Sydney alt-dance outfit RÜFÜS DU SOL have emerged from a year of solitude with their stunning fourth studio album, Surrender.
Influenced by nature, and brought on from a year away from the world, RÜFÜS DU SOL have today unleashed Surrender, showing that eleven years on, they’re still at the forefront of electronic music with the sheer amount of magnetism they generate through their music.
Having last released a full-length album by way of 2018’s Solace, it’s unclear just how quickly RÜFÜS DU SOL were aiming to return with new music, but as international touring soon found itself followed by a global pandemic, the group had to make something of a shift.
Unveiling their Live From Joshua Tree album in March of 2020, it was enough to tide fans over while the Sydney trio kept things bubbling away under the surface, biding their time until it was time to return.
Check out RÜFÜS DU SOL’s ‘Alive‘:
This return eventually happened in July of this year, with RÜFÜS DU SOL emerging from the silence with ‘Alive’, a track that seemed wholly representative for the year that had been. Oddly enough, even with its chorus of “at least I’m alive“, its origins actually predated the events it resonated with.
“That was one of the demo things that Tyrone had jammed on, and I remember coming to the studio and hearing that, and it was just so poignant,” James Hunt told Rolling Stone recently. “And this is pre-pandemic, back in February of 2020 when that demo came into being, and just personally at that time, it was really powerful just because of the personal experiences we were going through.”
Just weeks later, RÜFÜS DU SOL shared ‘Next To Me’, a self-described “feel-good” track which stands in contrast to the sort of haunting atmosphere promoted on “Alive”. Paired with an A.I. video from Osk which captured topographies unfurling and unfolding into reality-defying images, the visuals for ‘Next To Me’ captured the sort of sound that the trio were aiming for on their fourth album.
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“We started using that idea of an organic place and manipulating it digitally, which is what we do in the studio all the time: taking acoustic sounds and analogue sounds and trying to manipulate them,” Jon George told Rolling Stone.
Check out RÜFÜS DU SOL’s ‘On My Knees’:
The result is an album that feels completely like the RÜFÜS DU SOL we’ve always known, albeit with a more reflective sense as they found themselves dealing with a year on hold, and not only getting to know themselves better as individuals, but as band members.
“We’ve spent two years locked away in our sanctuary making tunes,” the band explained of their creative process. “At the end of that process, we translate what we did in the studio, where we’re three producers and songwriters, and we go into a full band setup where we allocate parts to each other. We flesh the songs out, put jams in there, showcase our instruments, have fun with it, and let it be free flowing.”
Anyone who knows RÜFÜS DU SOL will undoubtedly hear the product of their collaborative efforts on Surrender, with the album becoming a saviour for the group, but also the sort of artistic growth they’ve experienced as musicians. Surrender isn’t just the next step in the creative evolution of the band, it’s the culmination of everything they’ve worked towards to date.
While Surrender feels like a triumph for the band, it also serves as something of a comforting beacon of hope in a difficult period of time. Filtering razor sharp, heartfelt lyricism (notably seen on tracks such as ‘On My Knees’), and pairing it with organic, ethereal music, both RÜFÜS DU SOL and Surrender are the light at the end of the tunnel that we’ve needed for so long.
RÜFÜS DU SOL’s Surrender is out now via Rose Avenue and Reprise/Warner Records
Check out Surrender by RÜFÜS DU SOL
