RUEBEN
Conveying Feelings with the Magic of Music
In the silence between notes, music whispers the deepest truths of the heart, echoing feelings too profound for words.
Welcome 🖤
Thank you for being part of this exciting journey of artistic exploration.
These short interviews are designed to forge a deeper connection between artists and their tribe. Whether you consider yourself an artist, a promoter, a devoted fan, or someone on the cusp of becoming one, get ready to delve into the fascinating complexities of the creative mind 👽.
Are you ready to uncover the weird and wonderful world of artistry?
It took me almost fifteen years to get that sound. Rueben
Say hello to RUEBEN, a standout drum and bass producer from Groningen, a Dutch city with a reputation for launching the careers of many stars in the genre. Now residing in Utrecht and also known by the name Jelle, he has devoted fifteen years to drum and bass, honing a signature ‘Rueben’ sound that infuses his soulful compositions with a depth and resonance — a mark of distinction that sets him apart as a unique gem among his peers. Music, for Rueben, is more than sound; it’s a powerful medium through which he channels emotions that words cannot capture, making every listening session a deeply moving experience.
His most recent EP, ‘Your Move’, launched under the renowned Overview label, features four enchanting tracks in collaboration with exceptional vocalists from across Europe. These artists masterfully capture Rueben’s unvoiced thoughts and sentiments, adding a profoundly personal layer to the music. In addition to Overview, Rueben’s music has also found a home at esteemed labels such as Shogun Audio and Music Squad, further cementing his prominent status in the scene.
I had the privilege of speaking with Rueben as we look forward to the MOMENTUM event 🪩 this June in Hilversum, the Netherlands, hosted at the celebrated venue De Vorstin. At this event, Rueben will showcase his talent alongside a lineup of exceptional drum & bass artists.
Our conversation shed light on the profound impact drum and bass has had on Rueben’s life, revealing aspects of his character that many are unaware of. We also reflected on an experience Rueben initially viewed as a setback, which, through the lens of hindsight, is now recognised as a moment of growth.
Plus, I found out what can wake Rueben up in the middle of the night.
As always, brace yourself for a delightful parade of surprises! 🎉
Behind the Bass: Jelle’s Life Beyond the Stage and Studio 🎛️
During my series of interviews with artists, I’ve observed a fascinating pattern: most of them don’t listen to drum & bass for enjoyment. This highlights a unique difference between fans and creators of the genre. While fans dive into a dreamy world on the wings of synchronised beats, lost in the music, producers seem to experience it from another perspective. They often forgo the thrill of being swept away by the music.
“I do listen to drum & bass a little bit, sometimes I’m in the mood, so I do listen, but I feel like it would influence my music too much as well,” Jelle shared, offering insight into his mindset as a creator.
Not many are aware that Jelle plays a key role in administration at BLACKOUT, a prominent label renowned for its extensive catalog of neurofunk and dark drum and bass. “I just don’t really put the Blackout stuff on my artist pages because I keep it kind of separated,” Jelle explained, providing a glimpse into his approach to balancing his professional and artistic identities. “It’s also because my own music doesn’t have anything to do with neurofunk,” he added. This distinction is quite logical, yet it’s fascinating to see how deeply drum & bass is woven into the fabric of Jelle’s life.
“I think I’m pretty quiet about it; maybe some people might think that I don’t like it, but I do. I just don’t share a lot of that stuff online,” he shared. “Also when I do post stuff related to Blackout online, I notice I get a lot of friend requests and people in my inbox wanting things,” he elaborated. “People can email me during my working hours, but I don’t want to be flooded on my Whatsapp or Facebook,” Jelle clarified.
Returning to the listening habits of a drum and bass creator, it’s noteworthy that even within the walls of Blackout, Jelle and his colleagues rarely listen to drum & bass. While they do tune into artists’ sets when considering bookings, that’s usually the extent of it. Instead, Funk, Soul, and R&B energise the atmosphere during work hours.
To peek into a side of Jelle’s life that isn’t dominated by drum & bass, here’s a revealing tidbit 🥁🥁🥁: “I have been thinking about it, and I even spoke to my girlfriend about ‘What do people not know about me?’ And we came up with ‘I have a pasta machine!“, he shared with a smile 🙃. So, if the music thing doesn’t work out, he might just become a pasta maestro!
