A Chat with Timothy Ray (12.04.21)
The solo project of singer-songwriter Tim Brummel, Timothy Ray began as a gift for Brummel’s wife on their 10th wedding anniversary. A collection of songs is a pretty awesome way to say “I love you” so I’m definitely jealous. It helps, though, that we all have access to these beautiful songs and are introduced to Timothy Ray’s smooth indie-pop sound. We speak with Tim about his album Take It In, music videos and much more!
OSR: What inspires you to make music?
Timothy: There are many reasons I enjoy making music. From how it makes me feel to how it is an outlet to express my thoughts on something. In this case, my inspiration was my wife and our relationship together.
OSR: What can you tell us about the album Take It In?
Timothy: This was an album I recorded for my wife as a surprise and gift for our 10th wedding anniversary. I wanted to show a picture of our relationship together – from meeting to raising our kids together and a lot of things in between.
OSR: What can you tell us about the writing and recording process?
Timothy: I had been jotting down ideas for songs for over a year and at the beginning of 2020 it was time to get started. I partnered with a producer and we began taking the ideas and creating full songs out of them. Most of this actually happened right as the world shut down. Once we had enough songs we felt good about, we started the recording process. We wanted it to feel very real and like humans were actually playing the songs so we brought in a full band and tracked the bulk of the 11 songs in three days in early June.
OSR: Which is your favourite song on the album and why that song?
Timothy: ‘Dancing In the Kitchen’ I think is my favourite. It is sweet and is pretty personal too. We love having kids but there is something special when they go to bed and it is just time that me and my wife get to spend together. Many times we have found ourselves dancing in the kitchen.
OSR: What do you hope people take from your music?
Timothy: I hope that people get a picture of a good relationship and marriage. We don’t have a perfect marriage by any means but we have loved being married and I know that is not the case for everyone. Hopefully, people that listen to these songs will want to have a healthy relationship and know that it is possible and worth it. Even though it is “not always roses”.
OSR: Does the single ‘Take It In’ have a significant meaning?
Timothy: I am a dreamer and tend to want to jump from one project to another. I am not good at slowing down. This song and title is a reminder to me to enjoy the moments in life that keep moving. My wife Rachel truly is someone who helps keep my feet on the ground and “take it in”.
OSR: What can you tell us about your music video for ‘I Do (Every Day Forever)’?
Timothy: The music video actually captures the moment when I told my wife I recorded her an album of songs. I wanted to think of a great way to tell her and then I thought it would be awesome to sing her a song and turn it into a music video and that is what happened. So what you see is the real reaction.
OSR: Did you face challenges when creating this video?
Timothy: A ton!! First, this was May 8th, 2020. The world was still at the height of the pandemic so many of my ideas were just not possible. I also had to keep everything a secret from my wife which is not easy while we are home together a ton. The other big challenge is since it was more of a reaction video we had to work with what we could shoot in the moment. There are some videos we did of just me singing before she arrived which helped fill in the gaps, but the rest were all pretty much one-shot deals.
OSR: What is your favourite meal?
Timothy: I do love a true greek salad with pita bread!
OSR: Do you listen to audiobooks?
Timothy: I do a lot actually. I prefer it to just reading. Much faster!
OSR: If you were reincarnated, what type of animal would you be?
Timothy: An eagle would be cool.
OSR: Do you have future plans?
Timothy: I don’t have a ton of plans for Timothy Ray at the moment, but I am sure there will be some new music in time!
Thanks to Timothy Ray for chatting with us. For more from Timothy Ray check out his official website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
