Karen Ruimy
Karen Ruimy has had an unusual path to making her debut album as she has gone from a career in finance to being a flamenco dancer to being a musician.
The new year will see her release her debut record Come With Me and we caught up with her to char about the record and what lies ahead.
- Come With Me is your debut album so what can we expect from this record?
It is an album that I have written with Justin Adams and an album is about a meeting and a creativity in music.
Justin Adams is a wonderful guitarist who has worked with Robert Plant and he knows Moroccan music really well, I am from Morocco, and so we decided to create a world of music and that is what you are going to find out with this album.
It is an album that talks about my favourite subject and that is love and also what is going on in the world and the progress of society. I know that I have a soft voice so many of the songs are ballads and some do have some flair.
- There are some Latin and North African influences on the record as well as a pop sound - it is a very eclectic album - so how describe the sound of the record?
That is a very interesting question. It is music that transcends into the Western world as I am from Morocco and I have travelled a lot.
- And how did you arrive at this sound? Is it something that developed while you were recording or did you go into the studio knowing what you wanted?
It is an actual sound for me but it came organically for me when we were in the studio - we never said ‘oh we want to achieve that sound’ it was just a natural mix between Justin and myself and then Youth, who produced the album.
I think it was a mix of the soul of Morocco, the soul of spirituality that I have in me as well as the mystery life and then translating it with Moroccan rhythm and an English vibe.
- You grew up in Morocco before living in France, America and London so how has being exposed to all these different cultures and musical sounds influenced your own work?
It definitely has influenced as I am part of all these worlds and I cannot define myself on one aspect. I really am a combination of all those influences and I really love that they mix together and that is how my music really works.
- And how have you found the response to the record so far?
I am quite happy as people seem to be really enjoying the music and I am really impressed by the result actually.
It is something that you have in you and it comes from the depths and you never expect that people are going to like it because it is so personal.
- You have mentioned Youth already and he has produced the album so how did that collaboration come about? And what were you looking for in your producer?
When we had Youth on board we knew that the album with Justin was good and organic but we just needed to go one step beyond to go to the public and make it more accessible - and that is what we were wanting from him.
I was very happy because Youth also has a lot of depth as he is a writer, not only a music writer but he also writes poetry, so I was very surprised and very pleased.
We had a great connection and so it turned out very well and we spent some great moments in the studio together. We also wrote two songs because we had a great collaboration.
- He has worked with people from Beth Orton through to Paul McCartney so what did his wealth of experience bring to this record?
He brought something that was grander and had a more anthemic feeling.
On the songs that we wrote together we could go deeper into the mystery of life and also it had very strong emotions as he goes very far when you work with him and he really drives you to go to places you don’t visit sometimes in yourself.
He does that so easily and doesn’t seem to work hard on it. You just go with him on the road - it is amazing.
- The album has also seen you do some writing and recording Justin Adams so how was that experience? And how did you meet?
We met through a friend, my dear friend is the tour manager of Peter Gabriel, and he wanted to guide me on this album and he though Justin would be perfect for me.
It was really fantastic because Justin, as you know, he is a fantastic guitarist for Robert Plant and at the same time he is a very knowledgeable in English and literature and so we had great fun.
He also knows a lot about France and about Morocco and so it made it easier to work together. I think Justin is a really great musician and also a wonderful person so I had a great time.
- You haven’t always been involved in music having worked in finance. You left that to become a Flamenco Dancer and now you are releasing a debut record so what did you decide to leave your very successful job behind for something very less certain?
It was just that I felt after seven or eight years that I no longer belonged in that world at all and it was weird to go back every day and listen to things about finance and money and things that I didn’t really care about. So I thought that it was time to move on and that is what I did.
- So how much has dance and music always been something that you were keen to pursue?
Dancing and music were my life when I was in Morocco as I was always dancing. When I moved to France I started to go to dance classes but in my culture it was hard to become a dancer so I kept it part of my life but not my professional life.
When I changed my professional life I was really ready to go - I thought I was going to be a writer at first but then I realised that I was an artist in music. Then I really put myself on stage and it really developed from there.
- I was reading that you have also written some music for a dance show that will be touring next year so can you tell me a little bit about that?
We created a show named Sangre and we played the showcase in June of this year. We took some music from this album Come With Me and we created some music with Youth especially for the show - one song is absolutely beautiful but it is not on the album though.
- Now that you have made your album debut is recording music something that you intend to pursue in the future?
Oh yeah (laughs). We are working on the new album at the moment and are working with an amazing producer in America.
This producer is Phil Ramone and it was a very nice encounter and I said ‘what do you see for me?’ - he liked this album Come With Me and he loved the style and so on.
And he was like ‘would love for you to do some old songs’ and I was like ‘right, let’s do it’. So the album is a bit jazzy and we cover old classics from America.
- Finally what is next for you heading into the new year?
We launching the new album Come With Me and we will also finish the production on the next album with Phil Ramone. I am also writing a new book as well.