Christina Maria Rieder (born 13 March 1986), better known by their stage name Rykka (), is a Swiss-Canadian singer and songwriter from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. Their songs have been featured on TV, and they have been nominated for several music awards both in British Columbia, and across Canada. On May 12, 2016, they represented

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2016 The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the 61st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw. Organised by the European Broadcasting ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

with the song " The Last of Our Kind". They sang in the second semi-final of the event.

Life and career

Early years

Rykka was born Christina Maria Rieder in

, Canada. They began guitar lessons at age 15, then performed at local community festivals. During their two-year program at

Vancouver Community College Vancouver Community College is a public community college in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1965, it is the largest and oldest community college in British Columbia, offering 91 certificate programs, 31 diploma programs, and 3 ba ...

, Christina studied voice with Paula Kremer, while also busking around Vancouver’s

Granville Island Granville Island is a peninsula and shopping district in the Fairview, Vancouver, Fairview neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is located across False Creek from Downtown Vancouver under the south end of the Granville Street ...

. In 2009, they moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

to record their third independent album ''Straight Line'' under the performing name “Christina Maria”. The album was produced with the help of several Canadian producers such as David Baxter, Russel Broom, and Ryan Guldemond of

Mother Mother Mother Mother is a Canadian indie rock band based in Quadra Island, British Columbia. The band consists of Ryan Guldemond on guitar and vocals, Molly Guldemond and Jasmin Parkin on vocals and keyboard, Ali Siadat on drums, and Mike Young on ba ...

. In 2010, their album ''Straight Line'' was released in

under Little Jig Records. Rykka stayed and performed both in Switzerland and in Germany, highlighted by a performance on "Sat.1 Frühstücksfernsehen"; a German television channel boasting an average audience of 1 million viewers. They later received a nomination for Demotape Clinic at M4Music in Switzerland.

2012–2013: ''Kodiak''

Kodiak was Rykka's 2012 album. It marked a significant change in their musical career since they formally changed their stage name from Christina Maria. They recorded “Kodiak” under the new name Rykka. The record was produced by Ryan Guldemond of

, engineered by Shawn Penner, mixed by

Warne Livesey Warne Livesey (born 12 February 1959) is an English/Canadian music producer, mixing engineer, songwriter and musician. He has produced Midnight Oil, The The, Matthew Good Band and Deacon Blue. Life and career Warne Livesey started his career in ...

and mastered by Andy VanDette. It was released that year in Switzerland by Little Jig Records.

2013–present: Other work

In 2013, Rykka released their fourth studio album ''Kodiak'' under Vissen Record in Canada, following a release of the same album in Switzerland the year before. Later in 2013, they won $100,000.00 in BC's

Peak Performance Project The Peak Performance Project was a seven-year, $5.2 million music initiative funded by the Jim Pattison Group, to provide financial support to emerging Canadian artists in the British Columbia and Alberta markets. The $100,000 prize for the winne ...

. Rykka played a slot in BC’s well-known

Squamish Valley Music Festival The Squamish Valley Music Festival (pronounced ), previously LIVE at Squamish, was an annual music festival co-produced by Vancouver-based BRANDLIVE Management group and Live Nation Canada, and held in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada, over the ...

(2014), opening for another Peak Performance Project winner,

We Are the City We Are The City was a Canadian progressive rock band based in Vancouver, British Columbia and formed in 2008 in Kelowna, British Columbia. The last known line-up included singer-keyboardist Cayne McKenzie, drummer Andrew Huculiak, and guitarist D ...

. They represented Switzerland in the

with the song " The Last of Our Kind" (written by Rykka, Jeff Dawson, Mike James, and

) after winning ''ESC 2016 – Die Entscheidungsshow''. They placed last in the second semifinal of Eurovision 2016.

Personal life

Rykka splits their time between

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

in Switzerland and their hometown of

. They cite

Heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

, Blondie,

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights (song), Wuthering Heights", ...

, and

Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo (''née'' Andrzejewski, formerly Benatar; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American rock singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has had two multi-platinum albums, five platinum alb ...

as their main influences. Their paternal grandfather is

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

. Their maternal ancestry is

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, their maternal grandfather comes from

Bodegraven Bodegraven () is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The former municipality covers an area of of which is water. The former municipality of Bodegraven also includes the communities Mei ...

and their maternal grandmother is from

Woerden Woerden () is a city and a municipality in central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht, and the fact that it has rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commu ...

. Rykka uses they/them pronouns.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Filmography

*''Blackie'' was featured on TV series

Rookie Blue ''Rookie Blue'' is a Canadian police drama television series starring Missy Peregrym and Gregory Smith. It was created by Morwyn Brebner, Tassie Cameron, and Ellen Vanstone. The series premiered on June 24, 2010, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/8:00 ...

(S04E07) *''The Brink'' was featured on TV series “Tessa & Scott” (S01E03)

Awards and nominations

*''Kodiak'' nominated for Spiritual Album of the Year (

Western Canadian Music Awards The ''Western Canadian Music Awards'' (WCMAs) are an annual awards event for music in the western portion of Canada. The awards are provided by the Western Canada Music Alliance, which consists of six member music industry organizations from Br ...

) (2014) *''Map Inside'' won Best of BC ( Shore 104 Radio Station) (2013) *Rykka wins The Peak Performance Project (2013)

References

External links

"Rykka"
official website {{Authority control Living people Canadian women rock singers Canadian experimental musicians Musicians from Vancouver 21st-century Swiss women singers Canadian emigrants to Switzerland Musicians from Zürich Canadian people of Swiss descent Canadian people of Dutch descent Canadian women pop singers Canadian non-binary musicians Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Switzerland Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2016 1986 births Swiss pop musicians Swiss rock musicians Swiss singer-songwriters Swiss women singer-songwriters Swiss non-binary people 21st-century Canadian women singers Non-binary singers Canadian LGBT singers 21st-century Canadian LGBT people