Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (http://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD: What type of artist are you?
Ratoon: We’re a British rock band.
PD: Tell us the brief history of yourself.
Ratoon: We’re Jack, Matti, Eifion and Sam. A bunch of lads from across Wales that met online over lockdown. We’re aged 18, 19 and 20! We found each other on social media and share the same ambitions so it just made sense to start a band! We recently signed to MUSO Management and have spent the best part of two weeks in the studio recording with our producer Richard Jackson. Our first single set for release on 20th May 2022 and will be available on all major streaming platforms.
PD: Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
Ratoon: Too many to list! There’s a range of musical influences between us, from The 1975 to Foo Fighters to Stevie Ray Vaughan. I think that’s what gives us our melody driven but in your face sound.
PD: What are your dreams and goals?
Ratoon: We all share the same dreams and goals to be fair. We all want to share our music with the world like we had the opportunity to share other artists music growing up. Music is an escape and over the years being able to listen to music and go and see your favourite band live is special and has been part of who we are. I think we’d all agree that touring the world, playing to fans and hearing them sing our songs back to us and connect with our music is the ultimate goal. That and the pyramid stage at Glastonbury!
PD: Who writes your songs, what are they about?
Ratoon: Writing the music is a collective. Since we’ve been signed to MUSO Management we’ve had some great opportunities to work with producers to help us get the full potential out of our sound in the studio.
PD: How do you promote your band and shows?
Ratoon: We’re pretty new to the gigging side of things with our first show on 20th May 2022 on the date our single is released. If the marketing isn’t taken care of by the promoter like Merthyr Rising for example. For promotion we do the usual social media stuff but have a few other cool ideas for the future.
PD: What do you think about downloading music online?
Ratoon: If you mean piracy, then that’s a massive blow to the artists. The fans want the artist to continue making music for their pleasure but when they illegally download a track the artist isn’t getting paid meaning they’re unable to sustain their career. In terms of paying for the downloads, it’s todays way of doing things but it’s not as fun as having a record collection and swapping/trading and collecting. Now that’s nostalgic!
PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?
Ratoon: There’s so many! We think a Christmas song would be cool though because it could be relatable every year! We may have to look into that actually! Who knows?
PD: What are some of your pet peeves?
Ratoon: I wouldn’t say it’s a pet peeve, but when you’re the subject of one of Sam’s magic tricks! It’s funny for the other 3 but not so funny for the person he’s showing. If you follow us on social media you’d know what we mean! If not, our handle is @ratoonband on all socials. Head over to check his tricks out and let us know if you’d call it magic.
PD: What is your proudest moment in music?
Ratoon: We all have individual proud moments from our careers to date but as a collective, it was pretty special hearing the final mix of our tracks back in the studio after working so long and hard on them. We can’t wait for you to hear them!
PD: So what are you working on at the moment?
Ratoon: We’ve just finished a long stretch in the studio recording 5 tracks and are now about to shoot the video for the first single released on May 20th 2022.
PD: What music have you available online and where can we buy it from?
Ratoon: As of may 20th 2022, you’ll be able to stream / purchase our debut single “Last on the Beef Chain” from all major streaming platforms!
Ratoon links:
Band/Artist location – Wales
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Twitter – Instagram – TikTok –
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