Mating Ritual is the solo dance-rock outfit of Ryan Marshall Lawhon. Based in Los Angeles, Lawhon was one-part of Pacific Air, a synth-rock duo with his brother Taylor. In 2014, the siblings put their group on hold so that Taylor could go back to school. Ryan forged ahead with his new project, a bouncy blend of hand-clap arena rock and synth melodies inspired by the '90s electronic and new age inspirations from his childhood, like Laurie Anderson, Ray Lynch, and Enya.