Rykka

• Name — Rykka • Birth Name — Christina Maria Rieder • Born — 13 March 1986 • Birthplace — Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada • Occupation — * Singer • songwriter • Genre — * Alternative rock • indie pop • Origin — Switzerland • Years Active — 2000–present • Label — * Little Jig Records • Vissen Records • Cordova Bay Records • Website — http: www.rykka.com/

Rykka was born Christina Maria Rieder in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Christina began guitar lessons at age 15, then performed at local community festivals. During their two-year program at Vancouver Community College, Christina studied voice with Paula Kremer, while also busking around Vancouver's Granville Island. In 2009, Christina moved to Toronto 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. In 2010, Christina's album Straight Line was released in Switzerland 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. Christina later received a nomination for Demotape Clinic at M4Music in Switzerland.

Christina released an album Kodiak in 2012. It marked a significant change in their musical career, since Christina formally changed their stage name from Christina Maria to Rykka. The record was produced by Ryan Guldemond of Mother Mother, engineered by Shawn Penner, mixed by Warne Livesey and mastered by Andy VanDette. It was released that year in Switzerland by Little Jig Records.

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, Rykka won $100,000.00 in BC's Peak Performance Project. Rykka played a slot in BC's well-known Squamish Valley Music Festival (2014), opening for another Peak Performance Project winner, We Are the City. Rykka represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "The Last of Our Kind" (written by Rykka, Jeff Dawson, Mike James, and Warne Livesey) after winning ESC 2016 – Die Entscheidungsshow. Rykka placed 18th (last) in the second semifinal of Eurovision 2016, scoring 28 points.

Rykka splits their time between Zürich in Switzerland and their hometown of Vancouver. Rykka cites Heart, Blondie, Madonna, Björk, Cyndi Lauper, Kate Bush, and Pat Benatar as their main influences. Rykka's paternal grandfather is Swiss. Their maternal ancestry is Dutch; their maternal grandfather comes from Bodegraven and their maternal grandmother is from Woerden. Rykka came out as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.

• Title — Details • Kodiak — * Released: October 26, 2012 * Label: Little Jig Records * Format: Digital download • Beatitudes — * Released: November 4, 2016 * Label: Cordova Bay Records * Format: Digital download

• Title — Year — Album • "Map Inside" — 2012 — Kodiak • "The Brink" • "Blackie" — 2013 • "Electric" — 2014 • "Movies" — 2015 — Beatitudes • "The Last of Our Kind" — 2016 • "Bad Boy" • "Youth is Wasted" — 2017

• Title — Year — Album • "Never Fade" (Alex Guesta featuring Rykka) — 2014 — rowspan="3" Non-album singles • "The Devil" (The New Black Tea featuring Rykka) • "Dolls" (The New Black Tea featuring Rykka) • "Delirium" (Zomboy featuring Rykka) — The Outbreak • "Aurora" (Delerium featuring Rykka) — 2015 — Rarities & B-Sides • "Don't You Honey Me" (Timothy Jaromir featuring Rykka) — rowspan="7" Non-album singles • "Thunder" (Matierro & Dynastrax featuring Rykka) • "With or Without" (Tommy Mangano featuring Rykka) — 2016 • "Toes" (Frank Walker featuring Rykka) • "Rebels" (Esh featuring Rykka) • "Escape" (Armando Vico featuring Rykka) • "The Hardest Part" (Ørjan Nilsen featuring Rykka) — 2017

• Blackie was featured on TV series Rookie Blue (S04E07) • The Brink was featured on TV series “Tessa & Scott” (S01E03)

Rykka was recorded at birth as Christina Maria Rieder. He also worked under the name Rykka. The authorities additionally record the heading Christina Maria Rieder. His recorded language was English.