OneRepublic marks ‘second chapter’ as a band with new album
MANILA, Philippines — Love. Fear. Hope. This is how OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder described in three words their forthcoming fifth album Human set to be released this year.
The American band has dropped five singles from the studio album ahead of its release with Rescue Me and Wanted in 2019, Didn’t I and Better Days in 2020 and its latest Run which was launched May this year.
Apart from life experiences, the song Run was titled as such partly because Ryan literally loves to run as a form of exercise. “I’m a runner, I love exercising. I do it before a concert. I do it every time before a show. I ran 2,000 kilometers this year and you can probably double that if you add in the treadmill,” he said during the virtual media conference with Southeast Asian press members last Thursday.
He also admitted that the song refers to himself as “someone who kind of wants everything in life.” At a young age, he was very inspired and curious about visiting new places and trying out something new. “Let’s go there, let’s do that, let’s try that. I’m involved in 30 different businesses and I’m doing five to six albums at the same time.”
“I want to see it all, taste it all, try it all, travel to all of it. Obviously, it’s impossible (to do everything). So it’s that constant search, that high-paced energy which is what I have and it’s that constant search for something new,” added the 41-year-old vocalist.
In retrospect though, the thesis behind the song is to just focus on your goals, “put on those horse blinders, don’t worry about the stupid nonsense (distractions) and just run.” He went on sharing his mantra in life, as incorporated in the track, “To get up, get off your butt. Life is short. You’re not guaranteed another day. Get out there, run, wake up, look at the sun, chase it down, grab life by the horns and own it. That’s really my philosophy for life.”
In terms of music direction, the band doesn’t have a specific classification of what their sound really is but Ryan said that more than half of their album would remind people of whatever OneRepublic sounds like in their previous albums.
“I was just really trying to find something unique that didn’t sound like anybody else. So, I think this album will remind people a little bit of Native which was (released) in 2013. I think people who like Native will love this album. People who like waking up and dreaming out loud,” he explained.
He continued to look back on their past releases: “There are songs that connect to the first three albums. Oh My My was an experimental, vast album. It’s my favorite album musically but it’s definitely a lot more adventurous than experimental. Human is more of a return to these very like emotional songs and like heartfelt, yeah, that’s the best way for me to put it. I think that it’s a return to that sound.”
Their first album was Reformation, followed by Dreaming Out Loud and Waking Up, Native and Oh My My.
Human was supposed to come out in November 2019 but was pushed back due to COVID-19 pandemic. Better Days, which sends a message of comfort during this crisis, was recorded and written while the band was in quarantine.
Furthermore, Ryan recalled the phase of his life when he was on the verge of leaving the band while on tour and considers the current album as his “second chapter” with the band.
By the time Oh My My was launched Ryan revealed he was “already completely fried.” “I almost thought I was done with the band, to be honest. In 2016 to 2017, the promotion tour schedule that we did for Oh My My was so destroying. I was on the road for months from May 1 to Dec. 22. I remember very well from 2016. And by the time I got to October, I’d seen my family for maybe four days out of four to five months, and I still had three months to go (to finish the tour).”
In his words, he was “just done” and told his manager that he couldn’t promote any more songs. “I was going nonstop for 10 years, from 2007 to 2017, and so on Jan. 17, I walked away. And the band was like, ‘What’s gonna happen to us?’” he narrated.
Fast forward to 2019, he co-wrote the song Sucker with the Jonas Brothers which became a huge hit. It “kinda energized” him that led him to produce and collaborate with various artists such as Miley Cyrus and Sam Smith. “And that got me back in the saddle.”
“I can honestly thank those artists that I work with for making me want to do an album again. I had enough time off with my family, being home and not touring,” said Ryan.
But, of course, music and tours had always been his passion. “I wanted to tour again. I had something to say. I wanted to go back out there and make music again.”
On a side note, Asia has become their “favorite place in the world to tour by far.” “We love Europe, Australia, America, but Asia, we just fell in love with Asia over the last five to six years so tremendously. It’s so different and so unique…So we always like, ‘Let’s figure out a way to get to Asia.’”
The three-time Grammy Award winner, singer, songwriter and producer has worked with big names in the music industry including Adele (in Rumour Has It), Beyonce (in Halo), Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga, One Direction, Jennifer Lopez, Taylor Swift and the latest with Norwegian DJ Kygo, to name a few.
OneRepublic was formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2002 and is composed of guitarists Zach Filkins and Drew Brown, bassist and cellist Brent Kutzle, drummer Eddie Fisher and keyboardist Brian Willett.
Some of their hits include Apologize, Secrets and Counting Stars. The Human album is available for pre-order on their website.
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