“Hoops” is about being in a relationship with someone who does damaging things in the hope that it will keep you close. In the end it doesn’t matter because you love them despite the craziness, you keep coming back to them.
I woke up to pee in the middle of the night and had a melody in my head. I sung it into my phone then went to sleep thinking nothing of it. When I listened in the morning I realised it wasn’t bad so sat down and worked out the rest of the song. It all happened pretty quickly and easily which is a rare thing.
The demo was put together on my laptop using Logic. It didn’t take much really because the idea was pretty direct and simple — just electric piano over a programmed beat and some bass. The vocals worked out over that then guitar added afterwards. We try to keep demos simple so the initial idea doesn’t get swallowed before you get into the actual studio.
Why was it voted Triple J’s No.1 on their Hottest 100 recently? I guess the song resonated with a lot of people. We always liked it and it always goes down well live, but we never dreamed it would be voted number one. We’re also lucky that people show their support for Australian artists when they vote. It doesn’t feel real having the number one song on Triple J’s Hottest 100 and it might never feel real. To know that so many people care is humbling.
The best advice I can offer budding artists is to write everyday. We wrote about 35 songs before recording this album and “Hoops” wasn’t written until the very end when the rest of the songs were being mixed. It wouldn’t have popped up if writing wasn’t a habit for us.
THE RUBENS TOUR DATES
with special guests MANSIONAIR, SLUM SOCIABLE & ALI BARTER (SYD & MELB ONLY)
JUNE 2016
Presented by Frontier Touring, triple j, The Music & Music Feeds
Sat 11 Jun – The Tivoli | Brisbane, QLD – (18+)
ticketmaster.com.au | Ph: 136 100
Sat 18 Jun – Metro City | Perth, WA – (18+)
megatix.com.au
Fri 24 Jun – Hordern Pavilion | Sydney, NSW – (All Ages)
ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849
Sat 25 Jun – Margaret Court Arena | Melbourne, VIC – (All Ages)
ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849
For the full article grab the March 2016 issue of MAXIM, in stores from February 18 to March 17.
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