Rue, you’re hailing from Nassau in the Bahamas originally – what brought you to Edinburgh of all places?
I came to Edinburgh in September 2021 to study my MSc in International Development course at the University of Edinburgh. I did my undergrad in North Carolina, but I wanted to see more of the world and decided a master’s was a good route to allow me to settle somewhere different. My cousin previously studied at the University of Edinburgh, so I decided to start my search there. Once I saw my programme description was everything I was looking for, I ended my search there!
In your press release, you mention that it is Groove Down’s ambition to revive the Funk and Disco scene here. Is there such a musical scene back where you come from?
Nassau’s music scene is very varied. There are a lot of gospel artists back home, but there are also a lot of Soca, RnB, and Trap artists doing their thing. I think Funk and Disco are the forgotten genres of the Bahamian music scene. My mummy and her siblings loved going to the disco as they were growing up, but those genres weren’t common when I was coming up. My love for those two genres was passed onto me through her family, as they would always play disco hits at family gatherings.
What are your musical influences?
It changes all the time! Performance-wise, Eric Burton from Black Pumas is a huge inspiration for me due to how he connects with the crowd and makes use of his instrument. Other influences are Chaka Khan, Mary J. Blige, and Hannah Williams as they are all strong female vocalists that inspire me to strengthen my vocal capacity.
Your first two single releases (Walk On By and Somebody) deal with love, lust, longing, disappointment… basically, the whole kaleidoscope of raw emotions. Are the lyrics inspired by personal experiences or did you choose these topics because they have universal appeal?
I wrote the lyrics to both songs during collaborative song-writing sessions! Walk On By’s lyrics just randomly came to me, but Somebody is loosely based on a personal experience. I’m a sap when it comes to love, but despite the universal appeal I’m consciously trying to write songs about other topics to develop my song-writing skills. It’s so hard, though writing songs about love just comes so easy to me!
Your band members are all from different ethnic backgrounds. How did you meet and does this diversity contribute to fresh and unique ideas during the song writing process?
During the last semester of my master’s, I realized that I was serious about becoming a singer, so I put an ad in a Facebook ‘Edinburgh Musicians for Hire’ group chat expressing my desire to start a funk & soul band and find committed members, Piece by piece, the 5 original members came together through that post. There have been some member changes since, but that was the pathway to finding the members you see in Groove Down today.
Who has the most input and say in the band?
This is a tricky one! I handle a lot of the logistics and branding for the band, so in a practical sense, you can say that I handle a lot. However, we are ultimately a unit, so it’s not a situation where anyone’s say is superior to anyone else’s. We all want what’s best for the band, so we’ve taken care to create a band environment where anyone can speak up and suggest anything and we discuss the path forward together. So in that sense, it would be misleading to say that one person has “the most” input or say.
What do you think of the contemporary music scene and how much knowledge do you think the young generation has of Funk, Soul and R&B?
The contemporary music scene – at least how I view it in Edinburgh – is composed of people who want to reconnect with the beauty of live music. I wouldn’t say it’s typical for today’s younger generations to have a firm knowledge of Funk, Soul, RnB, and Disco, but I do see an openness amongst them to expose themselves to any music. If it’s good, they’re there! That makes me hopeful in knowing that there is space for the blend of music we do to be accepted across generations.
If you could be a famous female singer for one day, who would you choose and why?
I would choose Raye. She seems very sound; her voice is incredible and she has great song-writing talent. You can tell that she’s doing music because she loves it and she doesn’t seem very caught up in the celebrity world. She’s also very outspoken about songwriter’s rights and standing up to big labels which take advantage of those trying to break into the industry. It seems like she has the best of all worlds going on!
Please read the review for Groove Down’s new single ‘Somebody’ in the REVIEWS (Single) section.
Photo credit: Marina Braw