Ren (Welsh Musician)

Ren Eryn Gill (born Ren Erin Gill, 29 March 1990), known professionally as Ren, is a multi-award-winning Welsh singer-songwriter, musician, rapper, producer, and director. Formerly a member of Trick the Fox and the Big Push, Ren has independently released two albums, ''Freckled Angels'' (2016) and '' Sick Boi'' (2023). His second major album ''Sick Boi'' reached the number one spot on the UK charts on October 20, 2023, beating out Rick Astley's new release in a battle for number one and surpassing both Drake and Troye Sivan. In the US, the album debuted at No. 137 on the top 200 Billboard. Ren also debuted at No. 4 on Billboard's Emerging Artists chart and No. 54 on the Billboard 100 Artists chart.

Ren’s breakthrough came when he released "Hi Ren" in 2022. It went viral, receiving 6.8 million views on YouTube in two months and charted worldwide in YouTube's trending music video chart. The song received an honourable mention for best European music video at the Prague Music Video Awards and was nominated for best music video at Camerimage 2023.

As part of Ren's second studio album, Sick Boi, the single "Money Game part 3" won numerous awards, including Best Music Video, Best Director, Best Concept, and received an Honourable Mention for Best Cinematography. The single was also chosen for the British Arrows Y24 Shortlist in the categories of Music Video Director and Music Video Producer.

Ren has been dealing with Lyme disease and its side effects since 2009. He was misdiagnosed with depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, and bipolar disorder for years. At the end of 2015 he was properly diagnosed. The following year he received an experimental treatment that included stem cell transplants. He did not completely recover. He has autoimmune issues, brain damage, PTSD, and fatigues easily. He continues to try experimental treatments to improve his health. Many of his songs reflect what he has been through and he is an advocate for discussing mental health issues more openly.

Early life and influences

After receiving a guitar from his father at the age of 10, Ren fell in love with music. He taught himself to play guitar by slowing down tracks by Jimi Hendrix and John Frusciante, and was influenced by a variety of the musicians his parents listened to. Artists like Shy FX, Mickey Finn & Aphrodite, early Eminem, Kurt Cobain, and Bob Marley. He dreamed of being a producer and later a musician. When he was 12, Ren sold homemade beats made with Reason on CD. At 13, he began performing live with an AFI song rendition.

In 2024, Ren said his writing is influenced by the stories of filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, Stanley Kubrick, and Martin McDonagh.

Career

2008–2012: Early career

Ren was studying music at Bath Spa University when he started busking. He also created a band called Trick the Fox with classmate Charlie Fowler. Eric Appapoulay, a music producer, heard Ren busking one of his own songs and was impressed. Eric arranged for Ren to sign a recording contract with his label, a sub-label attached to Sony Records in 2010

Ren began working on his debut album with Charlie Fowler at Sanctuary studio in South London. They wrote and recorded tracks, posting a few of them and some videos on the band's Facebook and YouTube accounts. The group started touring, drummer Tom Frampton joined in 2012, and they began receiving airplay. Halfway through recording the album, Ren became very sick. He started feeling dissociated, experienced physical pain, and became so weak and tired that Ren was unable to hide what was going on. It affected his ability to perform.
Ren went to his mother's home in Wales to rest and recuperate for three months. Three months turned into a year. Bedridden for up to 23 hours a day and too sick to work on the album, he was unable to continue his music career.

2013–2016: Isolation and ''Freckled Angels''

In 2013 Ren moved to Brighton. For years he was misdiagnosed with depression, bipolar disorder and chronic fatigue syndrome. He saw therapists and went from doctor to doctor trying to figure out what was wrong with him. While in his bedroom, Ren wrote songs and recorded music. He wasn't diagnosed with Lyme disease until the end of 2015. Ren was able to release his first official single, "Jessica" on 15 February 2016.

Ren's debut solo album ''Freckled Angels'' was self-released on 2 January 2016. Ren finished and released the album in an effort to help raise money for treatment. The album contained 16 tracks, including around half of the tracks recorded for the Trick The Fox album. Eric Appapoulay gave Ren permission to use them. Ren dedicated the album and the title track to one of his best friends, Joe Hughes, who died by suicide in 2010.

2017–2022: Return to performing

After stem cell treatment, Ren's health improved, but he fatigued easily, and had ongoing autoimmune issues, brain damage, and PTSD. Despite this he "started busking on the streets of Brighton" and continued to record and release music and music videos over the next several years, both solo and in collaboration with other UK-based independent artists, mostly on his personal YouTube channel.

