Ruben Dawnson Interview: MTV was like my biggest influence in the beginning

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Having spent the last few years releasing a string of fresh and uplifting lo-fi indie bangers, Norwegian singer and songwriter Ruben Dawnson has now unveiled his first major release of the new year with his new EP Echo Emotions.

Featuring the previously shared singles SAYIMGOOD and I Don’t Wanna Be Alone, the frontman delivers a bold and bouncing six-track collection that looks to follow in the same upbeat vein as Two Door Cinema Club and Glass Animals.

So with his new EP finally upon us, we sat down with him to find out more about his latest release and what has inspired him over the years.

Hi, how are you today?

I’m pretty good today, how are you?

Good, thanks. For those that aren’t familiar with your music, how would you best describe your sound?

I don’t think I have a specific sound, I think I am kind of all over the place cause I have had so many different influences, and stuff that I like and listen to, that it’s just a big mess, all over the spectrum. I can’t say a single style but I can say a couple of keywords. I can say my music is honest, usually introspective and hopefully cool.

And what artists have influenced you the most over the years?

Kind of building on the last one… I grew up on MTV early 2000s, 2006/07. That was like my biggest influence in the beginning. Watching just a lot of urban pop and rock bands like Outkast, Pharrell and Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, Linkin Park and Coldplay. All that stuff. And then when I got Spotify pretty early on, I was very into old school hip hop, so kind of like got into lyricism. I began to care most about lyrics at that point. Then I discovered Frank Ocean and that had a really big impact on me overall.

You have just released your latest EP ‘Echo Emotions’ Can you tell us a little bit about how that release came about?

So I have been writing songs for myself for a while, and I just felt like I wanted to create a more complete project that a fan can listen to from start to finish and have more of an experience than you can with just one song. So that’s how the Echo Emotions EP came about.

And what parts of it do you feel the most proud or connected to?

Can’t really choose one part. I’m proud of the whole thing. So, that’s why I really like the last song because then I feel like I get a sense of pride, that I’ve made a whole project.

Aside from the new music, what other plans have you got in store for 2020?

2020, I’m trying to expand my craft into doing more design. I’ve been learning how to create cover art, which I’ve always done, but feel I am getting better at it. I just want to create stuff. And now that our plans to play live aren’t happening, we have a lot of time to play and develop that for the future. But now that we can’t actually play proper live shows, I have a lot of time to just create stuff. So hopefully 2020 will allow me to make a lot of new music. But other than that, we’ll have to see what happens in the world over the coming months.

And how has the coronavirus virus outbreak affected your productivity so far?

It’s given me space and a lot of time to reflect on things and figure out where else I want to go beyond the EP. So that’s what I’m experimenting with now. Also, the current situation gave me time to finish the EP, and really focus on the release. So, for me, it has been good in a way. Norway has taken things very seriously, and I’m thankful for that. It has given me time and freed up my schedule, as well as helped with my productivity.

And finally, what has been the most memorable moment of your career so far?

I think it’s too early for me to look back. I’m looking forward.


Ruben Dawnson’s new EP Echo Emotions is available to stream and download now. Have a listen to it below.

Listen on Apple Music

Chris Bound

chris bound

Chris bound is a freelance music journalist for Indie Is Not A Genre and editor at Mystic Sons PR, a Music Promotions company based in London.

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