The Rhubarb, who met right here at RMC, launch their debut album on Milky Bomb Records. We caught up with the band to find out more…
First things first, tell us about the new album! (And signing the record deal)
Yes! We have a new album! It’s called ‘Symptom Of Failure’. It’s 8 songs that we’ve been working really hard on for the past 3(ish) years. There were plans to release it sooner but unfortunately COVID-19 was a thing that happened and just put a stop to everything for everyone, alas, its finally coming out on 25th March 2023.
Signing to Milky Bomb Records was a career defining moment for the 4 of us. Just having someone that believes in the tracks as much as is a very comforting feeling. Milky Bomb have been instrumental to the planning and execution of releasing ‘Symptom of Failure’ and we are very thankful to have them on board!!
How would you describe your sound? Who are the band’s main influences?
Our sound is a mixture of a lot of different influences from Hawkwind to Electric Wizard, from Sleep to The Beatles, theres a lot in there ahaha. We have a unique sound because we blend both female and male (Hannah White & Sean Maguire) clean vocals with super heavy riffs & interesting rhythms. And to be perfectly honest, it’s not something we have ever came across or heard from any band.
The band are all former RMC students! How has studying here helped the band in
their journey so far?
This is true! Hannah, Sean, Jack and myself all studied at RMC from 2014 – 2015! It is extremely easy and safe to say that we wouldn’t be in the position we are right now without RMC teaching us how to run a band and work effectively and efficiently in the industry. Plus the fact we wouldn’t have even met without you guys, so thank you!!
You’ve been working closely with Kev Hare (RMC Graduate/former RMC lecturer
and Sound engineer) at Deep Storm Productions. Tell us more about that.
Ahh yeah, Kevin is a real master at his craft. We first met Kev when he was teaching the Rec Tech (Recording Techniques for Musicians) class at Riverside, the wealth of knowledge he has really was imparted on each one of us in his class. We always remember having to go into Studio 2 and record with Kev as part of our course and we’ll never forget being over the moon with the mixes he made and his approach toward recording bands. Working with Kev again at Deep Storm Productions was a fantastic experience in every stretch of the imagination.
What advice would you give to our current Performance students?
The best piece of advice I could give would be to never stop. I’m a firm believer in the “Wit’s fur ye won’t go by ye” mentality and you really don’t know whats round the corner. Persistence is key in this industry, you can really see the people who graft and graft and graft and really work for it, but in the same way you can just as easily see the folks who aren’t giving their all and expecting all the cool things to happen.
What’s next for The Rhubarb?
Well! There are many things in the pipeline that I can’t talk about right now, but, we are heading down south for a wee run of English shows which will be extremely fun as it’s our first proper tour with this current band! So very much to look forward to!
