A Retrospective on Riley Hawke 

Cristina, You have a talent for music and that is so cool. I use to play the piano, and trumpet by ear and I could also read sheet music. Now I am play the drums by ear and soon will be teaching myself how to play the Native American flute. Follow your heart. Cristina I do love your music and I look forward to seeing and listening more to your music / songs. What you write is straight forward, honest, has emotions, and has meaning as well. You have a beautiful voice and I am not just saying that. You really do have a beautiful voice when you sing.

Cheers, Cristina!

Fame doesn't matter, the fact that you made a music video using RPG Maker will always make you more relatable in my mind than any other musician I know.

Cristina.. hi :) been a while. 8:03 . I remember mixing wasteland for the mix contest. Still my favorite and a beautifully written song. You are an inspiration, hang in there. I can totally relate. Software Engineer myself (though I did quit my job and doing music full time now) Been through the ups and downs myself and somethings eventually clicked after very long years.. but not how I had initially intended. I am still making music but not entirely on my own terms.. I have sort of been lured back into the classical orchestral side and score writing. I have been spot writing scores for movies and games under tight boundaries of creative freedom. Nothing too blockbuster just video games and some other stuff but I would still eventually like to get back into more of a wide spectrum production and explore more forms of my personal art. Time is always an issue and its a constant battle. Wish you all the best and I hope you see big success as a musician.

I can’t believe it’s already been 3 years since Riley hawke :o it definitely seems to have been a crazy chapter of your life that’s for sure. Your music has always been able to reach me whenever I need it most, and I can’t thank you enough for all of he incredible work you have done making such beautiful music ^_^

These are some really interesting insights. I've been a fan of yours since Overexposed, and just wanted to say thank you for everything that you've done so far. As a creator myself, I know how easy it is to look at your work and see nothing but flaws, but you should know that what you've done has had a tangible effect on at least one person's life. I can't wait to see what's next for you in your new phase.

This is one of the best videos I've ever seen in my life... Sincerity is so powerful

Thank you Christina.

I got three points. 1. Life is Strange is a really really really great game. Your cover of Sail Away is such a shining star. 2. Songs that beyond LiS scope, like Read My Mind, are so impressive. 3. As LiS told us, "Life goes on." I really hope to enjoy more of you work in future. Cheers!

I'm still going to be listening to your songs on Spotify. Love them! But it's good to see that you are headed to a path that you are happier and more comfortable on! 😃

Love your honesty in this video! Thanks for sharing that story - sounds like a wonderful journey with a ton of learning, especially about yourself. Hope you'll come along for the ride with me on my journey this year! I'll probably be looking to collaborate with people on some of my work so might be reaching out in the future!

I can definitely relate with the struggle of spending so much time and energy working on creative pieces, even timing and tuning them to coincide with something you know will have an audience...and then it just doesn't pick up any traction. We live in an age of alhorithms, and unless you are lucky or deliberately manipulate things, it's basically impossible to pick up a following on social media at this point. IMO collabs are the best way to go for multiple reasons. In either case, I'm incredibly grateful for the work you've done over the years and hope you continue to do so.

The Gates sounds amazing!! I am so impressed that was your "Project 3". mine sounds like a childrens song in comparision, lol.

Coming in a year later I appreciate this video. It's cool to get a recap 👍

I can totally relate to the things you are talking about… I’ve been writing and recording music for like 15 years and have gone through so many of these same ups and downs. I waffle back and forth between wanting to make a living doing it and just wanting to be happy that I keep doing it at all for the pure joy of creative expression. I read a quote by Sylvia Plath the other day: “Nothing stinks like a pile of unpublished writing, which remark shows I still don’t have a pure motive (o it’s-such-fun-I-just-can’t-stop-who-cares-if-it’s-published-or-read) about writing….I still want to see it finally ritualized in print.” That pretty much sums it up eh? I quit my job a few months back and have been toying with the idea of “going for it” full time with the music stuff… but i’m about to start a new job on Monday… so like i said all this is super relatable and timely for me personally… and the thing about begging people and being vulnerable is like ugh…v on point. Post release blues are so real. It’s interesting to me that you said moving forward you might release larger collections less frequently… that had always been my strategy mostly, like an album or couple EPs every year, and i recently decided to switch tack and try to just release singles consistently more or less in realtime.. my thought process was that if I’m putting stuff out all the time it’s A) creating a steady flow of content for people and B) i’m not giving myself the chance to invest so much emotionally over the course of a years worth of work or whatever and hinge all my dreams on one album… If i make a track in october and post it in november and it doesnt get a million streams thats fine cause i’m already moved on and in a headspace focused on the other track i finished since then and i’m about to release.. we’ll see how it goes i guess. Unlike you i’m kind of in a phase where I want to get more into marketing and promotion but not really to generate income so much as I want my babies out there getting love… which is maybe totally vain.. to care if people hear your music… idk… maybe that will shift for me in time. You’re a very talented songwriter and producer and honestly your youtube and spotify numbers are respectable for an independent artist. The things you have learned about yourself in the process are huge and i’m glad you realize that your goals can shift and change as you learn and grow. I hope you keep the creative spark and continue to make your art without the stress and self doubt… i hope we all do. This is only a failure story if you frame it a certain way… it can also be a story of a person that learned to let go of the trappings of the music business and keep making art for the reasons that really matter… and maybe thats a type of success story we need more of BTW “weakness is just another word for being alive” is a dope line.

I love your songs they are so meaningful i wish alot more people would listen to You instead of The garbage pop The world îs such a rotten place but don't give up!

I don't think this is a failure story at all. It appears to me that it made you grow as a human being and that's the most important thing, in my opinion. I'm looking forward to the Christina Hawke era!

Oh wow... Is it already three years? Time flies.. Don't beat yourself up. :) In fact I can't remember how often during watching this video I thought yeah, she's absolutely right. Music should be art. If it's good and also profitable or makes somebody popular, it's great, but in my opinion exactly that, making music or any content with the primary intention to be successful at any cost does so so often end in bland results. And yeah, I guess the music industry (what term is that anyway?...sigh.. Okay could be a false friend, but at least in german we say "Musikindustrie" too, though Industrie does not mean branch or type of trade but literally industry like big ol' industrial production) is pretty broken in this regard, maybe society is too... I much much rather like to hear some good, honest music that is put out just from time to time than forced, mediocre stuff created with pressure just to pump out a lot of content. Your music has always been so honest and from the heart, which is something incredibly precious and I think this is the most beautiful and creative way of making music or any art, no matter what genre. Music is best created with passion and enjoyment in the process. I'm glad you want to keep it this way. Huge respect for getting all of this off your chest. Hope it helps, but you sound relieved. It's not easy to admit things like that to oneself...reminds me of my time in a band a couple of years ago. Part of the band was bolting for success, though fun, creativity and personal freedom sufferend. I couldn't enjoy rehearding, writing and gigging with pressure like that. It didn't feel like the hobby I love. Still it was pretty tough to admit that this wasn't for me, and there was a lot of back and forth in my head and between me and my bandmates who had a different opinion on this whole art vs success thing than me. In the end, quitting the band still felt like the right thing to do and saved my motivation to play instruments, even though it was sad of course and I threw away that opportunity to hang out and play with some skilled musicians. It always puts a smile on my face when a video from your channel pops up in my subscriptions, no matter if it's only from time to time. Keep it up! Much love.