Josh Rouse
Josh Rouse is back with his terrific new album The Happiness Waltz, his first album since Josh Rouse and The Long Vacations two years ago.
We caught up with the singer/songwriter to chat about the new record as well as what is coming up for the rest of the year.
- Your new album The Happiness Waltz has just been released so what can fans expect from the record this time around?
They can expect mellow and very listenable songs that are also very warm sounding. It is a lot like my music and I don’t think that it is too drastically different to what I have been doing for the past fifteen years.
- Well you have slightly touched on my next question as I was wondering how does this record perhaps compare to some of the albums that you have made in the past?
I don’t really compare records - I make them and leave them I guess. I have been reading some of the reactions to the album and it seems that they have been comparing it to some of my more popular albums like 1972 and Nashville.
- How have you found the response to the record so far - it seems to be going down well?
Yeah, good. The fans really do seem to be liking it and that is good - I really am a people pleaser (laughs).
- You are over in the UK so what have you been up to?
Well I did a surprise gig at The Lock Tavern in London. I was just over here doing some promotion and I thought that it might be nice to do a little pop up gig at a pub that is just around the corner from my hotel. So I have done that and I am just trying to keep warm (laughs).
- The album sees you reunite with producer Brad Jones - who you have worked with on two other records - so why did you make the decision to hook up with him again?
He is my George Martin, I guess you would say. He can take an idea that I have that is a bit more abstract and make a bit more pop.
I always just enjoy… there is not too much bickering back and forth and we actually don’t have to speak all that much as it just works really well. He is a really hard worker. But he respects what I do and I respect what he does and we just make a really good team.
I started working on the album in Valencia and I said ‘hey come and help me in the studio and we can do a record at the same time’ so that is what we kind of did.
- He is a very experienced producer and so I was wondering what you felt his experience brings to your music?
He actually gets inside the song and he really understands what is making it work and what is not working. I have worked with other people over the years and they don’t do that and it is more about the textures and all of that kind of stuff.
It is like a movie if you don’t have a good screenplay or you don’t have a good story then it’s… you can make it look amazing, the shots can look amazing and it can have incredible technique but if the story is not there it is not going to stand the test of time. So he is really good at picking songs that really have the stuff and working on those.
- Speaking of the songs I was reading that being a father and a husband has been a huge influence while writing this album so how is that so? And how has your perspective changed?
My perspective on everything has changed since I have had kids as I have had a pretty selfish life as a singer songwriter and I have just travelled and played concerts and putting out my own records.
Having children definitely slowed me down and I have found it difficult to work as I just haven’t had the time to get anything done. It changed my life and my relationship - it is challenging when you are not getting a lot of sleep and there is just not a lot of time for the relationship as it is all about the kids.
So the record does deal with that a little bit as I figured that a lot of people who have families go through the same thing and so I thought I would write about it.
- You are an artist who puts out albums regularly - the last one was only two years ago - so are you very much someone who enjoys the studio experience?
I do, I do. That is why I have the studio as it is very much my man cave - it is nice to have you workshop where you can go and really disconnect with the rest of the world and focus on what you are doing.
Now I need it more than ever because of the little ones running around. I use to do it at home but now I need a place that I can get away to.
- There does seem to be more of a personal feel to the tracks this time around and I was wondering how you felt you had developed as songwriter from you first album to this?
Oh wow, I am always trying to learn. I have always got the great one like John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan to look up to and learn from, and even friends that write songs.
The music business is definitely a young person’s thing but I do feel that the older I get the better I get at song writing just from learning and experiences. I can actually share what I do and the craft that I have learned with people who are younger to help them get going, like people did with me. It has definitely developed.
I started out pretty good (laughs), I must have because someone was interested enough to buy my records and pay to record them in the first place. But definitely I can always learn.
- It is interesting that you say that the music industry is a young person’s game as in the last few years we have seen some major advancements - particularly with social media - are you on board with all that?
I don’t, my manger does all of the social media stuff for me. But it is definitely important because that is what is going on at the moment.
One drawback to that is I feel that for people who are starting out or getting going they are paying a lot of attention to that and getting your music out there instead of spending time on the music and getting that right first.
You have got to have a good idea that works out - or just be really great. But there are not too many really great people out there.
If you are really good social media is great in being able to get your stuff out there but maybe a lot of people who are starting out need to spend more time on developing instead of just putting their music out there. It is important to wait until you’re ready.
- You will be heading back here in May for some live shows so how exited are you to get back on the road and play these songs live to a UK audience?
Great, I am really looking forward to it. If I am not here for six months and I don’t play in the UK I always ring my booking agent and get them to book some shows because I really do enjoy playing over here.
I am definitely looking forward to it and I think that The Happiness Waltz is record that UK audiences should embrace.
- So where did your love of music start? And what bands or artists did you grow up listening to that have really influenced your own music?
I grew up in the seventies and eighties with radio and as I became a teenager I got into my own music - you find your friends that listen to different things like The Smiths or Violent Sevens.
I grew up in in the west and in the south and so it was a mixture of different sounds like Marvin Gaye - the sixties and seventies Motown stuff - and then folky stuff like Bob Dylan.
But I listened to British stuff as well as I was a huge fan of The Cure, I think Robert Smith is a brilliant songwriter and guitar player. It was kind of all over the map… REM there first ten records were really big for me. So it really was a bit of everything.
- Finally what's coming up for you - are you going to tour this record for a while or head back into the studio at the end of the year?
No just touring. I am just going to play plenty of shows throughout the year and enjoy it.
The Happiness Waltz is out now. Check out our The Happiness Waltz review.