Emma Ruth Rundle; The Passion Behind the Music

Emma Ruth Rundle is an L.A. based singer-songwriter who’s latest solo album, Some Heavy Ocean, showcases her passion for music and her intent to touch the souls of the listener. “It’s not entirely true that Some Heavy Ocean is my first solo album,” Rundle responded when I asked how the process had been. “I put out a full length record of ambient electric guitar pieces a few years ago and would hate for that to be overlooked.” “The process has been a long and trying one. I have to say that without the constant support of Sargent House and Cathy Pellow, Some Heavy Ocean would never have seen the light of day. As for the listener- I have no expectations or hopes for them. Take away what you will and interpret the songs thusly. Once it’s gone from me, I have no control over my music or what impression I leave. I don’t go out of my way to impart things to others. Music is for me and if it brings something to someone else than that’s nice I suppose!” I asked her when she realized she knew music was what she wanted to do with her life. “Music and art are things that I’ve always done. When I was very young, I had very romantic ideas about becoming a painter. I never received any formal training for the visual art but did attend Calarts briefly for music. I spent a lot of time hanging out and working in an old folk music store in LA, and one thing lead to another. Here I am now with a few other skills and many years of work behind me. So, to clarify my answer, I don’t think there was a so called “aha” moment about music,” Rundle responded. “I’ve been writing my whole life,” Rundle reveled about her songwriting career. “My sister and I would write songs together as small children and record them to a cassette machine. Needless to say, I’d bet most of the music I’ve made would not be worth listening to. Singing is something that comes naturally to most people I think. Again, I’ve never been trained formally… Just singing all the time – to myself mostly.” When I asked her who inspired her the most in her musical career, Rundle answered, “I’m not sure I can answer that. I go through phases of being quite intensely inspired by one persons and hyper focus on what it is they have done. Most of these people tend to have admirable qualities aside from just creating content. I’m really into Peter Gabriel’s “So” at the moment. Chris Whitley will always remain high on the list.” “I don’t like to use ‘inspiration,’” she said when I asked what inspired her music when she sat down to write. “I’m not trying to be pretensions by any means, it’s just much less glamorous than that. I pick up the guitar and it speaks or it doesn’t. It’s that simple really. It always starts with the instruments.” “Music is not directly for the listener,” Rundle told me. “It’s a compulsion to release something. To take out a shadowy figure and examine it. It can also be as simple as wanting to sing a melody that pleases me. More often than not, the music and lyrics relate directly to my personal life though.”