A Quick Chat with Christian Ruiz

Can you tell me a bit about your inspiration for your single ‘Miss You?’

I am always inspired by things in my heart and write about them as a means of therapy and because I believe they will make the best songs. This song in particular was written about a confusing and expected dynamic between myself and a certain girl.

What are your influences and how do they affect your songwriting? 

 My influences are Michael Jackson, Santana, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Ryan Tedder. I am influenced in the techniques I sing with and also with the music that I write and produce from all of these artists. Sometimes it’s subconscious and other tiimes I’m more conscious of using certain stylistic choices from these influences while making it my own.

What’s the creative process like for you?

I start with the music and start playing something usually on either guitar or keyboard. I try to find a sound that I vibe with and then start to work out a chord progression or melody. Once I start vibing with something I start to layer it up with more keys, synths, guitars, drums and bass but don’t go too crazy as I’m trying to be quick. My goal is to capture the burst of emotion and inspiration that comes over me - like catching lightning in a bottle. I’m not trying to create a full production but something that inspires me to write over. Once I get this basic idea I roughly arrange it and start recording vocals in gibberish. Again I’m trying to catch that inspiration for my vocal melodies so speed is important. Once I really feel the melodies I’ve written I start to fill it in with lyrics. Sometimes I already have something I want to write about and sometimes I work out what I want to write about after I’ve gotten the melodies. When II’ve written the lyrics I track the final vocals and start to fully produce the song.

If you could change something about the Australian/New Zealand music industry what would it be? 

From my time in the US I noticed the belief and support that people showed - which seemed to be common traits amongst Americans. I think that this belief and support is the reason so many Americans get behind new/emerging artists and really help them grow. This culture and attitude would be awesome to see adopted in the Australian/New Zealand music industry.

What do you think life would be like for you if you didn’t have music as an outlet? 

I think I would really struggle through life without music. It’s what gives me purpose and fulfills me, it’s what gives me something to look forward to, it’s what gets me out of bed in the morning. I honestly don’t know how I would or could go on in life without music. There is nothing else in this world that gives me the same feeling that I get when I make music.

Is there anyone you would like to collaborate with?  Why?

It would be incredible to collaborate with Quincy Jones! He’s produced so many classics. I can’t even imagine what we’d create if we worked on a song together. Hopefully one day!

What’s your advice to young people who want to make a career for themselves in the industry? 

I would tell them that they need to believe in themselves and work on it everyday even if it’s something small that’s working towards their end goal. I would also say to have realistic expectations of how long things take. It’s very rare that anything will happen overnight and it’s a long game. I think it’s very important to set good expectations and goals for themselves so that they don’t get disappointed. But that’s not to get confused with them not being able to make a career. The way to make a career is to set realistic goals for yourself so that when you smash those goals it charges you up to hit the next ones instead of being disappointed. This way if you're always progressing you can eventually get anywhere that you like! It just might take a long time. Believe in yourself and work on it everyday so that way you keep progressing and eventually reach your heart's desires. Other people have done it so why can’t you!?

Who’s the most interesting person you’ve worked with/met? 

Zaytoven. He’s a hip hop legend and a very interesting person to work with. One reason is because the hip hop music culture is so different in America to anything we have in Australia but besides that he is one of the fastest beat makers/producers in the world. He is so incredibly fast and it’s fascinating to watch him work. Not to mention working with him was an incredibly surreal experience after I watched him making beats on youtube for years prior to working with him. He has a very unique sound in a genre where a lot of music can sound the same. I can always tell when he’s produced a song.

Any plans for a tour on the cards?

There’s no plans for a tour currently but it’s definitely on the cards in the future!