Ryan Tedder shoots for Wonderland as OneRepublic announce their brand new single ‘Wherever I Go’ from their brand new album out later this year. Their last album ‘Native’ went platinum in the UK and included the top ten singles ‘Love Runs out’,  'I Lived’, ‘If I Lose Myself’ and the million selling number 1 ‘Counting Stars’. The band’s front man Ryan Tedder has spoken about their brand new single for the first time to Wonderland:

Ryan on ‘Wherever I go’:

'It’s very much about obsession, and almost an unnatural, unhealthy level of obsession. It doesn’t personify the entire album and I think it’s going to really surprise people, the other thing i’ll say that’s rather important is that we spent ages making sure that it was actually live.' 

Ryan on what influenced ‘Wherever I Go’:

'A lot of what intrigues me the most is some of the weirder stuff so like Sigur Ros and Miike Snow – I mean when you hear it you’ll definitely hear some of that kind of – I’ve been a long time fan of Miike Snow, so you’ll probably hear a little hint of that kind of melody.'

Ryan on the video: 

'It’s directed by Joseph Kahn a bit of a mad kind of unicorn. It’s so bizarre. For a lot of the videos we’ve done, I’ve come up with the treatments, and I wondered if people would this one was a bit crazy, but they went for it! You’re going to think 'How the hell did this song create that visual in his head?’

Ryan on the new sound of the album:

'We wanted to make sure that you could actually hear the human beings and the actual instruments that are in the actual songs. It’s new and very modern but there’s still a big dose of humanity in it because you can actually hear the players. I’d say it’s hands down the most progressive music I’ve ever been a part of whether inside this band or outside of this band.'

Ryan on writing songs for other artists: 

‘If we compare it to fashion: anyone with a reasonable sense of themselves, or their own style, the easiest way to reflect who you are on a daily basis is what you wear. So if you walked into Yves Saint Laurent and you have an unlimited budget, it doesn’t matter how cool all that shit on all those racks is – a person with their own sense of identity can spend five to ten minutes in a store as nice as YSL and you’re going to point to maybe two things and say ‘that’s it’. So with the record I did with Ellie Goulding, ‘Keep On Dancing’, I’ve never done a trap dance record in my life, but it worked for her. We (OneRepublic) couldn’t put that record out though as much as I love it!'

Wonderland Credits:

Photography: Hiroshi Clark

Fashion Editor: Sue Choi

Hair: Miles Hadad

Wonderland: http://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2016/05/profile-ryan-tedder/