Ruth Royall released her long-awaited debut solo four-track EP today on none other than Soulvent Records. A fitting choice of label, and after the first listen – it would seem that each track definitely showcases the label’s versatility.
With light & melodic liquid tracks from Makoto & Mitekiss and a hard-hitting rolling bassline number from Blacklab – which contrasts from the liquid style vocals, yet seemingly works well together.
You must be so excited to finally release something as a solo artist, how long has this EP been in the pipeline?
It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while. I started toying with the idea back in the first lockdown and just started writing. I wrote quite a few tracks to start off with, I tend to get the chords and melody going first and then build an arrangement around that before I send it to collaborators. I wanted to create an EP that was rooted in Soul and RnB, so I worked with some musician friends in Bristol who I’ve worked with for a while to really get that live feel across. Bass player Harry Stoneham and Pianist George Leggett both play on the EP.
How did the idea to work with Makoto, Blacklab & Mitekiss come about?
I’d worked with Mitekiss and Makoto before so very much had them in mind when I was writing both New Love and Ricochet but Soulvent connected me to Blacklab which I’m super grateful for. They were all amazing to work with and really gave me the space to create the tracks I wanted. I’ve got so much respect for all of them so felt extremely lucky to be able to work with them on my first Ruth Royall release.
I love the contrasting styles of the Makoto / Mitekiss tracks in comparison to the Blacklab… How did you find working with two different styles of production on the same release?
I loved it. I actually wanted New Love (Makoto) to have more of a jazz feel, the original version had a full scat in it! The Mitekiss track was always supposed to be a homage to RnB, we slowed the tempo and used references like Jungle and D’Angelo. The Blacklab track is tinged with Funk, Harry went in hard on the slap bass and we wanted to create a bit of a juxtaposition of funk/gospel chords that drop into a smooth roller.
If you can give anything away, what should our readers look out for in the future?
I’m really excited to be working on my live show and I can’t wait to get out there and start performing my tunes! I’ve got some pretty special collabs coming up (although I can’t say too much about that yet!) and I’m also working on a self-produced EP so keep your eyes peeled for more RR on the way!