On the song selection process for Muy Crudo, he said, “It was the first time in a while I found myself having written more than enough original material to make a record. Songwriting can really help you move on from hard times. Things have calmed down a bit, so maybe my next disc will be all covers.”
He opened up about his first single “Way Down in Mississippi.” “It’s the story of one crazy night (which I may or may not have had) looking for adventure on the small roads of North Mississippi. Obviously, I’m eternally in debt to some of my idols like Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside and many others from that neck of the woods, driving down some of those dark roads can be real inspiring.”
On being an artist in the digital age, he said, “There are so many sides to that question. I’ve been recording digitally since it was possible. I’ve never been a back to analogue guy. I always thought that if you’ve got that analogue sound (or any sound) in your brain, you can wrestle it out of the computer if that’s your goal.”
“The other side of ‘the digital age’ of course, is the Internet and its huge pluses and minuses when it comes getting your music heard,” he said. “On the one hand, the whole world is a click away. On the other, it’s become so difficult to get paid for what you do these days as people don’t think twice about getting ‘free music’ anymore and the streaming services pay next to nothing for artists blood, sweat and tears.”
“Now that the pandemic has shuttered all venues I just don’t know how any of us are making it. I’ve always said I’d play for free but you gotta pay me to travel, but this is going way too far,” he added.
When asked about his music and songwriting inspirations, he said, “This record was inspired by a tough divorce. As inspirations go I don’t recommend it. So there are some very dark songs but also some new found freedom joyful ones. And ”ve wanted to make a very stripped back record for years. I’ve been producing so many records here in Argentina that sometimes, when making my own records I let the producer (me) go a bit wild. I was determined to keep him in check this time and I love the way it worked out.”
For young and aspiring musicians, he stated, “I’m always wary of that question. Things have changed so much since I started but my wish for them is that they take the time and make the effort to actually learn to play an instrument. It’s easy these days to make recordings without actually playing but, for me, only a rare few of those records have any soul.”
On his dream collaboration choices, he responded, “I’d love to produce a new Howlin’ Wolf record. “I actually had a dream about five years ago where I was sitting on a couch with him talking about exactly that. It was a great conversation and I was genuinely sad for hours when I woke up knowing that could never be. I think Dan Auerbach is such a huge talent, I love every road he’s gone down. I’ve never met him but I sure would like to.”
Rip defined the word success as follows: “I’ve had and lost, many times, the trappings of what a lot of people use to quantify success, and it is fun to have that stuff but, in the end, if I get to work every day with talented people, making music live or in the studio and it gets heard and appreciated, then I feel very successful.”
He remarked about Muy Crudo, “I moved to Buenos Aires 11 years ago because I saw and felt the incredible passion they have here for guitar driven rock and roll and their amazing knowledge of the history of the music that has been my life. I started my trio Jimmy Rip and The Trip 10 years ago with Luli Bass and Silvana Colagiovanna and we’ve released two albums, in 2012 and 2016.”
“Muy Crudo, our third, is the first one done all as a piece. I wrote all the songs in a three-month period and we recorded all together in the studio. Muy Crudo (very raw) refers both to the emotions I was feeling at that moment and to the way the disc was recorded. I think it’s my best record,” he explained.
To learn more about guitarist and producer Jimmy Rip and his new music, follow him on Instagram.
