RuthAnne started singing and songwriting when she was just eight years old, performing in musical theatre productions through her stage school and regularly taking the mic at karaoke bars, winning free drinks for her parents. Inspired by the likes of Lauryn Hill and Alicia Keys, RuthAnne's singular and compelling style has finally led her to her solo debut ventures as she finds the missing link between gritty nineties R&B and seventies songwriter storytelling. In recent years, she has become known for her immensely successful songwriting career for such esteemed industry names. Now, RuthAnne is focusing on her solo music and has just announced a range of stunning singles. Soaring with her captivating voice and assorted range, RuthAnne is on course to exemplify her own personal vision… The Seventh Hex talks to RuthAnne about her creative process, singing live on American television and finding a positive headspace…
TSH: It’s been a long time coming in terms of getting your debut album release out there. What sort of emotions are you feeling having almost finally reached this point?
RuthAnne: I’m feeling soooooo excited and it does feel like a long long time coming but timing is everything and I had to go on this journey to find myself and my true voice as an artist. I feel proud to have a body of work that I wrote and produced and can really call my own – I can present my true authentic artist self to the world. I can’t wait to have it out there.
TSH: Having written for so many revered artists, was it quite a challenge for you to pin down your own sound?
RuthAnne: I do have a very versatile music taste, I love so many types of music, BUT soulful emotive substance pop has always been my favourite. I love hip-hop beats with real songs on top of them. So, when it came to doing my album I always knew it would have that flavour in it, but I think I needed to live the stories first to write them and so as soon as I had the lyrics everything else just popped into place. I wanted to write an album that reminded me of the storytelling from females like Carole King, Alicia Keys, Lauryn Hill, Brandy, Amy Winehouse… the vulnerability and honesty of their songs was important to me in the making of my own record.
TSH: You’ve written alongside stellar names like Niall Horan, Britney Spears and Bebe Rexha. In what ways has collaborating with others helped you to excel with your own songwriting?
RuthAnne: I’ve learned so much being a songwriter and writing with such versatile artists and songwriters. I think practicing your craft always makes you better and you pick up something from everyone you work with. It took me a few years of doing it other people’s ways to figure out my own way and what worked best for me and then apply that in the rooms I write in.
TSH: Does your creative process still consist of talking about life stories and then songs just pop out you – sort of like a free-spirted and in the moment type of outlook?
RuthAnne: Yes, that honestly is my creative process; however, I do take time to craft the song after. So there’s three stages for me in making a song: first is the idea, the lightning bolt magic moment where you sing or write a bunch of strong lyrics/melodies that come to you from the conversation or inspiration in the room, then comes the crafting of those ideas, picking the strongest, filling in the blanks in the lyrics, beating some lines to make them better and third is the music production side. So, the first stage is important because that’s the juice, then we have to go in and make it the best those ideas can be and craft.
TSH: With a song like ‘The Vow’, did you sort of feel compelled to pen a love song, since most of your other tracks may come across too sad?
RuthAnne: Haha! Yes, actually. At the time I wasn’t very lucky in love and had a terrible pattern of being very into people who weren’t into me or people being very into me and I wasn’t into them at all!! But I wanted a true love song, an unconditional love song, a song that could be sang at my wedding and ‘The Vow’ came to me at 5am in the morning after talking to a male best friend of mine who had mentioned us being 80 years old and singing in pubs together, which led me to thinking of my parents who have been married for 43 years. I woke up writing the lyrics down almost in a trance - the journey of life and the unconditional love we have for each other. I didn’t have a man in my life but I had that love surrounding me from friends and family, ‘The Vow’ is for all those people in my life.
TSH: Which aspects and features did you focus on mostly as you structured the song entitled ‘Superman’?
RuthAnne: I was thinking about Lauryn Hill and her soulful sound - I wanted to bring that back in the music. ‘Superman’ is about men in powerful positions, men we put on pedestals that abuse their power and I wrote it a year before all the stories that have been coming to light. It’s an anthem for women to know that all these men eventually get their karma.
TSH: What was the experience like in performing alongside Lindsey Sterling on Kelly and Ryan and Jimmy Kimmel?
RuthAnne: It was unbelievable! I had never sung live on American television and I love Jimmy Kimmel and Kelly and Ryan and everyone was so sweet. It was definitely a bucket list moment for me. I hope I can get to sing my own songs on those shows one day too, and on Jimmy Fallon too, because I LOVE HIM!
TSH: Is it true that your accent gets stronger when you’re in California?
RuthAnne: I have a musical ear so my accent sometimes can slip to whoever I’m around and I don’t even notice it. It’s really annoying because I’m so patriotic and Irish. I’m proud to be Irish so whenever I feel like my accent is slipping I ring my mum or my Irish friends and talk to them and my Irish accent gets very strong again, ha!
TSH: At 7 years old you played in a choir and came up with song structures that you got onto a tape recorder and then played to your parents. Do you recall what these songs were about?
RuthAnne: Well I had two older sisters and they would let me sneak into their room and watch Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place and then I’d watch EastEnders with my mom. I was writing about all the soap operas at that age and all the drama I was watching on TV, but as I’ve got older I have more than enough drama to write songs forever, haha!
TSH: What sort of TV and movies do you like to watch in your spare time?
RuthAnne: Romantic comedies are my favourite. Also, I love documentaries, but I don’t really have enough time to watch series on TV, even though I do like Game of Thrones.
TSH: When you need to find a positive headspace, what helps you to achieve this?
RuthAnne: Putting music on that I love and having a good dance always reminds me to just live in the moment and laugh and love.
TSH: Finally, with your future musical plans, what is your biggest drive?
RuthAnne: To make an album that people can connect with, to make people feel something and to continue to sing and perform for anyone who wants to listen and make music forever.