In addition to his solo career, Ren was a member of The Big Push, a Brighton-based busking band. Glenn Chambers was the drummer and Ren, Romain Axisa, Gorran Kendall were the front men. Their 2021 UK Tour sold out. The Big Push played their last gig and broke up in 2022 due in part to Ren's health issues.

"Hi Ren"

On 15 December 2022, he self-released a music video for his song "Hi Ren." This was a breakthrough moment for Ren. It became a viral hit. A clip from Hi Ren on TikTok had over 12 million views in January 2023 and the YouTube video received 6.8 million YouTube views in two months and charted worldwide on YouTube's trending music video chart.

In the music video to "Hi Ren", he mentions dealing with autoimmunity, illness, and psychosis. It received an honourable mention in the best European music video category at the Prague music video awards in April 2023 and in October 2023 it was nominated for the Camerimage 2023 Best Music video award. Ren was listed as the director and Samuel Perry-Falvey the cinematographer.

2023–present

In January Ren went to Canada to receive further treatment for Lyme disease. He had recorded multiple songs and several videos, including most of his upcoming album, prior to leaving.

The next six songs Ren released, "Sick Boi", "Bittersweet Symphony (The Verve Retake)", "Illest of Our Time", "Animal Flow", and "Suicide", also appeared in the United Kingdom's Trending Music Video Chart on YouTube. He was invited to play at Glastonbury 2023 and other major UK summer music festivals, but was unable to attend due to his health and ongoing treatment in Canada.

''Sick Boi''

Over the year before the release of his second album, ''Sick Boi,'' many tracks were released as singles to major streaming services, with accompanying videos published on Ren's YouTube channel. Two of the singles, "Suicide" and "Murderer", both placed in the Top 100 of the UK Singles Sales Chart during the week after their release.

The album was released on 13 October 2023. The style has been described as kaleidoscopic hip-hop. It chronicles Ren's health journey over the past decade. The lyrics in several of the songs describe how he felt and what he went through as he battled chronic illness. His openness and honesty about his struggles with his mental and physical health is what has drawn people worldwide to his music.

Upon release, ''Sick Boi'' was in a "heated battle for UK's no 1 album," with fewer than 400 chart units separating it and Rick Astley's new release ''Are We There Yet?''. ''Sick Boi'' went on to secure number one by almost 6,000 units, surpassing artists like Drake and Troye Sivan on his way to the top. After Ren secured the number one spot Rick Astley congratulated Ren and went on to say "He’s been at this for a while. This is not something new to him, he’s been making music for a long time, so it’s a well deserved number one. Check out some of his videos on YouTube - amazing stuff." Huw Stephens included ''Sick Boi'' in his book ''Wales: 100 Records'', calling it an "impressive record" and Ren's style of rapping "mesmerizing". "The book analyses the very best works by some of the most important artists to come out of Wales".

In the US, Ren debuted at No. 4 on the Emerging Artists chart and No. 54 on the ''Billboard'' 100 Artists chart. His album, ''Sick Boi'', debuted "at No. 137 on the ''Billboard'' 200 with 9,000 equivalent album units earned in its opening week. It also starts at No. 2 on Heatseekers Albums, No. 11 on Top Current Album Sales, and No. 13 on Top Album Sales." He was unable to perform to promote his album due to his ongoing treatment in Calgary and attributed the level of its success to his friends and his fan base's promotion of it.

"Money Game part 3"

The song "Money Game part 3", from ''Sick Boi'', was the London Music Video Awards' (LMVA) choice for Music Video of the Month in December 2023. It also won Best Music Video, Best Director, and Best Concept, and was nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Narrative at the LMVAs 2024 competition. And, the album won Best Music Video, Best Director Music Video, and an Honourable Mention for Best Cinematography at the 2024 International Music Video Awards, and won Best Music Video in 2024 at the ÉCU The European Independent Film Festival. It was also chosen for the British Arrows Y24 Shortlist in the categories of Music Video Director and Music Video Producer. "Money Game part 3" was written, composed, arranged, and performed by Ren and the video, a one-shot, was produced by Connor Hunnisett, Samuel Perry-Falvey & Amy Ellery. and directed by Ren Gill and Samuel Perry-Falvey. Ren and Samuel met when they were teenagers and have been working together professionally for quite some time. Ren chose to work with him when creating some of his earliest videos.

