An interview with Rü

Rü is the Chicago-based dj / producer whose goal is to find, play, and create more of those iconic songs that are hidden on the B-sides of dusty records in the back of any record store that specializes in underground electronic music. close. you. His music is meant to be enjoyed in the grimy warehouses, abandoned subway tunnels, empty factories, overgrown forests and underground clubs for the modern take on the angel-headed hipsters Allen Ginsberg once wrote about.

Through its Super Legit Records label, it will continue to release music that suits that environment, and through its event production company Super Legit Productions, it will continue to host parties that showcase the art, music, and wonders that make it count. worth the wait on weekends. .

We have had the pleasure of interviewing him and this has been the result.

Can you tell us a little about your experience? Where are you from / how did you get into music? Was it all internet-based?

When I grew up, I lived in a nice place with a nice family in a tiny farm community in Ohio. Everything in my life was going great until it wasn’t, and that’s when I got INTO music. Anything fast, loud, and new. I’d just go to record stores and just wander the aisles for as long as I could. It sucked, to be honest because there was all this music in front of you- rows upon rows of CDs – but you couldn’t listen to any of it; you had to just know what you wanted to hear. 

At some point, I found one of the Punk o Rama mixtapes and then stuff made sense. For a really long time, it was only typical guitar, drum, bass punk music, and then I heard Mindless Self Indulgence, and shit just kinda changed for me. I started getting into hip hop, eventually got a turntable and a mixer, and started spending all my money on records. But mostly the way I initially found out about stuff was just being friends with a bunch of music snobs. We’d all scour the world looking for music and then everyone would come together and show each other bands. My friends were really into hardcore and punk. They turned me onto Lightning Bolt, The Locust, Big Black, and then eventually someone found Aphex Twin and something clicked.

Myspace and stuff were good to get like the most recent stuff, but there’s nothing that beats digging for records. Turntable Lab was the shit if you didn’t live in NYC because you could listen to stuff before you bought it on their website. When I moved to Chicago, I put together a PowerPoint presentation for the dudes at Gramaphone Records and they hired me to put previews of records on their website. I love that place. 

Who have been your main inspirations (both musical and in “life”)? And how have they affected your sound?

Diplo, Aphex Twin, Burial, Rick Ruben, and Derrick Carter. 

Ever since I found out about Diplo in like 2007, he has just constantly either been a part of, on top of, related to, or just delivering some of my favorite music. One of the things I respect the most about the dude is that he’s described himself as a sorta folk producer, and has worn that as a badge of honor and I love that. I didn’t go to school for this shit. I don’t know what I’m doing. It’s reassuring to hear. Diplo as a DJ has historically just shown how essential underground scenes are; he’s shown me so many different styles of music from all over the place that I love to my core. Hopefully one day I get to serve that purpose to people. 

Aphex Twin is like a mad scientist whose science is 100% dedicated to making synthesizers, drum machines, and just… sound waves… do insane shit and just takes the idea of ‘meta’ to an entirely new level. Like… he has pictures IN his music. LITERALLY. There are songs and sounds he has created that if you plot them on an oscilloscope, they MAKE a FACE. AND IT SOUNDS RAD AS FUCK. And chill as fuck. Aphex Twin epitomizes what it means to be an art scientist. Like. Get weird with it. Hit record, and keep making noises until something sounds cool. 

What I love the most about Burial is that I still don’t know his name. I mean the amount of time I’ve spent listening to every song he’s released… and I don’t know who he is. I don’t know shit about him. I love that. I know his identity was released a while ago, but Burial, to me, is art without corruption. Not in some noble, uppity, holier-than-thou way but just… he’s just a dude that makes what he makes. Burial makes me not afraid to do my own thing.

The fact there is a single human being who was the producer for Slayer, Run DMC, Johnny Cash, Jay Z, and Saul Williams is insane to me. I don’t really know anything about Rick Rubin, but he was able to help those people put out some of their best work so he’s a person I wanna learn about life from.

