Stereo Six: Kyle Richardson Dishes on Influences on His Debut ‘Louder Than Words’

Many variables combine to make a debut album one that resonates with listeners, and Kyle Richardson is hitting the mark on all of them. The Vancouver-based singer-songwriter released Louder Than Words in October. Spearheaded by Richardson and his dynamic, relentless energy, the album came out just the way he intended. Featuring eleven tracks, the record is just an overall, well-written display of style and musicianship. His intention was to form a body of songs that are representative of him as a person and an artist.

While Louder Than Words is certainly a pop-sounding album, Richardson decided to make the songwriting paramount. He did not want to get into chasing trends. To hit on a debut, many artists get hung up on how songs sound, as in, do they sound like they belong with what’s currently popular? Richardson instead focused on his songwriting instincts. The lyrics are heartfelt, the melodies soar, and the delivery is down to earth.

Artwork for the albums Kyle Richardson lists in this Stereo Six

Raised in Vernon, British Columbia, Richardson moved to Vancouver over a decade ago to pursue a career in music. In that time, he has written with Carly Rae Jepsen, DYLN, and Garrett Neiles, among others. He is also a loud and proud advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights, which he is a proud member of. He intends his music to speak to anyone. The themes he focuses on, like love, loyalty, and friendship, are universal. And, of course, it’s all delivered with positivity and confidence, the backbone of most great artists.

With a bevy of different influences that have contributed to who he is as an individual and an artist, Richardson joins us today for a Stereo Six. Read on as he outlines six albums that made him want to be a musician himself.

1. John Mayer – Continuum (2006, Aware Records, Columbia Records)

“This album is one of my absolute all-time favourites. Everything from the vocals to the songcraft and the instrumentals, I love. From start to finish, this album has zero skips for me. I really wanted to create an album myself that could potentially stand the test of time as this one has for me. ‘Slow Dancing In A Burning Room’ is probably one of the most haunting and beautiful songs I’ve heard, and to this day, I can’t get enough of it.

“As a lead single, I absolutely loved ‘Waiting On The World To Change’ for its positive global message, and the video with its muted blue/grey colour palette I thought was such a cool vibe. It really made me want to make cinematic visuals to go along with my project. That song also made me want to take similar themes of hopefulness and strength in hard times and apply them to songs like ‘Keep The Faith’ on my own album.”

2. Gavin DeGraw – Chariot (2003, J Records)

“This is one of my first albums I remember doing a blind buy of, based off an album review in an entertainment magazine I was reading at the time. I could not have been more delighted that I followed my instinct and picked it up. This was a body of work that really resonated with me in terms of the artist being a current-sounding pop artist with many influences of different elements like rock, soul, blues, and the writing style resonated strongly with me as something I could look to for inspiration in my own songwriting.

“The first song on the album, ‘Follow Through,’ was such a wonderful example of an opening track really setting the tone for the album to follow, and I absolutely love the song from a lyrical and vocal standpoint. Having such a strong opening track really made me focus on how I organized the track listing on my project and where songs lyrically and sonically made the best sense in terms of overall flow and telling a story.”

3. Kelly Clarkson – Breakaway (2004, RCA Records)

“To me, this was an example of a pop artist redefining her sound and coming back at the absolute top of her game. Taking on more writing duties on the album, and singing her face of. This was the album that really made me want to make vocally-driven pop. The pop-rock element definitely helped inspire the sound for songs like ‘Can You Hear Me’ and ‘Anything.’ I love the idea of a soulful pop vocal with a hint of rock edge.

“Kelly really broke new ground with Breakaway and had so many hits from this album. It was so interesting to me seeing how this album took her in a more rock direction similar to Avril Lavigne or Evanescence at the time, yet she was able to put her own spin on it and absolutely dominate the charts. All the singles were amazing, but this album gave us ‘Behind These Hazel Eyes,’ which to me is one of her absolute best singles to date.”

4. Mariah Carey – The Emancipation of Mimi (2005, Island Records)

“Mariah has one of the best voices I think we will ever hear. She absolutely changed the game when she came out with her debut album and dominated for the first decade of her career with a string of hits that I don’t think can ever be rivaled. As one of the best pop songwriters of all time with impeccable vocals and arrangements, I always love seeing how she arranges her backing vocals.

“Moreso than many other artists, they really play off the lead and add so much depth to the songs. That style of vocal arrangement is really something that I try to incorporate into my recordings. The backing vocal day is always my favourite part of the recording process.

“The Emancipation of Mimi was an example of her taking even more control of her creative process. This was her really being able to put out the music she was passionate about and having a huge career renaissance. ‘We Belong Together’ proved to be one of the best pop ballads of all time. Lyrically and melodically, it is one of my all-time favourites and the way it’s so modern while being a bit of a soulful throwback was something I really wanted to emulate in my own music.”

5. Adam Lambert – The Original High (2015, Warner Records)

“I have loved Adam’s voice since the first time I saw him on American Idol. His album releases have always been exciting for me. He is an artist who plays in the pop space but isn’t afraid to take risks and do his own thing.

“This album is probably my favourite overall of his. It’s just such an amazing blend of sounds, being incredibly modern while paying homage to all his influences. ‘Another Lonely Night’ is one of my favourites from him for sure. The way it’s a modern pop-rock song with a really low-key, emotional verse leading into a big, bold vocal chorus emphasized by modern production touches was something I thought was interesting and something I could pull a lot of inspiration from in terms of song arrangement in material like my single, ‘Fight The Good Fight.’”

6. Avril Lavigne – Let Go (2002, Arista Records)

“As a fellow Canadian, it was so inspiring to see the way Avril’s career absolutely blew up with her debut album. This is another album I absolutely love every song on. It’s something I can go back to all these years later and still enjoy. I love how honest the songwriting is, how fresh the production still sounds. The vocal delivery is so completely unique to her, filled with attitude and range.

“‘I’m With You’ has got to be one of the best pop ballads of all time. That chorus hits as well today as it ever has. The lyrics paint such a vivid picture of a specific moment in time. I really wanted to be able to take some influence from that for my own album, making really melodically interesting songs that had honest and vivid lyrics that told a story. I tried my best to take that sort of influence into the writing sessions for songs like ‘Perfect Crime’ and ‘Louder Than Words.’”

Kyle Richardson ‘Louder Than Words’ album artwork