As for the music, well, it just came as second nature. “I don’t know how
I gained much of my yearning to be drawn toward my music. I’m just the maker and the music simply finds me,” she explains. The deeply ingrained tradition of music within her family that began as a child is a value that continues to thrive today. “All of my brothers and sisters grew up playing the guitar, so there was
a sort of natural folk atmosphere within my family,” she explains. “It was perfectly normal to pick up a guitar and play or write a song, a poem or tell a story. That was just the normal part of experiencing everyday life,” Rumer says. “It doesn’t seem unusual—music as a way of communicating—it was like another language.” Also deeply embedded within her musical roots is spirituality, which
goes hand in hand in her family. “I come from a place where music is quite spiritual and for me in my
head music is about prayer and being spiritual. Music was always our form of prayer and in large part faith and church.” The much-grounded musician says she hopes to connect with her
fans on a much deeper level with Seasons Of My Soul, which she says is “a very open album.” She invites fans to become friends with her on Facebook, where the busy singer enjoys keeping connected with friends and fans, who have helped her along her journey. “There’s a real sense of community in a very genuine way, which is a fun and personal way to get feedback on the album,” she says. The album maintains a connection itself to the several seasons of Rum-
er’s soul and musical roots, a fact that isn’t too hard to believe considering all the music and songs she wrote for the album were done on the very first guitar she received as a gift from her brother Rob as a child. “I still got that thing and I love it. It’s the only one I play. I bought a very
expensive guitar and I took it back to the shop, because I just never enjoyed playing it. I’d rather play on my $5 guitar,” she modestly admits. Still, she credits one of sisters for being the most influential person in her musical taste. “She was the one who actually put me in front of the TV and said, ‘Here watch this,’ introducing me to Judy Garland. Later on she was passing me CDs and giving me great records saying, ‘Here listen to this,’” Rumer explains. “While I don’t want to say that otherwise I was cheap, I did have a cheap streak,” the European starlet goes further. “You know, I liked Madonna and a ton of R&B, such as Whitney Houston, whom I liked as well. My sister made me cool. I don’t feel I would be very cool if it wasn’t for her giving me a varied taste in music. Otherwise I would be just a big Madonna freak,” Rumer quips, quickly clarifying it’s the ‘80s she refers to as having a sense of tackiness and not the individual artists.
Although she speaks so confidently now, as surprising as it might sound
when you hear Rumer’s voice, not to mention her music, success was not handed to Rumer on a plate. She has fought long and hard to get her break— ten years, to be precise. During that time she performed anywhere and every- where she could, trying to meet anyone in the industry who would give her a chance, all the while essentially propping up South London’s job-count. “You have to be tough,” she says. “I was constantly rejected, and I kept trying to im- prove. You see a lot of amazing musicians quit, because you have to sacrifice.” Rumer’s luck changed when she met award-winning TV and musical com-
poser Steve Brown (It’s A Wonderful Life, Spend, Spend, Spend), who quickly became Rumer’s producer. Together, the two began to bring to life a set of songs that anyone with ears is destined to fall in love with. “The first single ‘Slow’ is a stop-what-you’re-doing torch song “about being obsessive in a new relationship. It’s a love song, but it’s unrequited love, and the chorus has that Greek chorus effect, advising me not to fall in love too fast,” she explains. The instantly-classic soul of ‘Aretha’, meanwhile, conveys, amongst other things, Rumer says, is the gratitude felt for artists who keep a person going through difficult times. “Everyone has his or her own Aretha. I can’t imagine my life without them,” she admits. And who is one of Rumer’s Aretha’s? Interestingly enough, it’s someone oth-
Fortunately for us the latest Britain singing sensation Rumer did not get stranded on a deserted island while making her way to the United States. However if she did, here are three cuts she couldn’t live without on her iPod…
Hejira by Joni Mitchell In a Silent Way by Miles Davis Piano Concerto No. 2 with Brief Encounter by Rachmaninoff
ers often compare her to—Karen Carpenter. “I love her. I just love talking about her. I simply love her name being mentioned,” the fresh upcoming artist excit- edly says. “She’s wonderful and was a wonderful person who had sadness and needed to express herself. She did through her music what she couldn’t really express in her life,” she notes, adding that she finds Carpenter’s voice incredibly moving. “Sometimes when I listen to her voice I just want to cry. There’s such sadness and I wonder, ‘What is going on in there underneath it all?’” Undoubtedly, after listening to the powerfully personal songs on Seasons Of
My Soul Rumer’s fans are left wondering the same and hoping for the fire that burns deep inside this rising artist’s soul to continue to burn for many seasons to come.
32 RAGE monthly | MARCH 2012
RUMER’S iPOD
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