Music Q&A:
Ruen Brothers

Blood Runs Wild has such a catchy simple chorus, did that come from just messing around at home/in rehearsal or was it a melody that had been in your head for a while?

All of our chorus ideas come from messing around in our home studio.The two of us bounce ideas off each other; always starts with a chord progression; trying a variety of melody line ideas over the top until we find one that works.

How do you work out the harmonies between you as Rupert seems to have a higher register. Does he ever get to sing lead?

Rupert has always sung the higher harmony. Harmony parts come more naturally to him so he has always chosen to sing them. Occasionally Rupert will sing some lead stuff, but it’s usually just when we write or rehearse.

How has the Tom Odell tour support been? Have you found people are singing your songs back at you?

The Tom Odell tour was great fun. It was nice to get to play such good venues. We love gigging and being on the road; the audiences were awesome. There were a few gigs in particular – such as Nottingham – where we had a few hometown fans come along; so we had a bit of vocal support in the choruses.

You get so many comparisons to Roy Orbison in terms of sound but how do the songs from your childhood also influence what subject matter you’re willing to write about?

The subject matter can be random or personal. Influences from our childhood such as Orbison/Stones/Berry etc can sometimes fuel the fire for content. Take Frankie Valli’s Walk Like A Man that helped inspire our own song Walk Like A Man. We nodded towards an era of music that fascinated us when we were growing up. Writing to imagery and film from decades as early as the 20’s up to the 80’s is something that helps get our brains going. We usually find this the best form of inspiration for lyrics and sounds.

You played SXSW in Texas and a lot of homegrown festivals, did you prefer one or the other?

We loved SXSW. It was one of the best experiences in our lives to date. It was the first time for us visiting the States and something we’ve always dreamed of; so it was very special to us. To us the excitement of foreign surroundings; the people; the bands and the venues seemed to null the feeling of any pre gig nerves. We played a lot of festivals this summer and SXSW was probably on a par with Glastonbury.

There does seem to be a deliberately warm vintage sound in the amps and instruments that you use – do you tend to shy away from modern effects/pedals?

The amps and the kit are slightly reminiscent of the gear used back in the 60’s. We do love vintage gear, so I guess that does echo through in the sound, but we like to mix it up, so we are creating our own tones with some pedals for a bit of added overdrive and boost in solos.

How has it worked out having recruited Charlie and Gary from a music academy – do they contribute a lot to the songwriting and dynamics?

They aren’t involved in the songwriting, so they don’t contribute in this capacity. Coming from a music academy background means they are really strict and focused when it comes to learning patterns/chords/progressions/tempos. Dynamically we work together really well. We all have the same attitudes towards the music, so it just works.

Do you have a goal for the end of 2013 so that by the time you release your debut album you’re in a certain place?

We want to have finished writing the album before the end of the year and try have as much of it recorded as possible. We are almost there, but always striving to write bigger/better songs than the last. If we have the album nailed before the new year then we can relax/focus more on the touring – early next year leading up to the release – so that fans have a chance to see our live show and get excited ready for the debut album.