Lorin Drexler (aka Loryn) is an American author, musician/producer, and coaching/teaching artist. Rooted in Chicago and now based in the Phoenix Metro Area and Sedona, Arizona, he has lived and worked across the United States. Experimental in nature, provocative in metaphor, and mellifluous in sound, his creative practice is both ritual and exploration.
He began writing free verse poetry at 16, which led him toward songwriting and the guitar. At 18, he formed his transitory first band, The Screaming Poets, followed by his next group, Satori, while attending Columbia College Chicago for creative writing. Satori was a revolving collaborative of musicians and genres, moving from indie folk to punk-inspired rock to downtempo electronica.
After Satori, his curiosity shifted toward engineering and electronic music production. Working with a producer/DJ, he immersed himself in music software and hardware, built his production suite, and created the electronica project Loryn. This fusion of computer production and guitar-based songwriting became his signature. He later attended SAE Institute in New York City, graduating at the top of his class, and went on to release two original studio albums and a single.
In 2011, he began publishing monthly newsletters that blended artist updates with his writing. This evolved into his first book, Re-edit, a collection of poetry, prose, and flash fiction, available on Amazon (www.amazon.com/author/lorindrexler). Shortly after, he began receiving publication for his work and was inducted into Poets & Writers, the nation’s largest organization serving creative writers.
Continuing his creative journey while freelancing as a music teacher and music producer on the Big Island of Hawai’i in 2017, Lorin began developing a blog website. He named his blog Gen Society (https://gensociety.com/) after a series of experiences tied to a collaborative science fiction epic he is currently working on under the pseudonym ADALYI FENIX (https://lorindrexler.com/adalyifenix), called X GENESIS. After exploring many creative directions for Gen Society, Lorin ultimately shaped it into an art space blog dedicated to poetry and visual art collaborations.
Since relocating to the Mesa Artspace Lofts in 2018, he has taught classes and workshops contracted through his business and at institutions including the Mesa Arts Center, Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at ASU, Mirabella at ASU, The Writer’s Center, Edna Vihel Arts Center, North Valley Regional Library, Bookmans Entertainment Exchange, Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Program, Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation, and Music & Arts.
As a performer, Loryn has shared the stage with Local H and Rusted Root frontman Michael Glabicki, appeared at multiple music festivals and parades, played venues such as the Art Institute of Chicago and the Double Door, and worked with avant-garde theatre company Collaboraction. He also performs for healthcare facilities and nonprofits that serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, bringing music to innovative environments and dynamic communities in need. As a producer, he has worked with artists including Chase Makai from Nahko and Medicine for the People, American Idol finalists Ammon & Liahona, the Beach Road Band from Hawai‘i, and others. As a poet & fiction writer, Lorin’s work has appeared in Harpy Hybrid Review, Abstract Magazine, LitroNY, Vine Leaves Literary Journal, Apocrypha and Abstractions, Maudlin House, and others. He also received an award in the 2019 Tempe Writing Contest.