Vents MagaZine Music and Entertainment Magazine
Related Articles
1.) We’re very excited to be speaking today with acclaimed singer and songwriter Jesse Ruben; greetings and salutations Jesse and thanks for taking time from a busy schedule to speak with our ever-inquisitive readers here at Vents Magazine! Before we dive down the Q&A musical rabbit hole, how is the latter-part of 2025 finding you and yours?
Thanks so much for having me and for asking! 2025 has been a big transition year. My wife Jen is an actor and booked a lead on a TV show that shoots in Atlanta, so after 15 years in Brooklyn we packed up and moved to Georgia (it’s called “Beyond The Gates, it’s on Paramount+, you should all watch it!) But I’m excited to be much closer to Nashville where I’ll be doing a lot of collaborating, and I’m spending most of September and October on the road, which is my favorite thing.
2.) Major kudos and accolades on your freshly-minted album Belong which is set to light up record charts across the ever-loving globe when it makes its eagerly-anticipated debut this October 10! Starting at the tip-top, can you talk about what inspired this stunner of an LP?
I wrote a lot of those songs during the pandemic. It was a really challenging time, mentally and emotionally. I have a chronic illness, so I was pretty high risk for COVID, and at one point we didn’t leave an 10 block radius of our apartment for almost 18 months. So a lot of those songs are about isolation, and my health, and also just kind of documenting things that were going on in the world at that time.
3.) Who handled the producing honors on the Belong LP and what did the collaboration between artist and producer look like while working on the new album?
My producer’s name is Dwight A. Baker. He has an incredible band called The Wind and The Wave that I had toured with a bunch, so I knew him really well when we started working together. So much of my career is spent alone, like when I’m writing or traveling or performing, so it can be a difficult transition to give up some of that control to someone else. Luckily Dwight is incredibly talented, and had really great instincts. It really mattered to him that the record sound and feel the way I wanted it to. And that was so important.
4.) We’re tremendous admirers of the tune Future which stands front-and-center on the upcoming Belong LP! What’s the story behind this gem of a ditty?
Thank you so much, it’s one of my favorites on the album. There are only a few moments in your life where you started the day going one way, and then something happens, and your life is changed forever. Most of the time we don’t even realize we had one of those moments until way later. When my wife walked in for our first date, I knew I was going to marry her, and I knew I was having one of those moments in real time. So that song is about that one special moment. I also wrote it after we got engaged, but didn’t want to sing it at the wedding, so I sang it at our rehearsal dinner instead!
5.) There’s a dynamic companion music video for Future which really captures the heartfelt emotion of the song proper. How involved were you in the overall look and feel of the video?
Honestly, that was all Jen’s idea. We were supposed to shoot the video for that song in April of 2021, but then COVID shut the world down. And I was panicking because we didn’t have any good footage. She not only suggested using our wedding footage, she did most of the editing, and did an amazing job. Also you should know that the proposal at the beginning of the video is our real proposal. I had friends hiding behind buildings and telephone poles secretly filming, and I had a voice note going on my phone so we could capture the audio.
6.) How is the upcoming Belong album similar to some of your past discography? How is it different?
It’s my first new full length LP in a really long time, so in some ways it captures more of what my life was like when we made it. It’s my first album with no heartbreak songs on it (a side effect of being married and no longer dating), and I think it expands on different themes than what I typically release. As far as being similar, I think my writing style hasn’t changed much. I don’t use a lot of flowery poetic language or huge metaphors. I’m much more of a “just say the thing!” kind of writer. That’s the type of lyric writing I enjoy listening to the most, and I think it’s why people relate to my songs the way that they do.
7.) In the wake of the October 10 release of the Belong album, can fans look forward to catching you on the touring/performing circuit?
They sure can! I’m doing a bunch of album release shows on the east coast leading up to the release, and hopefully early next year I can make it to the midwest, west coast, and then eventually back to Europe and Asia. I’ve waited a long time for this album to come out, and I’m very excited for people to hear it.
8.) In your humble opinion, what differentiates the Belong LP from the Distinguished Competition on the 2025 music landscape?
Such a great question. In 2025, there is just SO. MUCH. MUSIC. I think something like 50,000 new songs on Spotify a day? Trying to game the system or figure out how to get to the top of the charts is very challenging and has never been how I approach writing and making music. I think the people who are feeling isolated, or frustrated, or overwhelmed, or totally in love will really respond to these songs. And if it doesn’t resonate with them today, the album will always be there when they need it.
9.) Your roots go back to Philadelphia, and you currently hang your fedora in Atlanta. How do those seemingly disparate roots inform you as both a person and as an artist?
Oh Philadelphia for sure. I am snarky and sarcastic and self deprecating and so much of that comes from growing up where I did. Atlanta has definitely been an interesting place. It’s much quieter than New York, but there is a thriving art scene here, with lots of creative people. I’ve been really enjoying exploring it and getting to learn more about it. However, I just don’t think I can pull off saying “y’all”.
10.) At the end of the day, what do you hope listeners walk away with after giving many-a-spin to one of the best album releases of 2025, Belong?
I hope people feel heard, and seen, and safe. I hope they put these songs on the day they meet their soulmate, and I hope they put these songs on when it feels like nothing makes sense. Because those are part of the human experience, and I want my songs to reflect that.
