Ren (British musician)

Ren Erin Gill (born 29 March 1990), known professionally as Ren, is a Welsh[1] "singer-songwriter, producer, rapper, busker, poet, and multi-instrumentalist known for his collaborative music work with other singers.".[2][3] He was a member of the indie hip-hop band Trick The Fox[4] and The Big Push, a British busking band based in Brighton.[5]

Ren
Birth nameRen Erin Gill
Also known asRen
Born (1990-03-29) 29 March 1990
Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales
OriginBrighton, United Kingdom
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar
Years active2009–present
LabelsIndependent
Formerly of
  • Trick The Fox
  • The Big Push
Websitewww.sickboi.co.uk

In 2022, Ren released "Hi Ren". The video went viral and appeared in both the United Kingdom and Worldwide Trending Music Video Charts on YouTube, and had 6.8 million views in two months.[1] The next four songs Ren released, "Sick Boi", "Bittersweet Symphony (The Verve Retake)", "Illest of Our Time", and "Animal Flow" also appeared in the United Kingdom's Trending Music Video Chart on YouTube.[6] Ren was invited to play at Glastonbury 2023, film festivals, and other major UK summer music festivals.[3]

Ren has spent years battling health issues.[1]

Life and career

Ren Erin Gill was born on 29 March 1990, in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales,[7] and was raised in Dwyran,[8]: 03:06  on the island of Anglesey [1]. He taught himself to play guitar by slowing down tracks by Jimi Hendrix and John Frusciante.[8]: 20:11  He dreamed of being a musician and sold CDs of beats he made at home on his PC[1] using a program called Reason Studios[9]: 01:33  when he was 12.[1] When he was 13, he performed live for the first time with a rendition of the AFI song "Morningstar".[8]: 11:02 

Ren moved to Bath to study music performance at Bath Spa University.[10] While there, he started a band called Trick The Fox.[9]: 01:45  In 2009 Ren was discovered by Eric Appapoulay while busking one of his own songs. Eric thought the lyrics were incredible and wanted to make an album with him in London. Eric was part of a sub label of Sony Records'. Ren signed a recording contract with them in 2010.[10] He started working on his debut album with Charlie Fowler, another member of Trick the Fox, at Sanctuary studio in South London. They started writing tracks, touring, and recording. They also posted some tracks and videos to the bands Facebook and YouTube accounts.[11]

Ren has spent many years dealing with health issues.[1] He was misdiagnosed with Chronic fatigue syndrome and later was diagnosed with Lyme disease in Belgium.[1][12]

In June of 2012 Tom Frampton, a drummer, joined the band and they played at the Ravenstonedale festival. Ren moved to Brighton in 2013.[13] Trick The Fox were listed as one of the acts scheduled to perform at Beach Break Live 2013, but Ren became too sick to finish the album and in July 2013 announced that he was disbanding the group.

Ren's debut solo album Freckled Angels was officially released on 2 January 2016. The self-released album contained 16 tracks, including around half of the tracks recorded for the Trick The Fox album. Eric Appapoulay gave Ren permission to use them.[14][8]: 38:08  Ren dedicated the album and the title track to one of his best friends, Joe Hughes, who died in 2010.[1] A restaurant in Menai Bridge, Anglesey is named after this album.[15] On 15 February 2016, Ren released his first official single, "Jessica".[16]

Ren was featured in the 2017 movie Unrest, and his song "Patience" was part of the soundtrack.[17] He became widely acclaimed after his self-released video for his song "Hi Ren" received 6.8 million views in two months.[1] The video for "Hi Ren" received an honourable mention in the best European music video category at the Prague music video awards in April 2023.[18] Ren released a retake of the Verve song Bittersweet symphony In February 2023, and their bassist Simon Tong gave him a guitar in appreciation.[1]

In addition to his solo career, Ren was a member of The Big Push, a Brighton based busking band. Glenn Chambers was the drummer and Ren, Romain Axisa, Gorran Kendall were the front men.[19][19][20] Their 2021 UK Tour sold out.[19]

