Monday, April 30, 2012

RÜFÜS



RÜFÜS co-founder JON GEORGE talks to RACHEL BARNES about trying to hold onto their DIY mantra while gaining more and more recognition.

Rüfüs have been going from strength to strength as both local and global recognition of their music continues to grow since the launch of their debut self-titled EP in 2011. With their second self-titled ‘blue’ EP recently released, the indie-dance outfit have hit the road with their This Summer Tour and are planning to further their accomplishments.

Despite the band’s successes, George didn’t always want to get into the music business. “I was thinking about a bigger picture or something that’s more typical like the doctor-lawyer route that my parents wanted me to go down. I suppose when I left school I realised I could do anything,” George says. And lucky he did. After pursuing a career as a DJ, George decided to take on a sound engineering degree and quickly found himself wanting to make music. While George was in Byron finishing his degree he met his brother’s best mate, Tyrone Lindqvist, and the two quickly became inseparable. “It worked really well,” George says. “I suppose the best thing was the workflow, it was just super easy, and we realized we had our own sort of sound pretty quickly and that we could give it all a shot.”

After they finished their first EP the boys locked in their drummer, James Hunt, so they would be able to reproduce their music live. Rüfüs have been working non-stop since and are finding themselves booking bigger and better gigs and even gaining some international airtime. “We’ve had some pretty bizarre phone calls from people travelling overseas and being at a house party and hearing one of our songs,” George says. “It’s an awesome feeling but it’s really surreal.”

The band has been rehearsing for their summer tour for months and will be showcasing all the songs off the blue EP. “We are super excited to play an action-packed set, as far as we’re concerned it just doesn’t stop. I’m just pretty pumped to get sweaty and get it out,” he laughs.

As the band’s following grows bigger, the amount of work to do increases. Although they were once a band set on a DIY style, the boys have had to reach out for assistance for the first time. This EP is the first Rüfüs release to hit record stores with the help of Gigpiglet Recordings and Inertia, and the added exposure has forced the band to have more and more people working behind the scenes. “We still have a massive part in everything that happens with the band and that has happened right from the get-go,” George tells, “so this time around we’ve got our hand in every process … It’s a massive workload so we’ve got a good team behind us.”

It’s fortunate they have the support, as Rüfüs are planning to release a “substantial amount of work” by the end of this year and hope to tour overseas as soon as they find the time.

RÜFÜS play The Loft (Gold Coast) on Friday May 4 and Alhambra on Saturday May 5, supported by Polographia. The RÜFÜS (blue) EP is out now through Gigpiglet/Inertia. www.facebook.com/rufussounds

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