ARIA-nominated (it’s the Aussie Brits) RÜFÜS have begun a huge national tour, which will see them hit up capital cities as well as make some regional stops on the month-and-a-half run. We got a few minutes with the guys before they set off on the road…
This year has been brilliant one for you, so far. Loving life? 2014 has been amazing. So far we’ve been able to travel the world, get inspired, write music and play to a bunch of new audiences. Highlights have definitely been the musical zoo that was SXSW and a bunch of really memorable shows in Canada, New York, LA and London.
What do you put your success down to? We’re very hard working people. But we’re also lucky and we’re aware of that. So maybe it’s some vague combination of both?!
Things are about to get better, surely,as you set off on the Oz leg of the‘World within Worlds’ tour… Tell us more about it…After touring the US/UK for the last two months and playing smaller rooms, we’re ridiculously excited to come back for this Aussie tour. We’re playing some of our favourite venues and travelling with the visual show that we’d only dreamed of three years earlier. It’s really cool to be able to extend upon what we’re doing musically with something arresting and intriguing visually.
Does touring agree with you? Or do you tend to get on each others’ nerves? We’re a pretty chilled cross section of people so no one really gets too irritable or on each others’ backs. That said, in any small group of people that are working together closely for along period of time, you need to be able to allow some space which I feel we’ve managed to do.
It will be the last time you tour your hugely popular debut album ATLAS –will it be a bit emotional? I guess so, it’s kind of a nice way of saying thankyou to all our fans for supporting the album and creating that kind of reception that we never expected before releasing it. After that you’re planning to write and record new stuff.
That’ll happen in Germany, right? Why Germany? And what can we expect from you? We chose Germany, specifically Berlin, because we really vibed on everything we heard there, and it felt like a very inspiring space to write and record in. We’re not sure what you can expect but we’re obviously looking to push ourselves as writers and producers.
I read your band name came from a three-legged dog. Is that true? And what happened to that dog? It ran away one day and never came back. That was the inspiration for ‘We Left’, the first track we wrote.
Have people ever confused you with Rufus, the funk band that launched Chaka Khan? Not that we’re aware of but I could understand the confusion!
For those who might not have heard of RÜFÜS, describe your sound…I guess our sound is just a reflection of all the music that we love: Booka Shade, Trentemøller, Royksöpp, Caribou, Mujuice.
Who has inspired your music? Bill Murray. Haha.
What do you like to listen to? Ludovico Einaudi, Hans Zimmer, John Williams.
Are there any new bands or artists out there that have you excited? Loving the new Jamie XX. The new Leon Vynehall mini LP is wicked too. Also Boot Action, Jacques Green, Justin Jay, Chrome Sparks and Lone.
What do you have planned for the rest of the year, other than recording new stuff – some time away maybe? We’re looking to try to escape on a little personal holiday just before we head to Berlin. It will be our only time off touring or writing for basically the whole year, so we’re definitely looking to capitalise on it!
