As an accomplished artist, songwriter and producer for the likes of John Legend, Tom Misch and Disclosure, there’s little that Birmingham-based Reuben James can’t do.
Reuben, who many will recognize as Sam Smith’s former pianist and frequent collaborator, broke out onto the jazz scene last year with the release of Adore. His seven-track debut EP cemented his status as a fast-emerging one to watch.
Out today, his sophomore EP Slow Down was originally scheduled for release last Friday, June 5. In solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement, Reuben joined artists like Chloe x Halle and friends HONNE in delaying their release dates by a week. “Proud of the movement and proud to be Black,” Reuben wrote on Instagram.
To celebrate the official release, I called Reuben over Zoom to chat about slowing down, genre labels and Canadian surprises.
How does it feel to have Slow Down out for everyone to hear, especially given everything going on around the world?
It’s a crazy time right now. We’re getting a lot [of news coverage] and there have been a lot of marches and protests going on here as well. It’s time for change and this is all for the right reasons. I feel like people need to use music to escape what’s going on so hopefully my music can bring some healing to people that need it right now. It’s my second baby out into the world and it’s scary, but at the same time I’ve worked really hard to put it together so I’m happy it’s coming out.
Your sound crosses from soul to R&B to jazz and back again. How would you describe it, and what are your thoughts on genre labels?
I’ve got such a broad influence of music, but if I had to pin it down I’d say jazz-influenced R&B. There are so many new names for genres now. People say neo-soul or jazz hop…I don’t even know. But I like to think mine is in the category of good music. I think there’s only two genres – good music and not so good music. Hopefully mine comes in the good category! But definitely the music that I’m making now is R&B with jazz harmony and beats flowing on top.
Does the EP title have added significance for you as we’ve collectively slowed down in quarantine?
When I wrote “Slow Down,” the title track, I’d been touring with Sam for almost seven years, so my life was super fast fast fast, and it was like the world was craving the opposite. Obviously, everyone’s all about instant gratification and ordering things on Amazon and getting it the next day. You’re also thinking about social media and work and there’s just so much going on and so much stress and anxiety. Now everyone’s craving nature and doing yoga, meditation and exercise. I was definitely craving that. This quarantine situation has made it so everyone’s kind of forced to slow down and I feel like people can use the EP as a tool to just escape for 20 minutes and really relax and listen to some smooth sounds.
Are there any artists you’ve worked with who have really challenged you musically, in terms of exploring new influences or recording styles?
Sam definitely challenges me musically. Sam’s an incredible top line lyricist; melodies just flow out so you really have to be on your game and be organic in the moment. As soon as I told Sam that I was starting to put out music, they’d be posting about it, telling people about it and giving me feedback and the best advice. I know that Sam’s got my back and is the most supportive friend I could dream for in the world.
Also, working with Bruno Major was amazing. The first time I saw Bruno, he opened for Sam in early 2013 at St Pancras Old Church in London and he was unbelievable. We’ve been friends since then. Bruno is very particular and he really wants to strive for kind of the most poetic and beautiful lyric. I come from more of a chords and grooves background and I’ve got chords going through my head 24/7, whereas I do have a lot to say lyrically but I have to take my time. That’s something that I’ve been working on improving and Bruno’s been a big part of that inspiration for me. His lyrics are like, very expensive sounding.
Have you learned anything about yourself being on the road so much that you wouldn’t have discovered otherwise?
You have to be comfortable being away from your friends and family for so long, but you create your new family on the road. I definitely grew up fast and have learned about a lot of different cultures. The joke here is a good friend of mine is in Vancouver and I got out to Canada with Sam, and the first thing I did was called him and was like, I’m here, can you get me at this place? He said, Where are you? I don’t know that place. Anyway, turned out I was in Montreal and just assumed that he’d be around the corner. It was ridiculous. He was like, Bro, Canada’s a big place. I know that now.
