MEET : TTRRUUCES
TTRRUUCES’ self-titled 2020 release was hailed as ‘one of the most ambitious albums of the year’… and rightfully so. Catapulting yourself into the world with an all-encompassing rock-opera-odyssey as your debut album is either utterly daft or genius. Luckily for Natalie Findlay, and Jules Apollinaire it was the latter.
Photo by Ines Karma
TTRRUUCES is a formidable body of work, eleven perfectly-formed tracks that fully immerse the listener from the offset, gesturing towards the dystopian adventure that awaits and inviting us along for the ride. Their offbeat lyricism combined with the cinematic score would be more than enough to deeply root us in the world of TTRRUUCES, but on top of it all, 11 beautiful music videos accompany the record, bringing us even closer in.
Highly regarded producers and writers in their own right, having been the writing team behind Suki Waterhouse’s hit ‘Good Looking’, TTRRUUCES is a vehicle where the two are free to play, free of any confines and constraints, and this is evident through their sound… a genre bending melting pot of conceptual eccentricity.
So here we are, three years on, off to support Baxter Dury on the European leg of his tour and gearing up to release their sophomore album ‘JJUUIICES’, which will be out for all to hear on 20th October via AntiFragile Music. We kidnapped Natalie & Jules and asked them about the timeless records they love, their ‘musical playground’, bravery and a lot of questions about drinks.
LAST BUS: I read that you guys met in an East London coffee shop - which one and how did you start chatting?
Natalie: La Bouche on Broadway market! I used to stalk Jules when he was working there because I fancied him. I spent a lot of money on lattes before we spoke properly. Then one day we both realised the other was a musician and got to talking and promised we’d hang out if we saw each other again, bumped into each other on the street that afternoon and then never really spent another day apart.
How do you take your coffee?
Natalie: Oat milk flat white and a sugar.
Jules: Latte with milk from a cow and one big sugar.
‘Bad Kids’ has been on my playlists for the last couple of years but I hadn’t explored your other stuff until quite recently and am so glad I did. For people that are listening to you for the first time, what do you suggest them starting with?
N: Bad Kids seems to be a fan favourite so maybe start with that. I usually play people the newer stuff though like STFU, You Make Me Feel Good, Cherry Cola… I want people to start with the happy stuff and what I enjoy performing live the most.
J: Sleepy Head to sleep, Snakes to wake up.
On Spotify it says your biggest following is in Berlin, why do you think this is?
J: We’ve cracked the schnitzel algorithm.
Tackling a rock opera for your debut album is brave. What made you want to dive in at the deep end?
N: We’d already together written a lot of ‘song’ songs that just stood alone in their own concept so we thought it would be a fun challenge to write a narrative driven album and then that grew as we developed the story of Sad Girl and Lost Boy and we got completely carried away and made it into a rock opera!
J: Because it felt better than floating at the shallow end
What’s the bravest thing you’ve done?
J: I welcomed my mum at St. Pancras Station playing on the public piano and she arrived to her own little private show. Also moving to London at 19 without a plan and with the dream of doing music, and eventually doing it.
N: Last month I jumped into what I thought was a bottomless pool cut into a cave. I’m claustrophobic and have a fear of deep water so that was terrifying. Also performing with food poisoning which was shocking.
I also believe Bad Kids was used in a White Claw advert. We’ve covered coffee but what’s your alcoholic drink of choice?
N&J : Frozen margaritas.
There’s something so timeless and fully formed about your debut album. It feels well and truly grounded in the world, as if it’s been around for centuries. Like a timeless fossil. What are your favourite albums that transcend time?
N: I’ve been going back to that first Foxygen record a lot recently, to me that’s so timeless. I love that record so much. It’s ten years old but feels so fresh still. As for classic albums that still sound fresh, I would say anything by the Beatles or the Kinks, Bowie, Velvet Underground… Modern bands could never.
J: The Beatles - White Album
Photo by Ines Karma
What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
N: I lost my shit at The Strokes, I was screaming and crying and caught Covid but it was insane. Also Amyl and the Sniffers are one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen.
J: Nile Rogers playing his entire repertoire of hits and the beautiful connection he made with the crowd during a festival we played too.
You’re off on tour with the mighty Baxter Drury, are you excited? Were you a fan of his before?
J: We’re super excited and can’t wait. Just packing and rehearsing for the last few days, super excited!
N: It’s really a dream tour for us to be on, We’ve always been a huge fan of Baxter and everything he does.
Who would be your dream band/artist to tour with? (Apart from Baxter of course…)
J: Philippe Katerine for the legend.
‘The first rule of TTRRUUCES club is that there are no rules.’ Tell us about your 'musical playground' that you write and play in… and if it’s a rule-less place, how do you manage to differentiate between the keepers and the throwaways?
N: I think it becomes very obvious very quickly when songs are keepers, then you enter that hole of finishing production and forming how they should sound live.
J: Whatever works and feels real, we’re not seeking homogeneity we like to keep it eclectic and unpredictable, we let the song comes and finish the ones we truly love
Which track off of JJUUICESS are you most excited to play live?
J: Snakes
N: STFU
Photo by Ines Karma
Out of curiosity, phonetically, when we talk about the album, are we elongating the ‘Oooooo’ in JJUUICESS? Or just juices?
N: Just juices!
J: …but feel free to elongate the Ooo.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
N: Ocean Leclair, Youth Lagoon, Jungle, Big Thief, The Last Dinner Party… I’m also loving Maple Glider, I went to see her a couple weeks ago and she was amazing, I can’t wait for her new album.
J: In all honesty at the moment I don’t listen to anyone in particular, I listen to the stuff I’m working on shamelessly.
What do you listen to on the Last Bus home?
N: At the moment The Strokes!
J: I’m quite car sick so I don’t listen to music while in a moving vehicle.
And finally… we’ve covered coffee and alcohol, but it has to be done… favourite JJUUIICE?
N: Pineapple juice! Good for the vocal cords. And ginger shots.
J: Lychee Juice, the one you get at Asian restaurants.
