Inspired #235 - Ruiz!
Sheffield Multi-Instrumentalist Ruiz talks us through the inspirations of their latest track ‘Blue Mediterranean’
Who are your top three musical inspirations?
I’ve been playing music since I was around 5 years old. I grew up in a house where we only really listened to classical music. Classical music, and cuban bands from the 50s and 60s. My mum used to dance around the house carrying me, a new baby, with her, and as she couldn’t speak much English when she first arrived to the UK, she had few friends, as such we did a lot of dancing. I remember being aged 4 when my mum’s brother visited from the States. He brought us a cassette filled with the songs of John, Paul, George and Ringo. It was a red double album. This blew my mind, soon being joined by a blue version and suddenly my world of Bach, Handel, Purcell, Mozart, and the various Cubans completely changed. My mum bought Abbey Road a few years later and we used to listen to it very often on our annual road-trips between Durham and Barcelona.
Many years later I found myself a boarder at a school for boys in Lancashire. It was extremely traumatic and so hard for me at the age of 10 to be so far from my family, and again the Beatles comforted me through the long and emotional hard terms away from home. I started playing the piano and then added the cello to my skills. I used to play my cello as if it was a huge bass guitar and I’d copy McCartney bass lines. I used to play along to most of their hits and finally when I hit the age of 13 I was gobsmacked when my mum let me buy an actual electric bass. I still have it and used it on some of the tracks on the album. I learned to play Day Tripper, Taxman, Rain, and more of the hits on it. It’s so much easier on a bass than a cello! I think if we were restricted to listening to one band only for the rest of our lives, the Beatles would be mine. I really love this band’s music.
Next I think Matt Johnson and his The The. He’s been in my life since I was around 15 when I heard Soul Mining. What an album, This is the day, when things fall into place. Uncertain Smile, perfect music for teenagers and beyond. I bought Infected when it was released and listened to it for months, including when I came to visit Sheffield for the first time as an A level student. Let’s not forget Jonny Marr joined The The when the Smiths folded. I never saw the Smiths but saw Jonny on the Mind Bomb tour. Johnson’s lyrics and sounds I find inspiring. People have said that Please Baby Please, my previous single, sounds The The-esque. I take that as a great complement. I’d love to meet him.
My third inspiration is really hard to choose. Should I go for Bowie, prolific and such an inspirational musician, Julian Cope, Lou Reed, especially in the Velvet Underground, Kinks, Prince, The Smiths? I am however, going to go with Paul Weller. I’ve been listening to his music since the late 70s when at the age of 17 he formed the Jam. Maybe it’s his Beatlesque influences that got me hooked? The raw energy of the Jam, mod leaders and their move towards Northern Soul. I immediately fell for the Style Council and the tales of the Cappuccino Kid. His more relaxed ventures into mellow jazz juxtaposed with Weller’s politically charged anti-Thatcher anthems, I’ve always admired. His solo career that followed from albums Paul Weller, Wild Wood, Stanley Road to Heavy Soul. He’s the only ‘famous person’ I’ve met that left me unable to talk! I am not a shy person, which has got me into trouble over the years but meeting Weller, face to face in a private environment, the perfect spot in retrospect, and what did I do? I gibbered like a fool. Finally, I’ve always been slightly jealous of this Paul as he’s always had stunning Lambrettas.
What city do you find the most inspiring?
A brilliant question. I am from Barcelona, I grew up in Durham, moved to Sheffield (top city!) When I was 19, as a student where I’ve spent the majority of my life. I had a year in London (unexpectedly didn’t enjoy that at all) and a year in the Toon (Newcastle upon Tyne). Although, apart from my student year abroad which I spent living there, I’ve hardly spent any time in Barcelona as an adult, but I’d say Barcelona is my most inspiring city. It’s been through so much oppression and as a Catalan it’s the capital city. It survived the Franco era, it’s still fighting for independence from the fascist ruling from Madrid, yet has a very optimistic and peaceful outlook on its future, baring in mind the horrors we all saw a few years back when there was a referendum. It’s an amazing city to walk around. So many beautiful squares and parks to sit in. So many amazing buildings to look at. Modernism throughout, not just the Gaudí buildings and park, Las Ramblas, Gracia, El Bari Gotic all areas to lose oneself in. The cafes, the bars, the restaurants. Personally, just seeing the blue Mediterranean makes me so happy. My mum still lives there but unfortunately I’ve not seen her in almost two years due to Covid.
Who is the most inspiring person to you?
I think my mum. She’s given up so much for others. She moved back to Barcelona to look after her mum when it was decided by my aunty who lived down the road from my gran, that rather than visiting her own mother more often, she should be sent to a home after setting some curtains on fire, or something like that. My mum said no, and emigrated. My mum became a nurse to help others. She’s really unwell physically. Can’t get around anymore on her own, takes so many pain killers just to get through the day. She lives on her own too and affected by Covid restrictions. She never moans about it. She just puts up with it all and says it’s just life. That’s what it is. I feel embarrassed to complain about anything to be honest. I wish I was half as kind and strong as she is.
What were your inspirations when writing your new single, 'Blue Mediterranean'?
I am totally new to writing and recording music. I’ve played music since I was really young as I mentioned. I’ve always played and been into the bass. I taught myself guitar but never dared sing or even write music. I always left that to others, I was happy being just the bass player. Then Covid hit and I found myself sitting in front of my Mac, staring at GarageBand and missing playing music with my mates, so I started to record riffs and cool noises. These became songs, I invested in Logic (software) and here we are. I write lyrics last and it’s only after that I work out what they are about. Blue Mediterranean is a song about being depressed and suffering mentally. The idea that your feet drag you through life on a day to day basis, almost like they’re in charge. You are so lost in your foggy thoughts that you don’t even see where you are. We all have, if we look deep enough, a happy place, a happy memory we can revisit, maybe only in our dreams. We need to remember to keep breathing and focus on happiness. My happy place is my childhood memory of visiting the Blue Med and staring out to sea, forgetting my troubles. The lyrics ‘fell’ out of my mind. A subconscious message from my mind to my conscious self. Breath, think positive, be happy. It might be hard to see at times but life is good.
What were your inspirations when writing the forthcoming album?
When lockdown 1.0 happened I started to record sonic ideas which became songs. I was encouraged by friends to put these out. I’d never dared be so arrogant as to think people would want to even listen to my music. Writing has helped me through the chaos of the last twelve months. The 13 songs that make up Mind Games, my forthcoming album, are a window into my mind and how it’s digested events that I’ve been through. They are songs that take you on a journey and sonic adventure with me. Loves, fears, joys, advice I would give the young and ignorant me. These were my inspirations. I have two four year old daughters, unbeknown to me at the time of writing, these are songs for them. I’ve been so humbled by people’s reactions so far.
How would you like to inspire people?
I never thought I could record a song, let alone a collection of them. Unless you try, you’ll never know what you can achieve. We only have one life, make the most of it. Believe you can and you will! You will meet a lot of people on this journey. Never judge a book by its cover and always treat people with respect. Most importantly though, keep on keeping on!