Love Amongst Ruin

Love Amongst Ruin

Love Amongst Ruin live in Hamburg, 2010.
Background information
Origin London, England
Genres Alternative rock, hard rock
Years active 2009–present
Labels Ancient B Records
Associated acts Placebo, Six by Seven, The Cure
Website loveamongstruin.com
Members Steve Hewitt
Donald Ross Skinner
Dave Weston
Perry Bamonte
Ramon Sherrington
Past members Magnus Lundén
Keith York
Laurie Ross
Teresa Morini
Steve Hove

Love Amongst Ruin are an English rock band, led by former Placebo drummer Steve Hewitt. The band released their self-titled debut album in September 2010 and second album Lose Your Way will be released in June 2015.

Band history

Beginnings and formation (2007-2009)

Upon leaving Placebo after the conclusion of their Meds tour in September 2007,[1] Steve Hewitt had a vision "to create a new band, a new album and a new sound". He immediately enlisted Lamb bassist Jon Thorne and his brother Nick Hewitt to begin writing and demoing new music at his home studio.[2] In March 2008, Julian Cope collaborator Donald Ross Skinner was brought in to oversee and co-produce the recording sessions. Between April and August 2008, the collective moved to Moles Studio in Bath for three recording sessions[3] with producer Paul Corkett, which yielded ten songs, with Hewitt predominantly performing drums and lead vocals. Mixing began in September and continued for six months before the album was mastered by Brian Gardner at Bernie Grundman Mastering in April 2009.[4] Hewitt spent the remainder of 2009 securing management, publishing and record deals, in addition to finding permanent members for the band. Former Cure and Depeche Mode tour manager Daryl Bamonte became the band's manager.[5] In November, he revealed the band and debut album would be named 'Love Amongst Ruin'.[6] Hewitt revealed the band name is "a very apt description of the place I found myself in after I was ejected from Placebo. My life, the way it had been, seemed to be in ruins but I got a lot of love from fans and friends and family".[7]

Love Amongst Ruin (2009-11)

Love Amongst Ruin live in Warsaw, 2010.

The band lineup was revealed in December 2009 and announced alongside Steve Hewitt (vocals/guitar) were Donald Ross Skinner (guitar), Steve Hove (guitar), Laurie Ross (keyboards & cello) and Keith York (drums). The band made their live debut at the Eurosonic Festival in Groningen, Netherlands on January 14, 2010,[8] with guest bassist Jonathan Noyce.[9] Bassist Magnus Lundén was added as a permanent member in time for the band's UK live debut at the Barfly in London on 11 May.[10] The band followed up with a larger gig at the Scala in June.[11] Magnus Lundén was replaced by Teresa Morini in July.[12] The band appeared on the Red Bull Stage at Sonisphere Festival on 11 August, the day after Hewitt's previous band, Placebo, had played on the main stage.

Love Amongst Ruin's debut single "So Sad (Fade)" was released on August 30 on Ancient B Records,[13] followed by their self-titled debut album on September 13.[14] The band embarked on the Heaven & Hell Tour from September through November and released their second single "Home" on 25 October.[15] 2010 was wrapped up with a gig at Birmingham Academy supporting Feeder.[16] Keith York left the band at the end of the year, expressing a desire to spend more time with his family.[17] He was replaced by Ramon Sherrington. Laurie Ross was also removed from the live lineup, but continued to record with the band in the studio.

The band began 2011 with a quartet of gigs supporting Feeder,[18] before supporting their third single, "Alone", with a short tour of France in March. Gizz Butt filled in for Steve Hove on the Recycling Party tour in May,[19] while Jon Thorne stepped in for Teresa Morini at the Fête de la Musique in Valence, France in June.[20] The band spent two days at Fisher Lane Farm in early August with producer Paul Corkett to record acoustic versions of nine tracks released on their self-titled debut album.[21] Laurie Ross returned to play cello at the sessions.[22] An acoustic version of "Bring Me Down (You Don't)" was given away by the band as a free download in advance of the release of the acoustic album on December 5.[23]

Lose Your Way (2011-present)

In January 2011, Hewitt revealed he had begun writing the band's second album and that the band would commence recording after completing the supporting tour for their self-titled debut album.[24] In June, Hewitt stated that "We're about nine tracks in. We're hoping to start recording in September. I've demoed most of the drums but we'll see when September comes who's going to play what. I've got to get my oar in and have a go, it'd be silly not to".[25] The writing process for the album was competed in March 2012 and was recorded by Hewitt and Donald Ross Skinner, with Dan Austin producing.[26][27] In May 2012 it was announced that Teresa Morini had left the band to join the Cirque du Soleil touring show Amaluna.[28] Her replacement was former-Cure guitarist Perry Bamonte.[29] On July 5, the band made available a free download of their cover of "Rise" by Public Image Ltd via their Facebook page.[30] In early September, founding guitarist Steve Hove left the band, causing a 10 September comeback show at the London Barfly to be cancelled.[31] Dave Weston was announced as Hove's replacement in mid-November and the band commenced rehearsals.[32][33] Despite announcements in January 2013 and February 2014 that news would be forthcoming, the band remained inactive while Hewitt worked with Six by Seven, Polaroid Kiss and produced records for Lys and Spiral 69.[27][34][35][36]

On 13 March 2015, the band posted a short video clip on Vimeo, featuring new song "Lose Your Way".[37] On 9 April, Q Magazine made "Swan Killer" their Track of the Day and the band announced the album title as Lose Your Way, with a release date of 29 June 2015,[38][39] preceded by the "Lose Your Way" single in May.[27]

