Biography Wikipedia
Wikipedia:
Love Amongst Ruin are a London rock band, led by ex-Placebo drummer Steve Hewitt.
Beginnings and formation
Upon leaving Placebo after the conclusion of their Meds tour in September 2007, Steve Hewitt had a vision "to create a new band, a new album and a new sound". He immediately enlisted Lamb bassist Jon Thorne and his brother Nick Hewitt to begin writing and demoing new music at his home studio. In March 2008, Julian Cope collaborator Donald Ross Skinner was brought in to oversee and co-produce the recording sessions. Between April and August 2008, the collective moved to Moles Studio in Bath for three recording sessions with producer Paul Corkett, which yielded ten songs, with Steve predominantly performing drums and lead vocals. Mixing began in September and continued for six months before the album was mastered by Brian Gardner at Bernie Grundman Mastering in April 2009. Steve spent the remainder of 2009 securing management, publishing and record deals, in addition to finding permanent members for the band. In November, he revealed the band and debut album would be named 'Love Amongst Ruin'.
Love Amongst Ruin (2009-11)
The band lineup was revealed in December 2009 and announced alongside Steve Hewitt (vocals/guitar) were Donald Ross Skinner (guitar), Steve Hove (guitar), Laurie Ross (keyboards & cello) and Keith York (drums). The band made their live debut at the Eurosonic Festival in Groningen, Netherlands on January 14, 2010, with guest bassist Jonathan Noyce. Bassist Magnus Lundén was added as a permanent member in time for their UK live debut at the Barfly in London on 11 May. The band followed up with a larger gig at the Scala in June. Magnus Lundén was replaced by Teresa Morini in July. The band appeared on the Red Bull Stage at Sonisphere Festival on 11 August, the day after Hewitt's previous band, Placebo, had played on the main stage.
Love Amongst Ruin's debut single "So Sad (Fade)" was released on August 30 on Ancient B Records, followed by their self-titled debut album on September 13. The band embarked on the Heaven & Hell Tour from September through November and released their second single "Home" on 25 October. 2010 was wrapped up with a gig at Birmingham Academy supporting Feeder. Keith York left the band at the end of the year, expressing a desire to spend more time with his family. He was replaced by Ramon Sherrington. Laurie Ross was also removed from the live lineup, but continues to record with the band in the studio.
The band began 2011 with a quartet of gigs supporting Feeder, before supporting their third single, "Alone", with a short tour of France in March. Gizz Butt filled in for Steve Hove on the Recycling Party tour in May, while Jon Thorne stepped in for Teresa Morini at the Fête de la Musique in Valence, France in June. The band also confirmed that a new EP titled "Oh God" was set for release in the summer, though as of April 2012 it has not seen release. The band spent two days at Fisher Lane Farm in early August with producer Paul Corkett to record acoustic versions of nine tracks released on their self-titled debut album. Laurie Ross returned to play cello at the sessions. An acoustic version of "Bring Me Down (You Don't)" was given away by the band as a free download in advance of the release of the acoustic album on December 5th.
Second studio album (2011-present)
In January 2011, Hewitt revealed that he had begun writing the band's second album, and the band will commence recording after they complete the supporting tour for Love Amongst Ruin. In June, Steve stated that "We're about nine tracks in. We're hoping to start recording in September. I've demoed most of the drums but we'll see when September comes who's going to play what. I've got to get my oar in and have a go, it'd be silly not to". In November, Steve confirmed that band have been recording at Moles Studio in Bath and the album is expected to be released in the first half of 2012.
Musical style and influences
Love Amongst Ruin describe themselves as "a multi-faceted rock band that promises the crunch of a stone age queen, the crossover appeal of a parkful of linkins and the melodicism of the hardiest fighter of foos". They also cite having New Order, Depeche Mode, Kasabian, Can, The Cure and Metallica elements to their sound.