Return to the stage

Ren appeared centre stage at the 2024 Secret Garden Party with a two-part, two-hour show called "Asylum". Produced and created by Ren Gill & Secret Garden Party, his first solo show in five years included collaborations with Chinchilla, Eden Nash and Romain Axisa, theatrical performances, and live strings. Just like the ''Sick Boi'' album, it showcased the asylum Ren experienced as he looked for answers from the healthcare system as to why he was ill. Also showcased was the asylum (safe haven) that others have found because of Ren and his music.

Other notable events

*Ren was featured in the 2017 movie ''Unrest'', and his song "Patience" was part of the soundtrack. He was a spokesperson for Lyme Disease UK at the time.
*In February 2023, Ren released a "retake" of the Verve song "Bitter Sweet Symphony". Verve bassist Simon Jones voiced his appreciation and presented Ren with a guitar as a gift.
*In a Q&A video that premiered on YouTube on 28 September 2023, Ren spoke about, among other things, his middle name. When asked this question, he answered, "My middle name is Eryn. Like Eryn, E–R–Y–N. Eryn."
*On 1 November 2023, ''Rolling Stone UK'' announced that Ren was one of five acts that had made "their own formidable stamp on British music throughout the year", and were nominees for the Breakthrough Award at the ''Rolling Stone UK'' Awards 2023.
*Ren was chosen to perform live at the 2024 Sky Arts Awards along with The Darkness, Slash and Brian Johnson, The Three Sopranos, The Kanneh-Masons and Aleighcia Scott. In May 2023, Ren was interviewed by Justin Hawkins of The Darkness on Hawkins's YouTube channel.
*During February 2025, Ren made an appearance in ''Fire in the Booth'' on YouTube, hosted by Charlie Sloth, Wales, and was raised in Dwyran, on the island of Anglesey. He studied music at Bath Spa University's Newton Park Campus. and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours degree in Commercial Music.

In June 2023, Ren presented a cheque for £21,000 to the RNLI crew on Beaumaris, Anglesey. He used his status as a musician to let people know about the volunteer organization. His fans helped him raise the money in recognition of the RNLI's great work in saving people's lives and the effort they put in trying to find his friend Joe Hughes, who jumped from the Menai Suspension Bridge in 2010. Ren often uses his public persona to raise awareness of mental health issues.

Health issues

Ren has Lyme disease, which went undiagnosed for many years, leaving him with ongoing health problems. Since becoming sick, Ren has said that his life's work has been closely related to looking for better ways to deal with mental health issues.

Ren's symptoms started in 2009. He was attending Bath Spa University at the time, it caused him to struggle with his studies. Ren went from doctor to doctor trying to figure out what was wrong with him. His symptoms continued to worsen, getting to the point where he was bedridden for up to 23 hours a day.
For years Ren was misdiagnosed with things like depression, bipolar disorder and chronic fatigue syndrome.

He was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease after going to Brussels to have testing done by a specialist in chronic fatigue syndrome in October 2015. He went to the US receive an experimental treatment for Lyme disease of stem cells His first treatment was in 2016, and his second in March 2017. The treatment helped him to regain some of his health, but he still fatigued easily and had ongoing autoimmune issues, brain damage, and PTSD.

In October 2023, Ren started a specialised medical treatment plan for the Lyme disease co-infection Bartonella. He went to Canada in January 2023 to continue the treatment. By June 2024 many of his symptoms had gone into remission and Ren returned to the U.K in July 2024

After returning home, several stress inducing events caused him to relapse, and his symptoms returned. He said his health had rapidly declined over the past few weeks and he would be returning to Canada for further treatment at the end of October. Later that September, Ren was hospitalised in A&E (Accident and Emergency) "due to complications with his autoimmunity". His social media accounts were managed by his team of friends while he was in A&E and as he rested and recovered at home.

Ren went to Mexico for a treatment program that included more stem cell transplants in March 2025.

Discography

Ren has also collaborated with several artists, such as Prof, Chris Webby, Viktus, and Knox Hill. See their discographies for more details.

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

References

External links

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Ren Gill
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YouTubeSickboi.comRen Life Story Chapters - Ren tells his own story (2024)
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YouTube

{{DEFAULTSORT:gill, ren
1990 births
Living people
21st-century Welsh male singers
Alumni of Bath Spa University
Musicians from Bangor, Gwynedd
People from Anglesey
People with autoimmune disease
People with post-traumatic stress disorder
Welsh male rappers