Ruen Brothers : Ask Me Anything

Just sent the question for the AMA and will update here and over the AOTM thread when I receive the message back.

Thanks to everyone that followed through with this, to all who loved the album and even if you didn't like it, thanks for taking the time to listen.

Hope you had fun(short as it was, thanks a lot @Jonathan Y !) and see you soon for the AOTM #6 curated by @Joe Mac !
 
Better late than never! Haven't been able to post these, been having a few hectic days. Hope you'll enjoy the answers and thanks for sending in your questions.

Part 1/2: AMA Ruen Brothers

"Hey Francisco,

Sorry these have taken so long to get back to you!

We had fun answering these!

A massive thanks to everyone that sent in questions and took the time to listen to the record.

Cheers

Henry and Ru

QUESTIONS
User: @Murfocakes
Question: Make The World Go Away is a great country standard, was there a version in particular that you preferred that led to you choosing to cover it? And as a follow on are there any other country standards you would like to have a go at in the future?

A: We’d heard Elvis’ version a while ago, but it was Rick Rubin that made us aware of Eddy Arnold’s take on the song. Rick actually asked us if we thought the song would sit well on the record and after listening to it and rehearsing it in the living room of Shangri La late one night, we felt we wanted to have a go at the song. We covered that and Buffalo Springfield’s - Expecting To Fly (not released).

U: @ChristoBee
Q: How would you approach writing your material ? It's seems very inspired by a certain time in music history, do you lean into that nostalgic aesthetic fully or do you try to mix it up with more modern influences and ideas ? Is there some things or songs you wouldn't have been able to record the way you did during the 60s for example ? How do you approach the modern tools we have now and your approach of music ?

A: It usually comes inspired after watching a great film or documentary. Sometimes from life experiences. We feel that our better songs come naturally, almost without trying all too much. We’re big fans of music from many decades past; film from decades past and art from decades past. We live in a modern world and the two mix together nicely.

There’s certainly a few songs on this new record we have just finished that we wouldn’t have been able to record back in the 60’s the way we did it today. A computer, modern recording software, interfaces and digital plug ins have been a massive bonus and aid for everyone in today’s music industry.

U: @Captainfog
Q: What was the last album you bought?
A: Pretty sure it was a No.1 hits album of Conway Twitty’s.

U: @Lee Newman
Q: What are your top five all time favorite albums?
A: Van Morrison - Enlightenment
Bruce Springsteen - The River
Dean Martin - Dream With Dean
Fleetwood Mac - Rumors
The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers

U: @Teeeee
Q: What 5 albums would you say influenced your song writing on this album?
The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
Fleetwood Mac - Rumors
Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A
Van Morrison - Enlightenment
Roy Orbison - The Very Best of Roy Orbison

Which artist would you love to collaborate with?
A: Orville Peck or Lana Del Rey.

U: @Turbo
Q: "All My Shades of Blue" was released over a year ago. I'm assuming you are already working on your next LP.
A: Yes, we’ve finished the second record and are constantly writing/recording more new music! Something is coming very soon...

Can you share with us any of the directions you will be exploring in your Sophomore album?
A: It’s different. It definitely has more modern elements, but the song writing remains similar. It sounds exactly how we envisaged it to sound.


U: @Skalap
Q: Talking about food, your album starts with coyote howls. Did Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote inspired you for this album and do you think that Wile E will catch and eat Road Runner someday?
A: The coyote’s howls could eerily be heard late in the evening close by the studio. I recorded this on my iPhone and felt it summed up the mood of the record. I think the Road Runner will always run free.

U: @Joe Mac
Q: Talking about food. What type of mushrooms do you think @Skalap ate before he posted the question above?
A: The best kind we hope.

U: @Turbo
Q: Speaking of Coyotes, it is well known that he is hot for Roadrunner and that coyotes are in the canine family.
Which begs the question, are Hot Dogs sandwiches?
A: Haha very good... No, not at all. Asides dogs who are hot for Roadrunners, we’ve seen lots of dogs with thick shaggy coast hiding from the sun on a hot day. Those are some hot dogs.


U: @JoeMac
Q: I noticed in @ThePakoBuelna write up that you are from Scunthorpe in Lincolnshire. Also being from the East Midlands (Mansfield, Nottinghamshire here) I can testify that it’s not a traditional hotbed for producing bands, how hard did you find it to break through coming from this part of the world?
A: It’s not easy, but thankfully schemes like BBC Introducing exist and offer a pathway for artists all across the UK to get their music heard by the industry.

Also, were you also subjected to grim day trips to the seaside at Skeggy or Mablethorpe?
A: Cleethorpes and Sutton On Sea actually! We always enjoyed them.

