“WHAT do you believe in?” pleads Rag ’n’ Bone Man on the title track of his upcoming album.
The 39-year-old singer-songwriter, real name Rory Graham, has been on a rollercoaster ride trying to work this out for himself over the years. He has become a father, got married, separated and has now found love again with his partner, Zoe.
Staying true to form, his upcoming third record sees him bare his soul as he works through these complex feelings of loss, hope, love and – ultimately – joy.
“I came out of the last record and reflecting on it, I wrote that album in a time where I wasn’t that great”, he tells me over a video call from his home in the east Sussex countryside.
“I felt a little bit down about life in general. My music’s always been on a plate the way I feel, and I can’t write sad music when I’m not sad.
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“So part of that reason was the fact that I met Zoe, and she brightened everything up in my life in general, and everything just felt more positive. So my music had to reflect that.”
Graham says his children have also had a major influence on his shift in mood as seeing them gain their personalities as they have grown older has “brightened me up a little bit”.
“I think it’s hard to be sad when you’re around children”, he adds.
His baritone voice, which rocketed him to fame in 2016, continues to be front-and-centre on his latest record, its sound imbued with hip hop, soul and blues influences.
The opener and first song written for the album, The Right Way, encapsulates this fusion with its 60s soulful style, while his collaboration with Calvin Harris on Lovers In A Past Life adds a summery pop layer.
“Even though some of the lyrics and the subjects are slightly dark, the backdrop isn’t dark. And that felt really on purpose because I want people to feel uplifted when they hear them”, he explains.
Put me in your pocket and run 🎵 Had such a great time making this record... 1 MONTH until the album is yours!! pic.twitter.com/UW6JE8BBwl
— Rags (@RagNBoneMan) September 20, 2024
“Especially right now, with everything that’s going on in the world, you can’t turn on the TV or look at social media without seeing something negative.
“So, I hope that my music is that one thing that people can be able to listen and just maybe forget.”
His rise to fame after the success of his 2016 hit single Human, which peaked at number one in Austria, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, may have felt swift, but Graham had battled through the industry for many years before he got his major break.
Born in Uckfield, East Sussex, Graham started rapping over high-tempo drum and bass music while still a teenager.
He readily admits his school record was not perfect and he once took part in a Prince’s Trust community programme that involved tending to a vegetable patch.
Only when Graham moved to Brighton did he begin to find his feet musically, forming the rap group Rum Committee, supporting influential US hip hop acts such as Pharoahe Monch and KRS-One and later working with High Focus, a group of south London rappers with a cult following.
After switching to a more pop sound for his debut album, he garnered a host of attention and awards including the Brit Awards’ critics’ choice, British breakthrough act and single of the year for Human.
On his journey to the top, he climbed his way up the music venue ladder. Around 12 years ago in his Brighton days he was playing local festivals and smaller gigs of 200 people before he scaled his way to performing to larger crowds in London and European venues, to now performing for ten of thousands.
“I have these moments now where I see a crowd of 60-70,000 people and I think, ‘Wow. I remember back when playing the Jazz Cafe was the biggest thing in the world’”, he recalls.
“I feel very grateful for those moments.”
However, the grassroot music venues which are fostering the talent of young artists are struggling more than ever. A report by the charity Music Venue Trust previously showed that these spaces experienced their “worst year” for closures in a decade during 2023, with 125 venues closing or stopping hosting live music.
The continuous decline has major effects on those it employs, as well as the artists who are trying to break through.
“How do you, from an artist perspective, get to the point where you’re writing songs and you want to play these small gigs and then you get a following and you can’t play the Brighton Centre, but there’s nowhere to go in between. There’s nowhere else”, Graham reflects.
“It’s like you play a pub gig or to 2000 people, where are the in-between ones?”
The singer feels the Government needs to step in and “do a bit more to support the arts in general”.
“I think if you look at the way that a lot of places in Europe do it, we could take a leaf out of their book, because their governments are much more supportive of small venues.
“And I know there’s a lot of things to be sorted out, but that’s definitely on the list.”
Graham also takes umbrage against fans having to fork out hundreds for tickets due to secondary ticketing sellers inflating the prices.
In celebration of his new album, he will be taking his album on the road, with the tour featuring stops in Leeds, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, London, Plymouth and Brighton.
The singer says he is unsure of how the system needs to be overhauled, but he hopes to protect his fans from being affected by it in the future.
