Toronto-born pop singer Raffaela Weyman, better known by her stage name Ralph, has had a whirlwind of a year so far, and things can only get better. Following the September release of her debut studio album, A Good Girl, Ralph has spent the last few weeks touring with fellow Canadian singer and songwriter, RIA MAE.
According to her uncle, Weyman started singing from an early age. In eighth grade, Weyman auditioned for a supporting role in a school play and ended up getting cast as the lead role. While she described the experience of being on stage in front of a live audience as equally terrifying and thrilling, she said it was the moment that ignited her passion for performing.
From there, she attended a performing arts high school and continued to pursue a career in music. She started out in more folk-styled singer-songwriter bands, and it was at this time that she realized her love of writing songs for herself.
“I just love writing songs so much that it’s such a pleasure to be able to present those to an audience and be able to talk about them. I think if I was having people write songs for me it wouldn’t feel quite as connective.”
Ralph initially started as a side project for fun, but soon grew to become Weyman’s priority. In March of 2017, she released her self-titled EP, which spawned the singles “Tease” and “Cold to the Touch”. Earlier this fall, her long-awaited debut album, A Good Girl, came out.
Ralph’s music and style feels heavily influenced by retro disco and synth-pop music, and while many relate synth music to 80’s pop, she said that this isn’t exactly the niche she was trying to achieve with A Good Girl.
“Musically, I wanted to try genre-fusing some more to make it less 80’s. A couple of the songs are a little more R&B inspired, a little more contemporary feeling… I wanted to kind of play around with the sound and make it a little less nostalgic feeling, a little less 80’s and a little more like a contemporary artist whose borrowing sounds from the past and infusing them into these songs.”
The six-week tour with RIA MAE started on November 7th in Burnstown, Ontario. This week they will be making their way from Saskatoon to Edmonton for their show on November 22nd at the Starlite Room. You can buy tickets and check out future show dates at her website, as well as follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube.