Musical style and influences

Love Amongst Ruin describe themselves as "a multi-faceted rock band that promises the crunch of a stone age queen, the crossover appeal of a parkful of linkins and the melodicism of the hardiest fighter of foos".[40] They also cite having New Order, Depeche Mode, Kasabian, Can, The Cure and Metallica elements to their sound.[41]

Band members

Current members
Former members
  • Magnus Lundén - bass (2010)
  • Keith York - drums (2009–2010)
  • Laurie Ross - keyboards/cello (2009–2011)
  • Teresa Morini - bass (2010–2012)
  • Steve Hove - guitar (2009–2012)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums
Singles
EPs
Other albums
Free downloads
Videos
Year Video Director Link
2010 "So Sad (Fade)" (unlisted) YouTube
"Home" (unlisted) YouTube
2011 "Alone" (unlisted) YouTube
2015 "Lose Your Way" (unlisted) YouTube

References

  1. ↑ "Placebo's Drummer Leaves The Band | News". Ultimate-guitar.com. 2007-12-26. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  2. ↑ "Love Amongst Ruin - Official Facebook Fan site - The Story - Part I". Community.livejournal.com. 2009-08-14. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  3. ↑ "Love Amongst Ruin - The Story - Part II". Community.livejournal.com. 2009-09-04. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  4. ↑ "Love Amongst Ruin - The Story - Part III". Community.livejournal.com. 2009-10-02. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  5. ↑ http://www.picturesofcure.com/un-nouveau-single-pour-love-amongst-ruin/
  6. ↑ "Love Amongst Ruin - The Story - Part IV". Community.livejournal.com. 2009-11-06. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  7. ↑ "The Music Freak interview with Steve Hewitt". MusicVita. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  8. ↑ Virtual Festivals: http://www.virtualfestivals.com. "EuroSonic Festival - EuroSonic Noorderslag 2010 | lineup - Virtual Festivals". Eu.virtualfestivals.com. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  9. ↑ http://jethrotull.com/the-attic/past-band-members-and-guests/jonathan-noyce/
  10. ↑ "Love Amongst Ruin at Barfly on Tue 11th May". Barflyclub.com. 2010-09-06. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  11. ↑ "Review: Love Amongst Ruin @ The Scala | Latest Clubbing News". Skiddle.com. 2010-06-15. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  12. ↑ "Love Amongst Ruin: So Sad!". Shakenstir. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  13. ↑ "Love Amongst Ruin – So Sad (fade)". 2010-08-28. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  14. ↑ "Love Amongst Ruin Debut Album Review (By Katy Garland)". MusicVita. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  15. ↑ http://hangout.altsounds.com/news/122679-love-ruin-placebo-man-announces-single-video.html
  16. ↑ "The Kerrang! Xmas Party at O2 Academy in Birmingham 9 Dec 2010". GB: Livebrum.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  17. ↑ "STEVE HEWITT: (LOVE AMONGST RUIN) STILL RUNNING, STILL STRONG - INTERVIEW BY PHIL KING". Mudkiss.com. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  18. ↑ "Love Amongst Ruin support Feeder on UK Tour". Musicrooms.net. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  19. ↑ "Due to a previous...". Facebook. 2011-05-04. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  20. ↑ "Foto's van Love Amongst Ruin - Prikbordfoto's". Facebook. 2011-06-20. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  21. ↑ "Foto's van Love Amongst Ruin - Recording session August 1/2 2011". Facebook. 2011-08-01. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  22. ↑ "Foto's van Love Amongst Ruin - Recording session August 1/2 2011". Facebook. 2011-08-08. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  23. ↑ "Love Amongst Ruin - Bring Me Down (you don't) by Love Amongst Ruin on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  24. ↑ "Q&A: Love Amongst Ruin". Thecmuwebsite.com. 2011-01-07. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  25. ↑ "Steve Hewitt: I was 'absolutely s****ing my pants' about fronting new band | Rhythm". MusicRadar.com. 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  26. ↑ "St Pauls Lifestyle". St Pauls Lifestyle. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 http://ventsmagazine.com/love-amongst-ruin-former-placebo-drummer-releases-lose-your-way-on-june-2/
  28. ↑ "Teresa Morini joins Cirque du Soleil". LAR Official. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  29. ↑ "Working hard, rehearsing hard. We can... - Love Amongst Ruin". Facebook. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  30. ↑ "So here it is, a...". Facebook. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  31. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/loveamongstruin/posts/278930552206447
  32. ↑ "The Band Is Complete… |". Loveamongstruin.com. 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  33. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/loveamongstruin/posts/133606533456416
  34. ↑ "Happy New Year everyone, hope you had a... - Love Amongst Ruin". Facebook. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  35. ↑ "Paola Rotasso - Tijdlijnfoto's". Facebook. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  36. ↑ "in December 2013 a certain Mr Hewitt and... - Peteur Von Funkenstein". Facebook. 2014-04-09. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  37. ↑ https://vimeo.com/121786219
  38. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/loveamongstruin/posts/10153239631327372
  39. ↑ http://www.qthemusic.com/9292/love-amongst-ruin-swan-killer/
  40. ↑ "Lights Go Out – A punk fanzine from the UK". Lightsgoout.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  41. ↑ "Love Amongst Ruin". Chuff Media. 2007-09-21. Retrieved 2012-07-09.

External links