also, I’ll most likely be releasing another song between now and year-end, so please be on the lookout for an update on my Instagram.