INTERVIEW: Fond of Rudy — Music Musings & Such

INTERVIEW:

Fond of Rudy

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DIVIDING their professional existence between…

Brighton and London; the exciting, fertile and stunning quartet, Fond of Rudy have provided us with their latest single, LOVE. Fond of the upper-case-pride (OMG! was their last) – they must know I am not a big fan of it! – the boys make up for it with an interview in which they discuss London and Brighton; what the story behind their new song it – and their band name – and how it evolves from OMG!

I was eager to discover how they unwind and more about their music; the elements that go into their vibrant, summer sounds and how Matt – who provides the answers, for the most part – creates a slow-jam-style smoothness with the vocals.

The band are primed for future success: a pleasure chatting with the guys - and learning more about their songs.

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Hi, guys. How are you? How has your week been?

We are well!

This week has been hectic. Just got back from a micro-tour of the North…great fun, however, energy levels are sapped now!

Ha.

For those new to your work; can you introduce yourself, please?

We are Fond of Rudy: a Brighton/London-based Indie-Alt-Pop four-piece band.

Can you tell me – apologies if you have been asked, endlessly – where the band name, ‘Fond of Rudy’, comes from?

Haha…only a couple!

Our music, essentially, tries to encapsulate the feelings of being in and out of love; and the pursuit of it. ‘Fond of’ generally means really liking and being drawn to something - but the ‘Rudy’ part; you can consider as a blank space… you fill it in.

What is the story behind the new single, LOVE?

The track represents our take on a modern slow-jam. It's packed full of lust and emotion; tuning into that persona of missing opportunities out of fear.

It follows from OMG! and seems like, with every release, you are becoming more confident. Did you notice any differences, in terms of writing and recording, between the two songs?

Every track is carefully crafted and planned: a lot of time is spent in pre-production; making sure every element is perfect before we think about releasing it.

We just want to keep grinding out track-after-track!

Is LOVE going to feature on an E.P. at some point? Anything in the pipeline?

LOVE belongs to an E.P. titled, TWO.

Watch this space in the future - we are always putting out little clues.

Can you tell me how you all got together and how those early days were?

The band, itself, has been going for a couple of years: developing and experimenting with various styles and members. It was only last year that all the groundwork laid down - previously equated to make this formation.

Brighton is your base. How important is the city and its mix of people to your music and creativity? What is the music scene like there at the moment?

We feel like we have two home: one in Brighton and the other in London. There are some great bands in both cities.

With Brighton you can see more bands coming to fruition recently - long may it continue!

PHOTO CREDIT: MJB

You have drawn comparisons to the likes of The 1975 and Blood Orange. Are these bands you admire or do you think it is more important proving yourself on your own terms?

Both The 1975 and Blood Orange are incredible artists; we love their music. Equally as important we want to be our own entity and get audiences to long for our creations.

In describing your music, you have described it is as a sort-of South East version of Calypso-Pop. What kind of artists and sounds were you all raised on?

Being in any band, you are all bound to bring different influences and sounds to the table. On our road trips, we’ve created a playlist roulette-type game: we take turns in selecting a song throughout the journey.

The artists played range from Pop to R&B to ’80s’ Classic-Rock etc.…so many weird and wonderful sounds (too many to name!)

Fond of Rudy have a string of live dates in the next month. Which dates are you most looking forward to?

We are playing at Carfest North this coming Sunday (in Chester) and have been selected as the stage highlight for the day - so that should be pretty epic!

Also, we (always) love playing to an intimate audience in London, too.

What do you guys like to do away from music? Do you get much chance to distance yourselves from the music life?

We all work the day-shift, keep fit in the gym; running or playing sports so we are constantly busy. However, music is always on our minds when we are distanced from it.

It’s a hard to get too far away for a long period of time as we all love doing it.