Celebrity — Short stories

Witching Hour featuring Azure Ryder

By Diego Lorenzo Jose

When I first met Azure on a Destination NSW job I knew she was something special and I was so thrilled we got to work together again on this personal project with all of my beautiful friends. Thank you so much to everyone involved!

Enjoy getting to know Azure Ryder as you stargaze on this editorial

Ford millinery hat, Sandro dress, Roger Vivier boots, Dinosaur designs bracelet, Sarah & Sebastian Rings, Bulgari bracelets
What is one unexpected thing that people don’t know about you? (Besides the fact that you can move - you used to do ballet and dance right?)
**Azure**: Yes I danced since the age of 5, starting in ballet and then I moved my way through many other styles. My favourite was always contemporary and hip hop ! I adored the idea of these seemingly polar opposite exteriors combining in this wordless conversation of flow and friction, more powerful together than apart. It’s like our world polarised by difference but far more similar beneath the surface, here together expressing our feelings in whatever ways we can, whether pain, joy, hurt, freedom, processing life, always reaching towards the same thing, love.
One other maybe unexpected thing is how much I love boxing,I believe in the importance of mindfulness but have always struggled with the prolonged stillness often attached so for me boxing became this active form of meditation. It’s a time where you can’t be anywhere else but in that moment, you have to be present and feeling through every part of your body. It’s composed and exhilarating.

Full look by Gucci, Vintage Fendi bracelet, Vintage Givenchy necklace, Vintage Dior bangle, Vintage Givenchy earrings all from Constantina Vintage, Natasha Schweitzer rings, Bulgari rings
With three EP’s under your belt, how do you feel knowing that you have amassed over 32 million global streams? Is it a pinch yourself moment knowing this?
**Azure**: It’s truly wild, I still am not sure if I completely believe the full scale of it, as most of this has happened whilst I’ve been at home in my bedroom through Covid. All I can deeply say is how grateful I am to know that something from my heart has found a place in others, that’s all I want and I hope to continue to do that, walk through life with them, hearts in our hands.

Full look by Chanel
Are there any other pinch yourself moments that you would want to relive? What are the top 3?
**Azure**: I can honestly say every single moment has been a pinch yourself feeling for me. Each step is incredibly important no matter how seemingly big or small. From releasing my first song to connecting with humans at my first live shows at Oxford Arts Factory in December 2020, from filming visuals in the South of France to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. From performing alongside Bangarra Dance Theatre, to doing this shoot of my mystic dreams with you. I just can’t single out a few because it is all far too important to me. I know how lucky I am to be able to spend my life sharing what I create, and to get to do that, gratitude surrounds it all.

Full look by Chanel
You were in London right before the pandemic hit. I can’t believe that’s been about 2 years now… How has being home felt for you?
**Azure**: Goodness I know ! It’s like these two years that seemed to vanish in all the ways we knew but appear so undeniably in what we were all avoiding. Ourselves, each other, the state of the world, the state of our planet. These two years were a big coming home in a million more ways than one. Being home to me was a mirror being held up, that I finally had to look at and listen. I feel like I have learnt and grown a lot closer to myself, and in turn more ready than ever to step into this world with a wild heart.

Sarah Curtis hat, Leo & Lin dress, Chanel necklace, Chanel bracelet, Dinosaur designs rings, Bulgari ring, Vintage Gucci earrings from Constantina Vintage, Salvatore Ferragamo heels
I feel like as an artist your sound is very dreamy and witchy… it’s even reflected in the way you carry yourself and your sense of style. I love that you just know who you are but I want to know at the start of all of this did it take you time to figure this out? How did you come to define your music style and personal style?
**Azure**: To be called a witch is the biggest compliment to me ! haha. Thank you for being so kind ! Style and fashion have always been super important to me, like music I believe it is the outward expression of your insides and that’s why music and fashion has the most passionate relationship. I believe I have always known who I am, I think we all do, it’s just about discovering and remembering that in a world that wants us to forget. My music and style began in nature just as I did, it was my best friend growing up, the shapes, the sounds, the visions are all imprinted along my body and intertwined with my voice.
My ultimate human/supernatural inspiration is forever and always Stevie Nicks, I believe she is the original wild heart, her voice and her presence is something spellbinding. She is unapologetically herself, proving that you can be both fierce and graceful, and that is what I hope to be too.

Full look by Chanel
I’ve read that your music and songwriting is based on personal experiences (my personal fave is some kind of love!) … Can you tell me a little more about that… I’d like to know if it’s sometimes hard to put these experiences down on paper especially if they reflect a tough time in your life and when you go to write if there is a special place that you draw inspiration from?
**Azure**: Aw thank you so much ! I think it will always be the most beautiful and unbelievable thing to me when people connect with my music, that they too find themselves somewhere within what I am feeling. Pure human connection, it’s everything. For me I could never not write from personal experience, I would actually find it far more challenging to write something that I don’t intimately know. I believe it is the duty of an artist to be as vulnerable as possible, because if I am then I hope that they can find strength in their own vulnerability too. Of course writing in this way isn’t always a comfortable place for my heart or mind, but it’s real, it’s life and I want people to know that they can come to me and trust me with their every feeling, and not fear that they should filter that.

Full look by Chanel
Thinking back on the journey you have taken to get to where you are today, what's one thing you wish you knew back then/ or a piece of advice you would give yourself to better prepare yourself on this journey as a musician?
**Azure**: I don’t think we can ever be fully prepared for what life is going to hand us, I think actually being okay with and open to the uncontrollable is what makes our journeys so rich and full of growth. I would not change anything that has happened along my journey whether good or bad, it is what shaped me, it’s what gave me the beat in my heart and the story in my voice. I believe one thing I would remind myself back then and even now is that as Woman, like Wolves we are born instinctive and wild, but society since forever has told us to draw only between the lines even when we are here to colour outside of them. It’s a daily remembrance to stand full heartedly in all the ways we chose to feel, see and be with no apology attached, because our voice is a superpower and never worth any less than a Man’s.

Full look by Chanel
Last question - Can we expect anything exciting from you this year?
This year will be very exciting, I’ll see you and you’ll see me, and all that’s left to say is trust in the mystery :)

Photographer: Diego Lorenzo Jose at Assembly Agency

Photography assistants: Chris Proud, Aiden Green

Digi Tech: Simon Hardy

Stylist: Cheryl Tan

Styling assistants: Cassie Teixeira, Emily Irving

Hair: Richi Grisillo

Makeup: Claire Thomson at Saunders and Co

DOP: Jonathan Stokkland

Witching Hour featuring Azure Ryder

FASHION

BEAUTY