As for Derrick Carter… whenever I see that dude DJ every track he plays is a banger, the crowd is always going insane and the crew he runs with in Chicago are all ride or die. He really brings the community together. No one has a bad thing to say about Derrick and he’s a huge part of Chicago house. Not only does he inspire me to want to make authentic house but he kinda shows that being authentic, empathetic, famous, and down-to-earth are not mutually exclusive traits.

How would you define your sound?

Bastardized rave music for the most part so far. I make music with the goal of helping people feel how they want to feel. I like synthesizers and drum machines because they never miss band practice.

What can you tell us about each song that makes up your latest work? What is hidden behind?

A desire for experience. Basically, every song on the blue/green EP was something that in my head I could see. Like… each of those songs has to do with different parts of a rave. Going to it, being fully immersed in it, being annoyed by the small things at it, getting an earworm while being off your head a bit, finding a relaxing ride home, watching the sun come up… I didn’t really plan for it to be that but once I had to decide on the order of the songs on the record I kinda surprised myself like… wow. I guess I meant to do that?

How are you living the current situation because of COVID? 

This is actually a super important thing that I want people to know about- A year ago this month I was in a psych-ward at Northwestern as a suicide risk so I’d say COVID wasn’t exactly great for my mental health but also… to be honest, I’m kinda grateful for the terrible experience that the last few years have been. A lot of stupid, sad, menacing, evil shit has come to light over the past several years and now it’s all out in the open for everyone to see. 

What put me in there is something I just kinda wanna warn people about; it’s super obvious once it’s too late but is really hard to see before then, so: Visualize each of your individual problems as single grains of rice. Grandparent dying, partner breaking up with you, messing up at work, missing the train, missing important texts/emails/whatever, burning your tongue on your coffee, whatever. No matter how severe, imagine them all as the same size. Now imagine eating all the rice and think of all the ways eating rice can go wrong. You can eat too much at once and choke. You can eat too slow and never finish your plate before the next one comes. You can eat too much if you’re not paying attention. That last one is what got me.

Covid made everyone go into their phones and computers; there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. For me, I never had a moment of silence and didn’t realize how much I was trying to avoid our terrifying reality until one day I saw some signs in front of my childhood home. That’s what broke me. The straw that breaks the camels’ back isn’t much different than any other straw, and if you’re not paying attention to how much shit you’re carrying or how you’re carrying it, one day you might burn your tongue on some coffee and wake up 4 days later in a ditch somewhere. Talk to someone. Preferably a therapist. 

Has your work affected you a lot? 

Yeah, I mean… my work and I have a mutualistic relationship. I do my best to give it the time and attention it requires, and sometimes if I do my best and the synth-gods show mercy, my work gives me stuff that I like.

Do you think there is hope?

I feel like the underground scene will continue to persist. It will continue to exist for as long as people want it to. But most importantly, the underground doesn’t exist on its own. It exists because people like you and I want it to. I’m going to work really hard to throw shows that pay workers and DJs well, and that people feel good about paying for. But I’m gonna wait because I don’t wanna throw shows where I have to worry about whether it’s my fault my friends get sick. As event-goers… don’t be dicks. If you care about the underground, then go support it. Go to that dingy rave in the abandoned apartment above the laundromat. Go to the one that’s an extra 20 or 30-minute drive away. Go to the one that doesn’t have massive headliners. Go and enjoy the community- all this shit is about friendship and community anyway. Maybe even go sober. Tell your homie with the markers to not use them inside a new venue. Help the people around you. Underground scenes do not exist without solid underground participants. If you want the scene to stay alive, don’t hope for it, go grab your favorite fun people, and go make sure it doesn’t die. Go to your local DIY punk house for more details.

What projects are you working on right now?

I’m just trying to keep making music and avoid becoming homeless at the moment; as soon as I can I wanna throw shows again.