Interview with Rue Royale

We got the opportunity to do an interview with Ruth and Brookln Dekker aka Rue Royale. Like all the other Soundcheck-artists we presented to you, both of them told us what inspired them to make music and what experiences they made over the years.

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1. How would you describe your music in one sentence?

Brookln: We are committed to (and constantly searching for) melody, simplicity and truth. I think our music reflects that musically and lyrically. We have found something special happens when our voices are together. It’s more beautiful and special than either of our voices solo. Oops. That was more than one sentence : )

2. Was there something like a light bulb moment when you were young, maybe a concert, a certain song or a record that made you dream about a career as a musician?

Brookln: Not really, I grew up in a very musical home. My parents were both musicians. My dad played trombone, piano and sang my mom played piano and sang and they were both very involved in the music in their church. There was a (light bulb) moment (not in our youth, but in early 2006) when Ruth and I realized we wanted to start a band together. We were at the house one night just playing around with the guitar and we wrote Even In The Darkness. It came together so quick and smoothly that I think we were both blown away. We really haven’t looked back since.
Ruth: I started singing with various friends and singer-songwriters around the age of 16, by 19 I was hooked and had a few light bulbs moments but I still catch myself in the middle of a show in front of a few hundred people in a country far away from where I was born and raised having strange light bulb moments of thinking “wow I am actually doing this and people like it, how crazy…”

3. Are there any artists that might have influenced you or inspired you some time?

Brookln: Fleetwood Mac, Nick Drake and Jose Gonzalez have had a pretty big influence on our approach to the guitar and melody.
Ruth: The British Northern soul of Elbow, The Doves and The National are also an influence after growing up with Brit Pop I am naturally drawn to these rich, fuller sounds.

4. How do you develop your songs? What part comes first, music or lyrics?

Brookln: Usually, I (Brookln) will come up with a guitar part and an initial melody. I’ll bring that to Ruth and we’ll sculpt it from there together. It usually all happens together from there on. We normally have an arrangement in mind before we even take it in to the studio as we talk a lot about that in the writing process.
Ruth: There is a wonderful tension that comes when two people write together especially us as we are also married. Songs are born in the midst of this tension, when we struggle to write a song as we think and create in different ways. Brookln has wonderful melodic rhythmical ideas and I sit and dream about what the song is about. After extended periods of going back and forth Brookln just comes out with a line that summarizes all we’ve been trying to get out for hours or days.

5. What song is most important to you? Why and how did it develop?

Brookln: I think UFO is probably the most special for me. It’s about my lifelong search for God. I grew up in a very strict-Christian home and I’ve never been able to find God to be the thing I was taught it was.

6. In what aspects did your music change compared to when you started to make music?

Brookln: Like I said before I grew up in a musical home. Most of the music being learned and performed in and around my house as a child was church music. I don’t make church music anymore. Although, sometimes I wonder if that’s where my desire for (a chant-like) repetition comes from.
Ruth: As I was basically a backing vocalist I had learnt to blend in and not be too indulgent vocally which helped greatly when we started singing these songs together but I still had to learn to sing more rhythmically so that we could be very tight and create tension with our melodies.

7. What has been the best experience so far, together as a band?

Brookln: We enjoy touring so much. There is nothing better than playing a gig in a city (or country) we’ve never been to before and seeing people there singing along. It’s amazing to us that there are people on the other side of the world singing our tunes.
Ruth: I agree. Having random strangers singing along is mind blowing when you are in a fishing village in the North of Holland. Our support in Chicago has been incredible too. Playing big shows in our favorite home venues always gives me a huge lift. Being able to feel supported by fans who have seen us progress right from the start and have kept us going is a huge reason we can keep going when we are exhausted or mentally wiped from a long tour.

8. What can you tell us about your current projects?

Brookln: We are currently touring in support of our 2008 release. As we have been touring we have been writing. Not sure when we’ll get in the studio next.
Ruth: We are trying to catch up on some much needed organization time. We do everything ourselves right now so we have a lot to keep up on daily as well as writing and working on new material.

9. And what are you aspiring to in the future, what do you want to achieve?

Brookln: For now we aspire to make enough to get a better tour vehicle.. Anything after that is bonus. We are a very DIY band. Even if we end up signing to a label(s), we’ll still be very “hands on” and crafting of our own destiny. I’d be happy to tour and record until we’re too old to travel. I’d like to be able to say to my grand children that their grandmother and I played music on every continent.
Ruth: Ditto. We just want to enjoy playing our music. We are not here to take over the world just enjoy playing all over it and meeting wonderful people.

10. With whom would you like to go on tour?

Brookln: Midlake.

11. What record would we find in your CD-player right now?

Brookln: Fleetwood Mac - Rumours; Soy Un Caballo - Les Heures De Raison
Ruth: The National - Boxer; Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

12. What do you think, as artists, about platforms like mySpace?

Brookln: I think they are amazing. I think we are one of the many success stories of Myspace. We’ve booked entire tours, sold most of our records and done most of our advertising through Myspace (and like sites).
Ruth: Awesome networking tools that really work but need to go hand in hand with personal connection outside of web worlds to maintain a healthy growth.

13. myFanbase is a website that is devoted to American television shows. Do you have a favorite show?

Brookln: My favorite television shows are "Arrested Development" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm".
Ruth: I love "House" too but "Arrested Development" is my all time favorite and I am still gutted it ended. Sigh.

Catherine Bühnsack - myFanbase