U: @agutierrezb
Q: In your view, what's the value or importance of making new music in a style of music of the past? Do you try to bring something new to those genres, or do you prefer to make new songs that faithfully replicate the sounds of a bygone era?
A: We think it’s important to understand and appreciate the music of decades bygone. Having this understanding and knowledge helps you appreciate the influence and affect that this music had in moulding modern day culture at those times. Each decade brought an explosion of new genres and sounds, all of which have helped to make the music of today what it currently is. People will label what we do as ‘retro’ or ‘throwback’ and in some essences it is, but when we are creating new music what we write about and how we record things is a natural process which we don’t overthink. Most of the music you hear today has been influenced by music of the past. Most music is a rehash of an artists influences mixed with their own stories and feelings. That’s how we approach what we do.

Also, @ThePakoBuelna, who introduced us to your music, mentioned he discovered you when you opened for Café Tacvba. How did you end up opening for them, and what's your opinion on the band?
A: We were actually brought together by our agency WME. The guys were looking for someone to take on the road for their North American tour and thankfully they thought we’d be a good fit. We are externally grateful for this. The band and team around them are some of the kindest, hardworking and dedicated people we’ve met. True gentlemen and friends. These guys are the tops, their live show is something you have to see. We’ve been fortunate to witness a lot of great music growing up and Tacvba’s show is something totally unique, fun and powerful.

U: @bfly
Q: What has been your favorite venue to play in?
A: Webster Hall - NYC
Where have you played for the most fun/surprising crowd?
A: Molotov in Hamburg, Germany.
What is your favorite artist to cover?
A: Chuck Berry
Top 3 favorite fruits?
A: Banana, Watermelon and Mango"
 
Part 2/2 AMA: Ruen Brothers

U: @Jonathan Y
Q: First off thanks for the album and answering our questions!!! You all are easily one of my new favorite discoveries thanks to Pako!

Seeing you two create such a work of art as brothers is amazing and inspiring. To think that me and my brother could put together a project without ripping each other's heads off at some point throughout the creative process, is laughable, to say the least. Without getting too personal, are there any standout brotherly moments that you guys have shared, good bad or hilarious, along the way to completion that helped contribute to the finished album?
A: Thank you for the kind and humbling words!
The good - being invited to Rick Rubin’s house to even talk about our music was a special moment for us which we won’t forget. Then being invited out to make the record at Shangri La was out of this world. I remember us landing in LA and driving up to Calabasas the day prior to starting the record, having no idea what was in store for us. That moment was special, exciting and surreal.
The bad - there honestly wasn’t a bad moment when making this record. There wasn’t a day we didn’t wake up, thankful that we got to record our music with Rick, at Shangri La with some of the nicest and most talented musicians and team on the planet.
The hilarious - One moment whilst making the record we’ll never forget. After 3 or 4 hours of live tracking ‘Walk Like A Man’, we get to our final take, the take for good luck and someone fluffs the intro. Rick comes down the mic and simply says ‘come on guys... pathetic!’ I remember the look on Chad’s face from my booth after Rick said this. It was like getting a scolding at school. It’s about the only time we heard Rick be anything but gentle and politely encouraging. We still smile about this today.

U: @Captainfog
Q: A lot of artists talk about experiencing 'impostor syndrome' when they are starting out and/or first get signed. Can you remember the moment you thought, you know what, we're pretty damn good at what we do?
A: Live and studio has been something that we’ve had to work hard at to get in the groove. We are always learning and developing. What we thought was good two or three years ago we now sit back and scrutinize. Each song we write we think is better than the last (obviously not true, but it’s nice to encourage ourselves in that manner, ha). When you spend so much of your time and energy working on your craft - whatever that is - people sit up and recognize this giving you a sense of hope that you’re not crazy and that it’s all worth it. That moment came to us in 2013 when Jason Carter (BBC Introducing) and Zane Lowe started supporting us at BBC Radio 1. We thought to ourselves that if these guys thought we had some potential then maybe we aren’t half bad at what we do.

You have a sound that you'd associate more from American artists rather than from a band in the UK, how was that style of music first received when you started out playing the pub circuit in Scunthorpe?

A: In all honesty it was the demand from the pubs and clubs in the north of England for American music that helped steep us in it. That and our fathers love for great American artists such as Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Elvis... etc. Those artists helped us pack pubs around our hometown and pay the rent.

U: @tvham
Q: Do you guys personally collect vinyl? If so, any standouts in your collection(s)?

A: Yes and no. Honestly with the fast paced lifestyle and travelling about we listen to a lot of music digitally. However when we are browsing record stores we always have to walk away with something. We often spend whole evenings getting drunk, sipping whiskey and smoking to our favorite records from the comfort of home; there’s something special about that. ‘Sticky Fingers’ with the zipper front cover is still one of the coolest records we own and one of the greatest albums ever made in our opinion. "


Thanks for reading and sticking with me all this time! Hope you enjoy the answers they provided and hope you enjoyed the record!

Cheers all!
 
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