The Ruminaters
That’s it, The Ruminaters have told the boss to shove it, cracked a beer on Susan’s desk and dropped summer anthem Boys Off Work. 2017 saw ‘The Rumies’ holed up in London’s infamous RAK Studios (David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, The Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead) recording their AA side release which included lauded singles I Wanna Fight and a super sensual cover of Hot Chocolates You Sexy Thing.
Under the watchful eye of long time producer and friend Rob Brinkman (Royal Blood, The Pixies) The Ruminaters put the final touches on their sophomore album Welcome to Flight: S.U.N 91 set for release this year. Boys Off Work is the first single to drop and a sneak peek at the the highly anticipated album. The pestiferous lot from Sydney’s northern beaches truly give the 9-5 life the good ole’ middle finger with this absolute banger. The band drop by to answer a few questions about the latest goings on for The Ruminaters.
Life for The Ruminaters must be really sweet right now?
Life is pretty sweet, we finally finished our new album, we just dropped the first single off the new album AND we just finished a tour with Grouplove.
How was the tour with Grouplove?
Was a great time. Everyone in that band and their crew are the best people. We’ve been buds for years now. There was a lot to learn from their live shows too. Not many bands bring as much energy on stage as they do.
Did you have much of a chance to hang out with those guys?
Absolutely. Every night we hung out after the shows and drank till we dropped. Andrew, the guitarist and his girlfriend have been staying out our house in Avalon for the last 3 nights. They left this morning tragically but we will catch them in the US.
March is a big month for the band, what can fans expect on this tour?
Yeah March is so huge! They can expect us rocking into their neighbourhood, with a 20 person strong bus load of hooligans, ready to play some very rowdy shows. Our set is going to be virtually brand new. We will be playing the album pretty much in full. With a few oldies in there. We are so excited to be playing a full set of new music. Can not wait.
No Adelaide, seriously what is with that?
Haha, I don’t know what happened there. We keep talking about it but it never bloody happens. To anyone from Adelaide, we are sorry but when we do come we are gonna treat ya because we seriously owe you x.
What was the biggest learning you took away from recording your debut album?
Well our debut album was a bit of a mash potato of music. We wrote a bunch of rough songs in our garage and then just threw them on a record. We headed up to my dads farm and had a good friend of ours engineer it. It was super live and rough how we did it. This second album was a completely different approach. We spent hours in our studio demoing songs, individually writing parts, adding instruments, culling songs and really challenging ourselves to create something seriously new. I think when people get a chance to listen to the album they will understand the kind of work that went into it.
How important was it recording in London?
It was huge. We were recording in one of the best studios in the world. With the best history ever. It was our second time at RAK. Cant explain how comfortable we feel there, the studio has tonnes of character, Rob, our producer is a great friend of ours and he knows the ins and outs of that studio like no other. If we had the money we’d do every record there.
How would you describe the album?
Its a serious journey. Literally. The concept of the album is essentially time travel, through the sun, back to the year 1991. The album took a path that was rather 90’s inspired and you’ll know what I mean when you hear some of our fuzz tones and pencils harmonies. A lot of the lyrical content kept relating to the sun, so although it wasn’t originally a concept piece, it quickly became one. Hence the title “Welcome to Flight S.U.N: 91”. The year 1991 refers to the year we were all born too. What a year it was.
What inspired the album title?
Ah all of the above!
Is it too early to have a favourite song?
I don’t personally have a favourite on the album. There are dark songs, happy songs, fast songs, slow songs and some straight up NOT NORMAL songs on there. It would depend what mood I was in.
Beyond the tour what’s next for The Ruminaters?
More music. We know how long it takes to get stuff out for us so we are getting into it straight away. We have no problem writing the music, its just the process it takes to finally get it out. We are a fussy bunch, so its the post recording part that takes its time. But you’ll hear a lot from us in 2018. We have a shit load coming up.
Interview by Rob Lyon
Catch The Ruminaters on the following dates…
