Nina Ryser was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and has been based in Philadelphia, PA since 2015. Her interest in songwriting and DIY home recording started when she was very little with piano lessons and a Fisher Price tape recorder, and led to her path in composition and scoring for live performance and film, working with a variety of instruments and ensembles including the American Symphony Orchestra.
Nina received her BA in Music Composition at Bard College where she studied music composition and electronic music. She also spent a lot of time in the film building. Nina has engineered and mixed albums for several bands in her home studio, including her past seven solo albums in which she recorded and performed all the instruments herself. She has played in many bands over the years, including Palberta, Shimmer, Data, Fire Roast, Kristine Leschper and Lily Konigsberg, among several others. She currently plays drums in
@. Palberta was an art-punk/pop trio from 2013-2023 that consisted of Nina, Ani Ivry-Block and Lily Konigsberg, who switched between drums, bass, guitar and performed 3-part harmonies.
Their 8 full-length records were released to critical acclaim by the New York Times, NPR Music, Rollingstone and Pitchfork. They recorded live sessions on NPR Tiny Desk and Audiotree among other online platforms; they toured prolifically across the US, Canada, and Mexico, opened for Bikini Kill and Deerhoof, and headlined music festivals; all without the aid of an agent or major label.
Nina's solo experimental synth-pop project has taken on many forms over the years, but at its core are lush synth compositions, drum machine, various electronics, and pop-leaning vocal melodies. She usually incorporates instrumental soundscapes and noisey interludes in her recordings and live sets. She has performed with several different bandmates over the years, including a cellist, bassist, keyboardist, and accordionist. She has toured throughout the US, opening for Kikagaku Moyo, The Space Lady and Kristine Leschper. Paths of Color is her sixth full-length solo record: “In line with her past few releases, Paths of Color is characteristic Nina Ryser: dreamy, wonky, synth-based art-pop that’s bubbly, edgy, sweet, and dark all at once; with elements of post-punk, art rock, and free jazz. But on Paths, Ryser has honed her home recording and mixing skills and refined her home studio set-up, making it her most polished-sounding work yet. But she’s maintained that homemade vibe, as well as the freedom of childhood expression that is so crucial to her sound. Her background in contemporary classical music serves to hold it all together in a taut, designful balance.” (Leah Mandel, Cowgirl Records.)
Nina’s upcoming full-length record (her 8th release and first studio album recorded by an engineer other than herself) will be released on Dear Life Records in September 2024.
She is currently working on a synth-based film score for a short sci-fi film by Joseph Agresta, as well as a multi-instrumental full-length score for a film by Anthony D’Eredita (release dates for both films TBD). She recently performed as the synth & organ player in HILMA, a modern opera at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia, June 2024. In September 2024, Nina will be touring in Europe in support of her upcoming solo record on Dear Life Records, Water Giants, accompanied on the tour by Ani Ivry-Block (Palberta, Shimmer, Fire Roast) on electric accordion.
