Hailing from Philadelphia, PA, writing/producing duo Rubber highlights their intro track “Someone Else” off their recent EP 'Buggy Bumpers'. The duo is known for creating cerebral and stimulating soundscapes that merge the likes of R&B, funk, soul, and modern-day pop while fuelling their music with deep bass lines that take groovy turns. Rubber’s latest hit “Someone Else” features the mesmerizing vocal runs of Andrew Loper, and both Andrew Loper’s and John Della Franco’s incredibly innovative and funky production stylings. As well as modern R&B elements, “Someone Else” carries heavy electronic production while still incorporating the soulful human touch of a piano. With vast instrumentation and intriguing vocals, Rubber has our full undivided attention.
“Someone Else” opens with faint and subtle synths that drone in the background, all to be interrupted by an exciting bongo beat and textured rim hits. As the production progressively grows wider, Andrew Loper’s vocals take the stage in such clarity that’s hard to find today. His natural vocals overtop of invigorating production creates pictures that have yet to be painted in the industry. As Rubber’s keyboard synths take an exciting turn to a nostalgic and funky sound, we’re left with an upbeat instrumental through groovy synth melodies and unique electronic drum patterns. It’s clear that “Someone Else” exceptionally displays Rubber’s exuding and fresh talent, and will most definitely leave a mark on the industry.
Listen to "Someone Else" here.
Hey Rubber, welcome to BuzzMusic! From mesmerizing vocals to complex production, your single “Someone Else” serves pure quality. Could you take us through Rubber’s creative process when putting pieces together for “Someone Else”?
It started off with an unfinished beat and some lyrics. Once we started to play it live, that's where the form of the song really took shape. In the studio, we tried a million different things out on it. It took 3 different live drummers laying down tracks before we finally settled on using programmed drum samples. The intro violin-ish sound, which is really distinctive and became the centerpiece of the song, was a random experiment while tracking ad-libs, it's actually warped vocal tracks. It all came together in the last two or three sessions after almost a year of bouncing around production ideas.
Within your single “Someone Else”, Rubber serves a whole sound with intriguing instrumentals and timeless vocal arrangements. Why did you want “Someone Else” to lead the way as an intro track to Rubber’s EP 'Buggy Bumpers'?
We wanted that really unique and ear-catching intro sound to be the first thing people heard on the record. Also, the track is upbeat, fun, and definitely danceable so we decided that's the vibe we wanted to lead with.
Speaking on your track “Someone Else”, Rubber brings together nostalgic and modern production elements that serve nothing but authenticity. Could you expand on some of Rubber’s musical influences, and how they might have impacted your careers as artists?
John: I'd have to say my influences for this track were 70's Funk, Dancehall Reggaeton, and 90's Hip-Hop, no specific artist comes to mind though.
Andrew: For this song, I definitely channeled Toro y Moi, Frank Ocean and Zack Villere for lyrical flow inspiration but the initial beat reminded me of the type of music that was playing at this one birthday party I had recently gone to at an underground venue in West Philly, so the song became a story about that night.
Rubber’s recent EP 'Buggy Bumpers' is said to surround themes of post-adolescent life in modern America. How does Rubber find a happy medium between nostalgic instrumentation and modern-day imagery?
The instrumentation is, in a sense, nostalgic but nostalgia is also, in a sense, modern. We live in perpetual nostalgia, an era of remakes and sequels, it's a part of our everyday lives. We just take the sounds we love, find new ways of arranging them, and create new, modern stories with them.
What can we expect to see from you throughout 2020?
Obviously, COVID-19 has bought our touring schedule to a complete halt and no one really knows when we’ll be able to get back on stage again. We’re working on a couple of things- new music, some really cool collaborations, a couple of brand partnerships, but nothing is quite public yet so you'll just have to follow us on socials to find out, Instagram (@rubberofficial) is definitely our favorite but we’re on all of ‘em… even TikTok.
instagram.com/rubberofficial
twitter.com/rubbermusic
facebook.com/rubberofficial