New album out now
Groundwork Rising, Ruben Hein’s new album, is in many ways a step forward to the beginning, and to simplicity. From the moment he first sat at his parents’ piano, music was an inexhaustible source of inspiration, energy, and discovery. But as he got older, he lost that magical feeling; music no longer amazed and surprised the way it used to. Wanting to recapture that he set out on a quest; to find truth, to find beauty, to find himself.
Hein decided to take what he’d learned and dilute it down to its very essence. “I love to play the piano,” he says. “And I love to sing.” A challenge began to take shape – to write honest, heartfelt songs that needed no embellishment. In other words, to get back to basics; just him, a piano, and his voice.
Solitary writing sessions in the woods were scheduled, with only an old red piano for company. Sequestered away in seclusion, far away from drama of daily life, Hein could allow “the great nothing” to take over. Slowly but surely, ideas drifted in from the cold, little hooks and melodies to be caught and developed. He even picked up a guitar, another step outside the limits he felt had been placed around him. And he crafted and tweaked, following his instincts wherever they led.
read more Throughout, the instrumentation is deft and subtle, never intruding, never overbearing. And while some of Groundwork Rising’s most beautiful moments find Hein alone at his piano, he’s at his most visceral and potent when striving for the epic. ‘Eyes’ has all the swagger of a rock classic, but it’s the scorching riffs and sky-high chorus of ‘Gameshow’ that really steals the show. It’s the song that will kill attempts to pigeonhole him once and for all, and proof that going full circle has paid a very rich dividend indeed.
