Īfter his first marriage ended, Rouse relocated to Spain to be with his then girlfriend (and now wife) Paz Suay and has resided there off and on since 2004. "Directions" from Home was used on the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe's film Vanilla Sky. Home (2000) and Under Cold Blue Stars (2002) followed before he began a working relationship with producer Brad Jones on 1972, released in 2003. He went on to collaborate with Kurt Wagner on an EP the following year, and toured in support of artists such as Mark Eitzel, Aimee Mann, and Vic Chesnutt. Billboard wrote that it was "a dark-horse gem", and "s pure and unpretentious as any singer-songwriter album issued this year". The album received critical acclaim from music writers. The initial recordings he put to tape eventually became his debut release, Dressed Up Like Nebraska (1998). He began writing songs aged 18, and following his nomadic childhood, he eventually moved to Clarksville, Tennessee to attend college (although he soon dropped out and moved to Nashville, Tennessee and worked as a parking valet), where he met some local musicians and began recording. Find out much more about Rouse, his story, and music on: - Rune H.Born in the rural town of Oshkosh, Nebraska, he moved to various places during his childhood including Utah, California, Wyoming, and Georgia. It seems that Josh Rouse's restless soul keeps him on the track searching for timeless music.
And I'll be in the studio and in Europe playing my music - which is a wonderful job! I'm working on a couple of soundtracks for films this year and playing concerts, he explains. What can we expect from Josh Rouse in future?
Playing live and getting synchs in commercials or movies seems to be the best way for exposure. The future for now is definitely streaming music. Good sound for me is Miles Davies’ “Kind of Blue”. He jokes that he doesn’t like loud, since he’s now almost 40: He has a pair of Adam AX7’s in his studio that he feels sound great. So there is always a sense of movement and change in the music. I've moved around a lot and continue to do so on tour. It is a somewhat artistic town but doesn't have the hip factor of Barcelona or Madrid. It's a lovely climate and is close to the Mediterranean – though I don't go as much as I should. I moved here because my then-girlfriend, now wife is from Valencia. How did this move from the States to Europe affect his life and music? Nebreska, the Midwest, New York, Europe, Spain. Josh Rouse has lived and played a LOT of places on the Globe. There's a funny songwriter saying "a good song is a DONE song", he explains. Sometimes it takes 15 min and sometimes 15 months. And if I'm lucky, the rest of the song – melody, lyrics – come quickly. Usually it starts with a chord progression on the guitar. What is the process like, when he’s writing new music? Josh is certainly known for having a knack for writing very melodic tunes accompanied by subtle and at times humorous lyrics. And I changed some chords, threw in a banjo and suddenly there's a great little pop song. The song "Diggin’ in the Sand" started from playing along with an African kalimba loop. I had a big group of songs I was working on, and they would come by and lay down some great parts. It was recorded in my little studio in Valencia with Xema Fuertes and Cayo Bellveser who play in my live band. I think it turned out well.Īllthough this particular song has a very English feel to it, the bulk of the new album was recorded in Spain and has a Spanish inspired, playful expression: I threw a Leon Redbone phase and wanted to do a bluesy number that felt like it was from another time. My favorite song on the record is "Lazy Days". On the new album, Josh’s own favourite tune even has a likeness to early British music hall & The Kinks parody sound: Yet, his music and voice also bear resemblances to songwriter capacities such as Paul Simon. Rouse was originally inspired by band such as The Smiths and The Cure. I always try to make music as timeless as possible! A song is the home, but stylistically it can take some turns. Naturally, we need to know if the nomad feels he has got a musical home: Now he’s out with a new album simply entitled “Josh Rouse and The Long Vacations”, which was recorded in Valencia, Spain.
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Since his minor breakthrough with the albums 1972 and Nashville at the dawn of the new century, Rouse has released a series of acclaimed albums and EP’s.