The Signature ‘Rueben’ Sound 📯
One of the greatest compliments an artist can receive is the development of a recognisable sound, a signature trait that sets them apart as truly unique. When I mentioned his distinctive sound, Jelle instantly caught on: “It’s like a mid-range, melodic kind of sound,” Jelle tried to articulate the essence of his musical identity.
“It took me almost fifteen years to get that sound,” he said. “And I think just in the transition from working with Ordure (Jelle’s previous music project with a close friend) to starting Rueben, there was a phase where I was making more personal music, deeply influenced by my emotions,” he continued.
“This emotional aspect made it hard to release it as Ordure, because someone else would then work on it and change the essence of my feelings. That’s why I decided I want to make music for myself, to fully express those emotions,” he explained. “It was then that the melodies came in, truly coming from within me, in coherence with the technical skill I had developed at that time,” he elaborated.
Jelle’s odyssey to define his unique sound illustrates a profound truth within the creative realm: authenticity is the soul of artistry. His evolution from Ordure to Rueben wasn’t merely a change in moniker or partnership but a journey towards aligning his music with the true beat of his emotions.
🎵 Exploring the Soul of Drum & Bass
Driven by curiosity, I couldn’t resist asking Jelle about the beginning of his musical journey. When I asked, “When did you decide to give Drum & Bass a try?” he responded: “I think it was my first Drum & Bass night, going to Machtig, in Groningen. I was working at Albert Heijn (supermarket) at the time, when I was 16, almost a cliché, and my supervisor, Linda, was working at the service desk. She asked me, ‘Hey, do you want to go to a NOISIA party this weekend?’ and I was like, ‘What’s NOISIA?’ and she goes, ‘Drum & Bass’, and I was like, ‘What’s Drum & Bass?’” he nostalgically recalled.
“I was already producing a bit back then, but I was mainly making house kind of stuff, just playing around with FruityLoops. And then, when I heard those sounds at Machtig, I was like, ‘How the hell did they make this? I wanted to be able to do this as well,” Jelle added.
Jelle’s story really hit home for me because I also found drum and bass by chance, just like he did. Instead of Linda, it was Juraj, a classmate from high school, who introduced me to this world. It shows how random moments in life can light up what we’re most passionate about. Our shared story points out how surprise and chance play a big role in getting inspired, reminding us that transformative experiences often lie in the most unexpected of places.
“Drum & Bass doesn’t resonate with everyone. I sometimes feel that I’ve never found a person in drum & bass who’s had a perfect and happy life,” he responded to my observation that this type of music requires a specific mindset to truly appreciate. “There’s probably been some trauma or some hiccups in your life that make drum & bass resonate with you. Because it’s dark and fast-paced, and sometimes sad or angry, I think it connects with these emotions within us, or maybe even frustrations,” he reflected.
Maybe it’s about more than just vibing and dancing; it’s about finding a rhythm with the crowd that lets us unlock feelings we’ve kept tucked away. There’s something deeply human in this exchange, where every beat feels like it’s reaching in, turning a key 🔑 to let out thoughts and emotions we didn’t even know we needed to release.
The Irresistible Vibe Attracting Rueben’s Tribe 👥
Rueben is often praised as the soulful Dutch maestro. And if you’re anything like me, you sometimes find yourself scrolling through the comments on one of his tracks. There, you’ll discover that one word that captures the true essence of his music: Vibe. Jelle puts it like this: “I’d call it melancholic, because I don’t think it’s necessarily sad or happy. I think it has a bit of nostalgia in there, but also a bit of hope and a mixture of emotions.”
To foster a stronger connection between Rueben and his tribe, I encouraged Jelle to open up and share a vulnerable moment from his life with the audience. Did Jelle face any challenges during his 15-year musical journey? “Probably many,” he admitted. “There’s of course the small ones of pressing the Cue button on a wrong CDJ, that happens to all of us,” he started detailing.
“But this one I consider an epic fail. I also applied for an internship at NOISIA, but I didn’t even get a reply, obviously. Looking back, I can see why. My application was solely focused on music production. I was basically saying, ‘Hey, you guys are producers, can I intern with you and learn how to produce music?’ Now, as a producer myself and working at a label where Black Sun Empire produces music downstairs every day, I feel like I was so dumb applying in that way to that internship. I should have checked what they would be looking for. Obviously it would be the stuff they didn’t really want to do, or the management kind of stuff,” he concluded, feeling embarrassed.
