Inspired #252 - RAMES
London four-piece RAMES return with new single Eleanor Street. We caught up with the band to find out what inspires both them, and their music.
Who are your top three musical inspirations?
I’d say as a band our top three musical inspirations are The Cure, The Stone Roses, and Oasis. We love the sound of The Cure with the different layers of guitars and synthesisers and the synth-pop feel. And as with a lot of indie and alternative rock bands, The Stone Roses and Oasis are huge influences, both in terms of their brilliant song writing and energy as a band. We all have a number of different musical inspirations as a band individually and it’s great to see them all come together in our music.
Is there a certain film that inspires you?
I think we get song inspiration from a number of places, films included. Sometimes it’s when you’re inspired by a particular film score or perhaps inspired by a certain character of their story. I’d say that a particular band film favourite would be ‘Nowhere Boy’ which shows the origins of The Beatles. It’s inspiring to get an insight into how a normal lad with a love for music put together a band who went on to be the biggest band in the world. Also, an interesting fact, our band name sort of originates from a ‘Pulp Fiction’ poster which lists the actor ‘Ving Rhames’.
What city do you find the most inspiring?
I’d have to say London I find is the most inspiring city. It’s where all of us were born and we’ve grown up here and it’s right on our doorstep yet I still feel like there’s so much more to see. It’s such a creative community with art and music and different cultures at every turn and you’re bound to meet new people or discover new things every day. I find that I am most creative at night and London at night time is something else. So I would definitely have to say London as the most inspiring for me, whether that’s in a musical sense or on a personal level.
Who is the most inspiring person to you?
I’d have to say that my girlfriend inspires a lot of our song writing. As soppy as it is, a lot of our songs have a romantic tinge to them and they are mainly based around her so I would have to say her! (the boys will kill me for this soppiness btw)
What were your inspirations when writing your new track?
We wanted to write a feel good indie pop song and our guitarist Oli came up with this infectious and poppy guitar riff which was perfect for that. The song inspiration is mainly from those messy nights out and you’re in a proper ‘dream like’ state and coming up with stupid drunken ideas, and someone else like your girlfriend or one of your mates ends up having to look after you and they have to be your ‘voice of reason’. Overall, it’s just about having a laugh with your mates and having a good time and I think the timing of the release is good because we can be expecting a lot more of those nights soon now that we’re coming out of lockdown. It’s got a good summery / indie pop sound to it just in time for summer.
How would you like to inspire people?
I’d like to think that by sharing our music we can inspire people to share or keep sharing their own creative talents. It’s been highlighted over recent years and especially over the last year or so, but the lack of support and funding for smaller artists, grassroot venues, independent record stores etc. can be really discouraging to artists and people in the industry. But the creative industry and arts is such an important part of people’s lives, we would love to see more opportunities and support to encourage people to keep creating and sharing.