Today South London singer, songwriter and producer, Ruthven releases, ‘The Window‘. Out now via Paul Institute / Remote Control, the new single comes alongside the announcement that Ruthven will support Sampha across the European leg of the Satellite Business Tour, marking his debut in Berlin and Amsterdam.
Ruthven first broke out in 2017 as one of Paul Institute’s founding artists after his unique future-funk-infused R&B reached brothers Jai Paul and A. K. Paul, who founded the label. By taking the DNA of timeless hits from the past and filtering them through a modern lens his music is neither retro by design nor disposable efforts to keep up with the times. Following the release of singles ‘123 Days‘, ‘Don’t Keep It To Yourself‘, ‘Have You Decided?‘ and ‘Hypothalamus/Evil‘, Ruthven caught the attention of Pitchfork, Dazed, The Fader, and FACT, which he also performed a live session for. Across the last year, Ruthven has performed alongside Sampha, Rosetta, Blake Cascoe, and Elsas on the hotly anticipated Satellite Business Tour, including a performance on Later…With Jools Holland.
Speaking on the single and forthcoming tour, Ruthven says “‘The Window‘ explores an inner monologue with a range of feelings when in love, loss, separation and the confusion that those feelings bring to the surface. The heavyweights and classic tunes from artists like Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, Al Green have always struck me melodically but I’ve been more drawn to the harmonies in their music for quite awhile now. So as per, I was keen to attempt to emulate and modernise that in a way with this song too. It’s a special song to perform live and I’m stoked to be able to do that very soon.”
Stream / Purchase ‘The Window’: https://ruthven.ffm.
ABOUT RUTHVEN
During his time as a member of the London Fire Brigade, Ruthven aka Sean Nelson, had two lockers. In one would be the essentials for a long shift on call; toiletries, fresh clothes, a sleeping bag, and in the other were the Ruthven essentials, namely a guitar and keyboard. During downtime he was determined to make the most of the long hours awaiting a call out. It was during this time, when the truck was fully serviced and his breathing equipment was ready for the next job, that the majority of Ruthven’s music was written. He would work out ideas while his colleagues watched TV or caught up on sleep, setting up shop in various stations around the city and setting to work on his next tune. The reality of this unlikely situation is one purely born of circumstance but that’s not to say that he doesn’t see some connective tissue between helping the community and being of help to individuals. “Music can be a healing thing and I’m fully up for being a healer,” he says. “It’s not just about performance, I want to help people with their emotions.”
Prior to joining the Fire Brigade, Ruthven’s life had revolved around music. Raised by his mother as a single parent, he would join her as she gave piano lessons around Catford, south east London, where he grew up. He learned to play drums himself when one student’s father offered to exchange his skillset as a drummer in return for piano lessons. Age 19 and keen to give back to his community he joined the Fire Brigade. Not long after he got married and started a family, leading to the decision to put music to the side in order to spend quality time raising his sons and being a good husband to his wife. Leaving music behind entirely didn’t quite work, though, and he began playing again a few years later when a friend offered him gigs in wedding bands and at other similar functions. Coming back to making music was perhaps inevitable, given that the majority of relatives are musicians too. “I was an outlier in my family getting a ‘proper’ job,” he laughs. “I just realised I was more stressed with music not being a part of my life,” he says looking back. Around this time he downloaded Logic and began teaching himself to produce music. Happy with his early efforts, he sent some demos over to Jai and A.K. Paul who were impressed and offered to release his music. In 2017 the Paul Institute released the debut Ruthven single ‘Evil’ and he was a musician once again.
It’s not just helping him release music that he credits to the Pauls, the enigmatic siblings reinvigorated his enthusiasm for contemporary music at a time when it was faltering. “They showed me that modern music isn’t bland and watered down,” he says. “They were putting out music in a cultivated way and it sounded fresh.” Ruthven’s songs work on a similar basis. By taking the DNA of timeless hits from the past and filtering them through a modern lens his music is neither retro by design nor disposable efforts to keep up with the times. “The fact that I love music from the 70s and 80s, things like Marvin Gaye, Kool & The Gang, isn’t because I’m stuck in the past. It’s just that the music is so strong. I want to take the best things from the history of music and use them in a modern way,” he says, explaining his philosophy.
Ruthven – ‘The Window’ is out now
via Paul Institute / XL Recordings
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