REN MARTINEZ

Formerly Ren Farren talks about her art and soul

Singer-songwriter and actress Ren Martinez (formerly Ren Farren) is the youngest daughter of singer Leslie Ren and actor ‘A’ Ren (“Longmire”). Ren’s performing roots run deep and she is now taking the music world by storm with her captivating vocals, heartfelt songwriting, and electrifying performances. Her distinctive blend of music fuses poetic lyricism and captivating pop sensibilities.

Ren has released two EPs and multiple singles that reflect her evolution as an artist. Recently collaborating with producer and close friend Madison Scheckel, known as Wolfy. Ren is on the brink of unveiling her upcoming record.

Ren sang before she could talk and embraced acting from the age of six, participating in local plays. She graduated from the Popular Music Performance program at the University of Southern California where she honed her songwriting and vocal skills. During her college years, Ren discovered contemporary artists spanning pop, hip-hop, rock, and country genres. This unique blend of classic influences and contemporary training has given her a sound that bridges the gap between introspective storytelling and captivating melodies. She has since released albums like Good Girl and Where I am Wild, with hit singles like Uncool, Lose the Night, See Me Through, and Crier. Her music is currently available on Spotify, Soundcloud, and iTunes.

Ren has performed at Madame Siam in Hollywood and created a moving tribute to Joni Mitchell at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble alongside Jean Claudes. She continues to grace the city’s stages with her soulful performances. Her tracks have been featured on television shows like Hacks, New Girl, Friends from College, Single Parents, and The Young and the Restless, solidifying her status as a versatile artist with a sound that resonates far and wide. Ren’s impact isn’t confined to the studio alone. She’s also making waves in the acting world, engaging in voiceover work, and recently performing in a Sam Shepard play.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview. Every artist is driven by something to succeed creatively. What drove you to become a recording artist?

Ren Martinez: I just love to sing. Since I was a little kid, it’s been such a huge part of the person I’ve become. I grew up with so much music in my house. But there wasn’t a specific moment when I decided to become a singer/songwriter. It’s just always what I did. I grew up in the 90s and the early 2000s. I was obsessed with music and musicians. I saw what they were doing with their lives and I knew then that it would make me happy. I knew that singing, performing on stage, writing music, and being an artist—there was just nothing else I wanted to do. So it’s an innate part of me. It’s hard to say where that motivation came from, but when I started writing songs in earnest—when I was finishing high school and starting college—it all started to take shape for me. I realized that if I could hone that skill, it would make this dream so much more fulfilling.

I wanted to be a songwriter but I was very daunted by that. When I had this song that I wanted to share, everything started to shift into gear for me.

So you were one of those girls dancing in her room singing with a hairbrush in your hand?

Ren: (laughs). Yeah, that was me. When I was little, every time, I went to a bowling alley or skating rink, they always had these sticker machines with all these Popstar stickers. I shared a bedroom with my sister when I was little and my side of the closet mirror was covered with stickers of Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys. I had cassettes and my family’s boombox and I was totally obsessed with music.

Some recording artists adopt a certain style; others seem to reinvent themselves over time. How has your singing/songwriting style evolved?

Ren: That’s such an interesting question. I think I’m after the same thing in my songwriting. I think I’m really trying to get to some kind of truth that I can express in the most emotional way possible. I’ve always loved different genres of music—pop, hip-hop, rock, folk, and country. When a song speaks to me, it’s one that I feel exists within all genres. Songs by someone vulnerable and emotional. I’m devoted to the skill of songwriting. I’m like a songwriter’s songwriter if that makes sense. That has stayed consistent with me. It’s been about perfecting that skill over time, although, I don’t think it will ever be perfected. I like to hone in on one thing all the time—whether it’s more fun or more bare-bones and emotional. I try to combine vulnerability with something that gets to the heart of an emotion as creatively as possible.

How do you create a new song? Do you start with lyrics or a tune in your head? And how do you then refine it?

Ren: I went to music school here in L.A. and some of my friends are songwriters and musicians. I’ve been around so many people with different styles. For a lot of people, if they’re really fluid with an instrument, they’ll tend to write from that place. But I can play guitar and piano and so lately, I’ve been spending more time with an instrument and trying to figure out where I want the song to go. But for the most part, a lyric or melody will come into my head—just a line to two. Sometimes I’ll rush to record a voice memo on my iPhone. I think songwriters have to be the top users of that iPhone app (laughs). I have hundreds of recordings on my iPhone of just me singing in the car. For me, It’s often the lyric and tune all at once. If I come up with a lyric, it’ll come to me in that musical way. Then I’ll try to figure out the music and chords that go under it.

What recording artist was your biggest influence when you first started?

Ren: My parents’ music fundamentally influenced me. We listened to Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell. I was coming of age when Britney Spears was big. It’s funny, I remember my parents’ music and this bubble-gum 90s pop. One of the first CDs I ever bought was Michelle Branch’s Spirit Room album. She was like 16 when they recorded that. She was the first person I ever remember who made me feel like I’d discovered something, it was a special kind of catalyst. I had this album where I knew every word and loved every song. She wasn’t much older than me. She did this rock-pop thing with this really cool, interesting voice. She was influenced by Alanis Morissette and Liz Phair. I loved Britney Spears but I didn’t see myself as Britney.

Billboard described your music as blending “boy bands and Britney with storytelling folk” and put your release of Good Girl on their list of the 25 Best Rock Songs of 2017. What inspired you write and perform that song?

Ren: I wrote that song in 2016 after an awful breakup that really threw me. It left me questioning my worldview. Two or three months later, there was a political upheaval and it was generally not a good year. I went through this personal and political frustration. I went to the first women’s march in DC with my mother and I remember writing the majority of Good Girl in the hotel room we were staying in. I’m such a personal songwriter, and that song was about that personal relationship dissolving. So I was an angry songwriter at that moment.

The performance of your zoriginal song See Me Through at the Odyssey Event was incredible. What inspired you to write that song?

Ren: That was a product of that same breakup. It was probably my saddest song. I’m a pretty bare-bones piano and guitar player. My friend Brian Robert Jones produced that and has produced my new album. He played just the chords with me singing over them, slowly and sparingly--like as we were kind of demo’ing out the song. For me, that song was like a channeling of pain. So letting it be just my vocal on top of these low quiet chords felt like the right way to handle it. The song is really hard to perform live as it takes a lot out of me. I tend to write songs that are hard to sing, but that one was very cathartic. I try to have a moment in a song where I try to bring in a bit of an opposite perspective— some levity at some point. Same with a happy, fun song. At a certain point, I’ll try to get real with it.

What do you find challenging about voice-over work?

Ren: Yeah, I’ve been doing that for about six years or so. I’ve done different things for animated series and English language dubbing for live-action work. I did a show for Netflix called Baby, where I was on the show for three seasons dubbing this Italian language show. It’s really fun.

Will you be performing overseas?

Ren: Nothing scheduled. I’d love to do it.

Do you currently have a new song rattling in your head that’s dying to get out?

Ren: That’s so interesting. I just got the masters back on this new album. I love singing Jazz standards. But there is a song I wrote while in the shower. And it’s still rattling around in my head.

What were you like in high school? The girl most likely to…?

Ren: (laughs) I did win most musical awards in my high school. I went to a small school. There were maybe 180 students in my grade. I was doing all the performing arts—choirs, plays, musicals. I was very much into creative writing. Some of my best friends have been involved with me in theater.