Ren was named as one of Atwood Magazine's 2023 Artists to Watch,[21] Société Magazine listed him as one of the "Top Artists To Look Out For In Sussex",[22] and the music critic Gareth Branwyn called his music "intense," and "refreshingly unique"[23] and his rapping as "impressive".[24]

In May 2023, Ren was interviewed by Justin Hawkins of The Darkness on Hawkins' YouTube channel.[8]: 0.00:00  Since becoming sick, Ren has said that his life's work has been closely related to looking for better ways to deal with mental health issues.[25] Since January 2023, he has been in Canada receiving specialized medical treatment for his illness.[26][27]

Discography

Album
  • Freckled Angels (2016)

EPs
  • The Tale of Jenny & Screech
  • Demos (Vol 1) (2020)
  • Demos (Vol 2) (2020)
  • Violet's Tale (2022)

References
  1. Llywelyn, Lowri (8 March 2023). "Ren - the Welsh musician attracting millions to his extraordinary music". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  2. "Ren – Hi Ren Featured Video". REZONATZ. 27 December 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  3. Smith, Bob (6 January 2023). "Ren's Poignant, Disturbing & Brilliant 'Hi Ren' - The Static Dive". The Static Dive. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  4. Stewart, Peter (14 February 2023). "Ren Gill A Dynamic Singer, Guitarist And Songwriter From The UK". The Music Man. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  5. Conway-Flood, Katie. "The Big Push - Brighton's Biggest Busking Band". Discovered Magazine. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  6. Songstats. "Songstats - Music Data Analytics for Artists & Labels - Feed". Songstats. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  7. "Ren Erin Gill - Births & Baptisms [1] - Genes Reunited". Genes Reunited. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  8. Hawkins, Justin. "The Ren Interview". YouTube. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  9. "Catching Coffee with Ren | Busking, Screaming Fans & Being Blocked by Calvin Harris!". YouTube. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  10. Winchell, Bryan (28 February 2023). ""Hi, Ren" (The Full Series)". Medium. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  11. "TRICK THE FOX | The Sanctuary Studio". The Sanctuary Recording Studio. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  12. Simpson, Dave (17 March 2023). "The Darkness's Justin Hawkins on his YouTuber second act: 'I can say anything I want!'". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  13. "Life update". Twitter. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  14. "Freckled Angels, by Ren Gill". Bandcamp. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  15. Julie, Richards-Williams (16 December 2017). "North Wales restaurant review: Freckled Angel, Menai Bridge". North Wales Live. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  16. Szwarc, Bea (16 May 2016). "New Secret: Ren - Jessica (feat. Orleans) - Where the Music Meets". www.wherethemusicmeets.com. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  17. "'Unrest' - UK Screenings". Lyme Disease UK. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  18. "WINNERS". Prague Music Awards. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  19. Clay, William (6 July 2021). "The Big Push – interview". BN1 Magazine. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  20. Olivia, Reese (30 June 2021). "The Big Push – Can Do, Will Do". Highwire Magazine. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  21. "2023's Top 50 Artists to Watch". Atwood Magazine. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  22. Staff. "Best Artists In Brighton". Société Magazine. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  23. Branwyn, Gareth (30 January 2023). "Discovering the intense, refreshingly unique music of Ren". Boing Boing. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  24. Branwyn, Gareth (1 April 2023). "UK rapper Ren releases video for "Illest of Our Time"". Boing Boing. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  25. "After pushing back on the misrepresentation by @CNN they updated their video". Twitter. 30 April 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  26. Wadsworth, Jo (26 May 2016). "Brighton musician dumped by Sony over illness goes to US for treatment". Brighton and Hove News. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  27. Gottschalk, Kurt (11 March 2023). "Music: Wiggly Air, by Kurt Gottschalk". Red Hook Star-Revue. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
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