A lesson in living in the here and now
- Text by Paden Vaughan
At eight-years-old Rueben Hollebon thought he’d try his hand at singing, before being rejected from his local choir and told that he in fact couldn’t sing. Following years of dull jobs and playing football almost everyday in his native Norfolk, the singer/songwriter picked up a guitar at 18, soon finding himself studying music and audio systems at Huddersfield University. But after focusing on other people’s music for so long, he decided that it was time to shift from practicing alone at home to writing and releasing his own.
With his debut album Terminal Nostalgia released in May last year, Rueben is continuing to establish himself as an artist. His journey has been subtle, albeit difficult at times, and is the subject of a new short film from Other Brother Studios.
The four-minute film sees Reuben disclose his experiences growing up on a housing estate in Norfolk, and his transformation from someone who never felt the need to be creative, to a professional musician. Reuben grew up with his father’s extensive record collection as the soundtrack to his life in a small town that could offer little stimulation during his teenage years.
In some ways Terminal Nostalgia looks back on with a subtly that is matched by Reuben’s introverted demeanour, and this has been vital in his composition:
“Intent in music is strong enough, if it’s strong enough, [that] you don’t have to give away all the other clues,” he says. “You don’t have to communicate absolutely everything to feel something that’s coming from there.”
Despite this, Reuben avoids too much nostalgia, which became an integral part of his debut. The album’s title alone hints to a deeper message of living in the now, something that Reuben imparts through his subtle yet impactful songwriting.
“It came from a warning to not get stuck in enjoying how much you’re remembering experiences but actually just enjoying experiences,” he says. “As long as something was interesting, I wanted to know it.”
Reuben is on tour from 17 -22 January 2017.
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