Paul Ryu

Korean-American musician, recording engineer, and producer based in San Diego, California. Member of the indie pop band Mittens. Paul (birth name 류호승, AKA Ashley Paul Ryu or Ashley Ryu) was born in South Korea. Growing up in Seoul in the early 1990s, he was exposed to western music including Eric Clapton and The Beatles through CDs brought from America by his father. His family immigrated to the United States in 1995, when he was 9, and he started going by Paul, after his favorite Beatle. They lived in Lawrence, Kansas and then Pacific Grove, California. He demonstrated a natural musical ability, taking up piano. He attended Harvard University, but left before graduating. He moved to San Diego, where he has worked as a software developer for Art of Problem Solving since 2009. Learning to play guitar, he joined the band Mittens. In addition to performing vocals, lead guitar, and keyboards, he has written or co-written many of the band's songs, served as recording engineer for both of their albums, and co-produced their second, which won Best Rock Album at the 2018 San Diego Music Awards. He has also performed with The Schizophonics and El Vez, and is in the group Bobby And The Pins with Robert Alan Lopez (AKA El Vez), Pat Beers and Lety Beers of The Schizophonics, and Dave Warshaw of The Creepy Creeps and Creepxotica.