“I looked up to them a lot. They were my first inspiration. Maybe they even made it difficult for me to become a drum and bass producer because when I first started listening to drum & bass, they weren’t that big yet; they were just about to break through,” he explained. “And I thought, ‘These guys from my town are making drum and bass, so I can do that too.’ I set them as an example, which was a mistake because they became the best and the biggest. If you measure yourself against the best and the biggest, it’s never good enough. So I could have chosen something with a slightly lower bar to aim for,” he chuckled.
We all experience these thoughts and feelings, but ultimately, it was precisely this realisation that propelled Jelle to where he is today. And to be honest, it seems like he’s in a pretty great spot. Enduring over a decade of ups and downs while staying true to our passions almost always leads to a positive outcome in the end.
“I have thought about it, should I maybe take a step away from myself and see from a bird’s-eye view and be honest with myself ‘Is this going somewhere? Is it worth it? Should I maybe start doing something else? If I’m going to be 45 and still playing at drum and bass events, am I going to be happy? If I’m going to have a family, and kids, how is that going to be? But in the end, it always comes back to ‘I wanna make drum and bass and if I don’t do it for a while then it’ll be in my head all the time, and I’ll get all these ideas and they’ll drive me crazy. And I’ll keep doing it,” Jelle shared this profound insight with us.
Then he concluded: “It’s almost like ‘I feel hungry so I need to eat,’ but I wouldn’t die if I stopped making drum & bass, that’s the only difference.” Drawing a comparison to fundamental human needs isn’t off the mark at all. In a way, creating drum & bass fulfils a deep, intrinsic hunger, much like the necessity of food or water, though perhaps with a bit more bass and less risk of starvation.
🖤 Emotive Inspiration: The Heart of Creativity
Before, we lightly touched on how emotions are a key source of inspiration for Jelle. Now, we circle back to that idea, digging deeper into how his feelings play a pivotal role in his creative process. Jelle opened up about his challenges with expressing emotions in traditional ways. “I think I have troubles expressing my emotions in other ways, or letting them out, or even define my emotions in other ways,” he shared. “That comes out through the music, and that’s my biggest inspiration,” he added.
“But also a lot of visual aspects. I really like to create my own visuals through Photoshop or work with video, and that really inspires me to make music as well,” he continued. “Watching movies or videos inspires me to make music in a certain way. I think it’s because video resonates with you like music can or calls to a certain feeling or emotion,” he concluded.
For Jelle, certain types of videos or movies resonate with him because they either mirror experiences he’s had or reflect his fears. It’s fascinating to take those emotions and translate them into something else, whether it’s music or another form of expression. This creative alchemy, turning personal reflections and emotions into art, deepens his engagement with his work, offering both a mirror to his soul and a window for others to peer through.
Jelle’s Musical Alarm Clock ⏰
Every MMNTM Interview wraps up with a glimpse into the artist’s unique quirks and desires. One way I do this is by imagining walking into their bedroom and surprising them with something to wake them up. What’s Jelle’s reaction?
“No food or drink would get me out of bed. Not even making music would do it at that time. But I think what could get me out of bed would be a new album dropping by one of my favourite artists. If you woke me up and said, ‘Jelle, there’s a new Halogenix album out of nowhere,’ then I would be in my headphones within five seconds,” Jelle concluded our conversation with a smile on his face.
And that’s a wrap on our wonderful conversation with RUEBEN. Stay connected with Jelle on Facebook and Instagram. Don’t miss out on his recent ‘Your Move’ EP, immerse yourself in his uniquely captivating music and show him some love with a big thumbs up, because he truly deserve it 🖤.
MMNTM is grateful for the opportunity to delve into the world of this unique musician, uncovering some of Jelle’s less-known personality traits, challenging experiences and surprising sources of inspiration.
🗓️ Mark your calendars for the highly anticipated MOMENTUM Event on June 22nd in Hilversum. Grab your 🐣 early birds as long as they are available and enjoy a free drink on us. We can’t wait to see you there!
This will mark Jelle’s third performance at De Vorstin, but the first time under the name RUEBEN. It’s truly an honour to showcase this exceptional artist in Hilversum!
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Until next time,
ADRIANA
