RUZE are a UK duo who if you don’t know yet, you will soon get to know! They are tearing up the charts with hit after hit over the last 12 months, and later this month will release their debut LP on the acclaimed Dutch house label PIV Records. We caught up with them recently to find out how their 2024 has been so far, how the LP came about, and their relationship with the label boss Prunk.

WWD: Hey guys, how has your 2024 been so far?

There’s only one word for it, incredible! We’ve hit some major milestones that have been on our bucket list in the first few months of ’24, including playing at the infamous WOMB in Tokyo, Thuishaven in Amsterdam & releasing our first full length LP! We can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for us! 

WWD: Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your new album “Journey” coming soon on PIV Records?

Actually, this was inspired by Prunk himself. We received a message around a year ago which read something along the line of “you guys are machines! we should definitely do an album on PIV!”. This was shortly after he’d played a new batch of demos that we’d just sent him, from there the idea was born! We got to work finalising up some of the favourites & creating some fresh cuts too!

WWD: How has your journey been since being named as ones to watch in 2023 by Prunk? What’s the relationship with him like? What is he like, what has he taught you?

We would love to say it has been a great journey, but not everything is roses in the music industry & we feel it’s important to share our experiences. We both work full time through the week, so finding the energy in the evening after a long days work is sometimes a struggle, some days we are not productive at all, other days the magic happens! 

Our relationship with Prunk is a special one, anybody that knows him or has met him will tell you he is one of the kindest souls in the industry. He has constantly pushed and supported our sound since we first came into contact with him back in 2021. Prunk holds a special place in our hearts, his enthusiasm for music & his ability to manage his time effectively, running a hugely successful record label aswell as touring & spending time with his family is admirable. 

WWD: What do you hope listeners take away from the nine fresh cuts on your album? What was the aim with it?

We hope this project can give the listener a window into our musical influences through each track. Each track has a little flavour of different periods of our lives sprinkled into them over our musical journey. 

WWD: Could you share your creative process when crafting the tracks for this album, where do you start on a new tune? What gear do you use?

Some people are surprised to learn that we are all in the box, we have no hardware at all! 

The inspiration when starting a new tune can come from anywhere, an existing vocal, an idea in the shower, a simple trip out to a local music event or even Instagram. 

WWD: What sets Journey apart from your previous releases like Hardwire and Chapters EPs? Did you approach it differently?

Apart from being our first ever full-length on wax, we believe the LP offers a real insight to our musical tastes. You will be able to hear the influences from classic house, garage, jazz and even some EDM in there. 

This LP really does reflect our journey throughout music over the years. 

WWD: With support from industry heavyweights, an album on the way, and plenty of big gigs, what has been the most memorable moment of your career so far and why?

There are a few, but if we had to highlight just one, it would be the day we received the news that we were going to be playing at the world’s biggest electronic music festival, Tomorrowland! 

WWD: Can you share any challenges you faced during your production/touring journey and how you overcame them?

One of the biggest challenges has been health. Over the last year one of us has unfortunately suffered from some health issues. During this period we slowed down production & touring, playing gigs solo for a period & having to turn down some great opportunities that were presented to us.

Fortunately, things are better now & we’re back firing on all cylinders! We have some exciting things lined up over the next 12 months that we can’t wait to share with you all! 

A key part of overcoming these issues was listening to our bodies when it’s telling you to slow down & always supporting each other as much as we possibly could. 

WWD: What else have you got coming up?

We’ve got a collaboration with Robbie Doherty lined up to be released on an amazing label. We’ve also been working with a few other exciting names such as Chesster on some big projects, more to be announced later this year 👀. 

In terms of gigs, we’ve got some great places and shows lined up to visit, including a few debut countries, we can’t wait to see you all on the dancefloor!

Buy RUZE’s ‘Journey’ LP here