With a focus on community-building and live performance, Ryan Powderly is an electronic musician, club DJ and educator based in Naarm (Melbourne). His practice spans live performance, DJing and the creation of spaces for learning and exchange.
Ryan Powderly
- Melbourne VIC Australia
He has been working with Ableton Live since 2006, building a diverse output across club music and songwriting. His releases include work with his band Retiree on Rhythm Section International, his Transit State project on labels such as Soothsayer and Planet Trip and club-focused productions under his Pelvis alias. He also runs Pelvis Records, releasing underground club music from local and international artists.
His live sets use Ableton Push 3 Standalone as the core performance instrument, delivering bush doof inspired tech house built from 90’s sample packs and a trusty mono-synth. His DJ sets draw on local community discoveries, alongside tracks that connect to his roots in blog house and contemporary functional dancefloor tools.
As an educator, Ryan transitioned from student to teacher at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and recently founded electronic music school Big Racket. He also teaches at RMIT University, facilitates Ableton User Group Naarm at Arts Centre Melbourne and delivers artist-led workshops including recent sessions with Sleep D and DJ Haram. His most frequent topics include Starter Pack (Introduction to Ableton Live), Designing Sound with Operator, DJing with Ableton Live and Performing with Push. These sessions are delivered through one-to-one mentoring, group classes and workshops.
Ryan works fluently across Live, Push and Move, with a strong emphasis on performance-based workflows. He teaches both in-person and online via Zoom, working across studio settings, classrooms and community spaces. His hands-on approach is driven by helping students develop their own artistic voice.
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