Electronic British trio Ritual will head out on tour with very special guest vocalist Emily Warren, who will perform alongside the band as they bring their new rolling duets project, Dreamers Never Learn. We spoke to them to find out how their debut headline tour is going so far, and what fans can expect…
The European part of the tour has already started, how’s that going so far?
It’s been amazing, we love going to new places, playing for and meeting people who have connected with our songs. It’s the best feeling. Stockholm was really special, Tove Styrke came and did ‘Love Me Back’ with us and it was a night we’ll all remember.
- How did you and Emily Warren meet?
Through mutual friends! We’ve all been working in the songwriting community in London and Los Angeles for a while – I would hear her demos and actually obsess over them I think she’s of the best songwriters in the world today without a doubt.
- How did the concept of this tour with her come about?
We wrote ‘Using’ the first time we met and just became really good friends. She’s been instrumental in the new project and such a supporter – it’s sort of a dream to be touring with her to be honest!
- What kind of stuff have you been asking for on your riders? Anything interesting?
Haha in a word – no. We have a few dietary requirements whilst also a taste for fine dining so most nights we tend to do a nice dinner somewhere after the show!
- Will you been debuting any as-yet-unreleased tracks from the Dreamers Never Learn series?
We actually haven’t, we thought about it but we also wanted to give the fans a chance to hear songs from the early EPs as we haven’t played them before and it’s gone down really well. Those early EPs gave us a really dedicated bunch of fans that we massively appreciate.
- How do you define “21st century love songs”?
I think love these days is just more complex than ever, relationships feel more fleeting and fragile in a modern world of dating apps and digital interaction. We try to write about that feeling of longing and often confusion that I think we can all relate to in some way.
- You’ve just released your new track ‘Hard Times’ with Robinson. Tell us about the song?
We love this record. We started it with the incredible hit making machine Camille Purcell, she’s one of the best songwriters we’ve ever met and one of the nicest and most inspiring people full stop. The song came out of that feeling of knowing your love is being tested but it’s the moments like that you pass that really make you stronger.
- What can fans expect from the show?
Emotion. A broad journey through our sound and our vision of what music means to us. It’s quite electronic and atmospheric but it’s also very intimate and honest. You can dance at times, maybe cry at others!
- You’ve contributed to a lot of impressive songs in your time, what’s one career-defining moment you’ll never forget?
I think the day we wrote ‘Hotter Than Hell’ with Dua Lipa – we knew we had just done something that was going to change all of our lives and it really did. Her career jump started from that moment, as did ours. Was a special day.
- Will any of those songs feature on the setlist or is it purely Ritual songs?
Good question! Again we talked about that and maybe will do it more in the future but for now it’s very much about the Ritual songs and the fans that love them for us.
- Do you plan to continue writing for other artists any time soon or is your own music the focus for now?
It’s 50/50!!! We love both and both inspires the other so it’s a win win most the time. We love meeting and finding new artists and we’ve been working on a couple that will have an impact next year no doubt.
Tags: interview / ritual