Arum Rae at WERS

ALEX WATERS: So, should we take a moment and maybe talk about your new record a little bit?

ARUM RAE:  Yes, we should!

ALEX: So it's called Sub Rosa, which I'm in the understanding is sort of a Latin phrase, that while it literally means "under a rose," it kind of means more of a behind-the-scenes sort of thing, right? Or behind closed doors. What was the inspiration behind the title of the record?

ARUM: Well, the record is a stripped-down album, and I haven't done anything ever on acoustic, let alone nylon-string guitar {before this one}. And it was to play the songs for the sake of the song, with very minimal production and to me, that's very intimate and behind-the-scenes. The things that don't get covered up are revealed here. 

ALEX: Right, so that embodies the spirit of it perhaps?

ARUM: Yeah.

ALEX: So I know you've worked with a lot pretty cool songwriters and producers, and you've had your songs on TV and stuff like that in the past. So why then, for this record, I know you recorded about half of it at home. Why did you strip it down so much?

ARUM: I was doing these tours with Rodriguez, "Sugarman" Rodriguez, he's one of my favorites, top-5 songwriters ever, and for the first part of the tour, I was selling these produced albums that were still minimal but still produced. And I didn't feel like it was what I was connecting with, initially, the people I was meeting every night. And I knew that I had these other tours coming up and I just felt like it was something for my fans that I haven't actually given them fully before. So that's why I just got a craving to do something raw like that.

ALEX: Sure, just trying something new, right? Experimenting with a new sound and seeing what you could get from it, I guess?

ARUM: Not so much an experiment, I think I'm pretty raw in general, but I think once you go into the studio you can lose some of that, working with different people. I wanted to do this and keep anything out of the way, warts and all, you know?

ALEX: Yeah, I totally get it. So you mentioned that some of the songs are in a past-present-future setup. So how do you determine, when you're writing a song, whether or not it'll be one of those past, present, or future songs? Obviously, a lot of singer-songwriters focus on the past. Where do you draw your inspiration for the other two?

ARUM: In the sense of releasing them?

ALEX: Yeah, sure.

ARUM: I think that they kind of determine themselves. And if you put them on a collection, it's maybe what you feel most compliment each other. I think of everything in the sense of clothes, so if it's a good "outfit." {Laughs} And just put that with music, then I think that's how. I just try to let them determine themselves.

ALEX: Okay, so the songs figure themselves out. They "get dressed" themselves, perhaps?

ARUM: Yeah, yeah!

ALEX: That's pretty cool. So you're going on tour in the fall. What is your favorite part of touring, especially now that you have the more acoustic sound?

ARUM: This fall I'm going to do both acoustic and electric. And my favorite part is performing.

ALEX: Just performing? Just playing the chords, just singing?

ARUM: {Laughs} Yeah! Singing, connecting with people, that's my favorite part.

ALEX: Just telling the stories. That's awesome. The last thing I was just kind of curious about on a personal level. So, your name, Arum Rae, obviously a very pretty name unto itself and it happens to mean "water lily," right?

ARUM: Mhm.

ALEX: So how many people have gotten that name wrong or not understood where it comes from while you're out on tour?

ARUM: {Laughs} Well, it's usually Erin is what I get called. Sometimes I let that fly but not so much. But yeah, it's usually like this is the order that it goes in when I meet somebody: "Hi, Arum. Arum. A-R-U-M. My mom named me that when I was a little girl. It's Latin for 'water lily.'" That's usually the order that happens every time.

ALEX: Right, and you named your new record in Latin as well. So is Latin something that keeps coming up in your life as an inspiration or does it just happen?

ARUM: It just happens. I think a lot of the language is really stunning. And for some reason, like with Sub Rosa, it took me a really long time to find a title. It's just kind of something that happens.