Leo Ruff Spins Up a House-Fueled Mix for This Is Home

Following his newest release, “Under The Covers,” Leo Ruff takes everyone on a sonic tour of London with an exclusive mix for This Is Home.

London has been a hot spot for the electronic music scene for decades and Leo Ruff is just the latest talent who has come from the city. He first made a name for himself in 2021 with his tech house track “Get Down,” which saw him gain support from fellow artists like Don Diablo and also receive radio play on KISS FM and more. Not long after, Leo Ruff sold out his debut performance at Basing House in London which added to the momentum he began to build.

This year, Leo Ruff has taken his talents back into the studio to produce his newest single, “Under The Covers,” which branches away from the darker, tech house sound of his debut song and leans into brighter melodies. It’s steeped with clean cuts of bass for dance-ready moments and alluring vocals to top his developing sound, further proving his versatility and ability to deliver infectious rhythms for listeners to get lost in.

Now, hot off the trails of his new song and with a performance at Music Lotto on April 20 on the horizon, Leo Ruff takes his time navigating the sounds of London for our This Is Home mix series. He layers in a heavy dose of Future Rave with a flurry of fresh tunes from artists like David Guetta, Joel Corry, and ACRAZE, so check it out and make sure to download or stream “Under The Covers” on your preferred platform.

Stream This Is Home 057 || Leo Ruff [London] on SoundCloud:

Hey Leo! Thanks for being a part of this series. London definitely has a rich music scene and a lot of house music has been cultivated from there. How would you say being in the area and growing up in London has fostered your own music style?

Yeah, London probably has the richest music scene in the world, both in terms of its diversity and impact. It’s definitely had a big impact on the music I create today, with all the stuff that I was absorbing at raves, jazz clubs, and open jam sessions. It all filters into the sound that I’m crafting today, and I think the part that most people don’t realise is that I didn’t seek out my musical influences, I just sort of hoovered up the music that surrounded me.

For those of us who haven’t been to London, what are some of your favorite music venues to visit and why do they stand out?

Ah, this is a tough one as there are so many amazing venues around town but I’d say the two that come to my mind are Heaven and Camden Assembly. I mention Heaven because it’s been so integral to the evolution of club culture in London over the past 20 years and having been in every bolthole in London that’s got a sound system, Heaven is something else.

The atmosphere, the history, the location right under Charing Cross. It’s an icon, and it was also one of the first clubs to treat DJs like the star of the show, placing them on the raised balcony above the dancefloor, leading the way in revolutionising the position of the DJ. Camden Assembly for me is the live-music equivalent of Heaven, and I’ve been to so many incredible shows there it’s hard to count. I could talk for hours about the Assembly but the best thing to do is go check it out for yourselves!

Speaking of venues and performances, take us back to your debut show last year. What was it like playing at Basing House and being in front of an audience for the first time, especially as the headliner?

It was definitely a lot of pressure as I bore the main responsibility for pulling heads but I have to say that it felt great when all the marketing efforts paid off in the end and the feeling of seeing that room crammed was like nothing else. You can’t really describe the buzz you feel when a room is rammed and you’re leading the way. It’s a natural high that beats the strongest drugs, and you keep coming back for more which is why you see some of the best DJs in the world still going strong past 50, or 60 years old as that’s how incredible the connection with the fans is.

Do you have any favorite local artists from London that we should keep our eyes out for who you’ve been impressed by lately?

Yeah I mean there are loads of artists making waves at the moment, so this is a tough one but someone who’s really been on my radar lately is Spencer Ramsey. He’s technically from Peebles which is out in Scotland but he’s often down in London working on his tunes, and he’s made his name down here so that counts for me. I love the sound he’s crafting, and the fact that he’s never far from his bassline production roots when he’s creating his dance tunes. Take note.

Moving on to your mix for us, can you walk us through some of the song selection and how you approach the mixing process?

Well, I wanted to go for a fresh spin on some iconic dance tunes that have been dominating the charts over the past couple of years, a heavier spin on some classics. For example, I’m a big fan of Joel Corry’s repertoire but some are a bit lacking a bit on the low end, so if I want to light up the dancefloor with his tunes, I’ll look for heavier remixes. By the way that’s no disrespect to Joel, it’s just the nature of radio-friendly dance music.

In terms of the mixing process, I’ll have a vague idea of where I want to take my set along the course of the night, but there’s no pre-planned track selection, something that gives me a lot more freedom with my performance. I’m also a big proponent of mixing in key as I feel like mixes sound so much cleaner if they’re done that way, but it does make life more difficult for me, so if I’m in a sweaty basement at 4am I’ll be a bit looser on abiding with that. It also really depends on what genres I’m mixing as well, for instance, if it’s Drum and Bass I’ll be tighter on the track selection as there’s no room for error.

Finally, as you continue to grow your career, what do you hope to achieve in 2022 and beyond?

For 2022 I want to focus on solidifying the connection with my fans and be able to connect with them in person through my sets. I’m finally 18 so bookers are now chatting to me which is nice; before it was a bit of a nightmare persuading people either that I was 18 or that I could make up for my age with ticket sales. Hopefully, in a couple of years’ time, I’ll be at a point where I can release any genre that I want without my brand taking a hit, and where people will be there as much as for me as for my music.

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