Interview: Rumer
Interview: Rumer
The singer-songwriter talks to Tara Robinson ahead of the 15th anniversary tour of her debut album
Sarah Joyce, better known by her stage name Rumer, exploded on to the UK stage in 2010 with her debut album, Seasons of My Soul. Her powerful voice and raw, frank lyrics made the album a bestseller – and now, to celebrate the album’s 15th anniversary, she’s bringing it to the stage again with a UK tour.
Along with the tour comes the release of In Session, a special project of re-recorded songs arranged with Redtenbacher’s Funkestra.
It’s a circular moment for the 45-year-old South London-based singer-songwriter, who sees the anniversary as an opportunity for reflection and celebration. She was persuaded by the idea after performing songs from the album at Queen Elizabeth Hall last November as part of EFG London Jazz Festival – an experience she says reinforced for her how loved Seasons of My Soul still is.
“It was really well-received,” she says of the performance. “It made me realise how much the fans still love the album – and how much I still love the album. That’s what persuaded me to take it on a proper tour.”
As well as the prospect of giving the fans something special, Rumer also sees the upcoming tour – and the accompanying re-recorded collection – as an opportunity: the chance to reach a whole new generation of listeners.
“There are many young people around now who would have been very young when the album first came out, so might be completely unfamiliar with it. The album is 15 years old after all. One of the goals of the new recordings, and this tour, is to bring the music to what might perhaps be a new audience.”
This is both a retrospective and a generative moment for the singer; the chance to look back to and celebrate the old, while simultaneously making it new again. On the theme of retrospection, does she have any stand-out moments from throughout her career?
“Definitely performing at the London Palladium with Burt Bacharach, who was always an idol of mine. It was such a special moment.” She’s returning to the London Palladium for the upcoming tour, on the 20th of October, and she’s very excited to go back.
(Scroll to keep reading)
Rumer has collaborated with many artists over the years, including Bacharach himself (whose former musical director she is now married to) as well as Dionne Warwick and Stephen Bishop. I ask her if she has any dream artists she hasn’t collaborated with yet. With a laugh, she replies, “If we’re really dreaming, then I’ll say Van Morrison.”
She currently has a brand-new album in the works, still in the very early stages. Between that and the tour, she doesn’t have much spare time these days. Coming home from work means taking care of children and household chores – but she says she has learned to “fall in love with the mundane.”
“You’ve got to find the beauty in household chores, to appreciate the mundanity of life,” she explains. “That’s how you get through every day.”
When she does get a chance to unwind, Rumer’s activity of choice is walking and hiking. “I love Kew Gardens. I would prescribe a walk in Kew Gardens to anyone.” Getting into nature, she believes, is a true balm for the soul.
Music seems for her to be a kind of destiny. “I don’t think I was ever going to be anything other than a singer,” she muses. If she hadn’t become a singer, though, what does she think she might have been instead?
“I’d probably be a social worker or a psychiatrist. I’m very interested in mental health and I’ve always tried to focus my energies towards helping people – that’s what drives me.”
It’s something that bleeds into her musical work – the mind turns to songs like Aretha, with its frank depiction of a family dealing with mental illness, and the healing power of music. Clearly, our callings always manage to find us in different ways.
Tickets to see Rumer’s 15th anniversary tour celebrating Seasons of My Soul, including her show on 20th October at the London Palladium, are available from Ticketline.co.uk / Tickemaster.co.uk
