For the current issue of Uncut, I interviewed Rich Ruth at his home studio in Nashville, where we dug into the roots of his mind-expanding cosmic jazz-rock. For the feature, I asked Michael – his real name – to compile a list of five artists who’ve influenced his latest album, Water Still Flows, to provide some further anchors to his music. With typical generosity, he gave me a lot of thoughts on a bunch of great artists – too much for the issue, as it turned out. So below, you can read his insights in full…
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TIM HECKER
Sometime during the pandemic I got really into Tim Hecker. Particularly his albums Harmony In Ultraviolet and Ravedeath 1972. He blurs the lines between experimental and ambient, creating extremely active and visceral soundscapes that are a huge inspiration, particularly on tracks of mine like God Won’t Speak. Hecker’s music also veers into quite heavy territory despite its abstract nature.
ASH RA TEMPEL / MANEL GOTTSCHING
Gottsching is one of my all time favourite guitarists. I constantly find inspiration in his playing and productions, as it always embodies a trance-like quality I find myself chasing. Ashra’s New Age Of Earth and Gottsching’s E2-E4 will always be huge touchstones for my musical palette, no matter what I am working on.
SUNN 0)))
Of all the drone / doom metal acts that inspired me while working on Water Still Flows, Sunn 0))) showcases the most primal, minimal version of the genre. The guitars and amps are recorded immaculately too – it feels like your head is pressed up against the amplifier. I got to see them perform as Jake Davis and I were mixing the record and it was unbelievable. Life Metal in particular really spoke to me alongside other artists in that zone like Earth, Sleep, Boris, Electric Wizard, High On Fire and The Melvins.
CRYPTOPSY
I was on tour throughout the course of late 2022 and most of 2023. I began to reach a point where a lot of music felt stale to me and found myself listening to either melancholy pop like Blue Nile and Richard Hawley, or extreme metal like Carcass, Darkthrone, Morbid Angel, Dying Fetus and Cryptopsy. I listened to Cryptopsy’s album None So Vile nonstop, which is a touchstone of technical death metal – brutal and intricate. Though I wouldn’t say you can hear the specific influence, Cryptopsy helped renew my relationship with metal, explore it from new angles, and feel inspired to find undiscovered pathways within my own music.
PHAROAH SANDERS
If you’ve heard my music, it may seem obvious that I love Pharoah Sanders. I’ll also include many of his collaborators (and their mesmerizing solo works) – McCoy Tyner, Alice Coltrane, Don Cherry, Tisziji Munoz, and Elvin Jones specifically make up such a rich tapestry of American music that will always inspire me. Much like Can and Eno, there is such a spirit to Pharoah Sanders that I hope to channel. More so than specific sounds, I’d like for the essence and feeling of his influence to shine through in my work. The reissue of the Pharoah album and of course Promises have been in heavy rotation since they entered my orbit. Promises may have been what led me to incorporate violins on this record. Pharoah will always be the pillar of human expression for me – encapsulating immense joy, deep sorrow and ecstasy all in one saxophone solo.
Water Still Flows is available now from Third Man
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