Nexus Meets… Rambler The Band
The solo project of multi-instrumentalist artist Rodrigo Gutierrez, Rambler The Band is a melding of Nirvana, The Beatles and Pink Floyd. We had a chance to speak with Rodrigo about his self-produced EP Savages, discovering live music and much more.
What can you tell us about the EP Savages?
Well, I believe it’s the consumption of an obsession. Music and melodies come to me and I try to make them real. I try to catch these magic moments and put them into a song. I made a lot of demos and picked four songs to build this EP which took me about a year. It all started by experimenting with an old tape deck machine, a drum loop machine, bass, guitar and vocals.
Which is your favourite track on Savages and why that track?
That’s a tough one. I like them all, but I have a thing for ‘Flying Solo’ which is an instrumental track. It forced me to be creative because I wanted it to sound different. At the same time, I realised that I wanted to avoid the obvious choices, for instance, there’s no repetition for the verse on ‘Ride’ after the first chorus, or on ‘Shadows’ the drum pattern changes only for the second chorus.
On ‘Flying Solo’ I let the stone roll and tried to build this sort of gritty guitar DI sound with a McCartney style jazz bass and a lot of feedback from the white noise on the synth all in one shot. We could say this spontaneous vibe left a really sweet feel on me; that’s why ‘Flying Solo’ is my favourite one.
You mention the EP is self-produced. Did you face any challenges when producing Savages?
Well, when I was in my early twenties I had a band and we decided to make an album. It all started with loads of enthusiasm, but as days passed by I felt that we were led by people that weren’t really involved with passion on sound. As a band, we had no experience on making music. As a result, in a studio we just had to go with it and it sometimes got frustrating.
Years passed by and even though I’m still not a pro I know my way around sound. The big challenge of doing it all by yourself is that sometimes you get a bit lost by trying different ways of doing things over and over. At some point, you must commit with an idea and build your sound on it.
What are the benefits of self-production?
The main benefit of self-production is that there are no limitations when it comes to musical ideas and achieving the tone of the sound that you’re looking for.
How would you describe your music?
I try to do cinematic pieces of music. Like I said before, I try to avoid the obvious choices and sometimes it’s just about small details. I’m very into old stuff from the 60s and the 70s, so there’s strong sonic influence from all this era on my sound.
What do you hope people take from Savages?
Give it a listen, jump around and do a pillow fight with ‘Low Light/Savages’, then drink a glass of wine listening to ‘Shadows’. Go for an open road listening to ‘Ride’ and look at the stars at night while listening to ‘Flying Solo’…that’s what I hope!
What do you think is the best way to discover live music?
In my experience, you just need to have an open mind and be ready to be surprised. I remember one night in France I was out for a beer at a small venue and a super three-piece band called Radio Moscow started to play. I didn’t know them back then and I can tell you that this 40-minute gig was the most amazing live gig I had ever seen. The drummer played so hard that he broke the kick drum right in the middle of the show – that was pure and genuine energy!
Do you have any future plans?
Well, I would love to play this EP live, however, with the virus situation things won’t be the same for quite a while. Promotion-wise, there will be a videoclip for ‘Ride’ coming out soon and I’m currently working on a second EP just to keep my ears in shape.