Deep house family in the middle of nowhere. Brief story of The Rurals

Once, in 1989 or 1991, Andy Compton was lying down after a bad performance of his metal band, thinking about existential questions. Having never been interested in electronic music, after hearing the rumble of jungle and British hardcore, he sold his guitar, got into a fight with a drummer and bought turntables. But his home county of Devonshire, the very south of the UK, rejected him: “We don’t really need this jungle.” The south listened to house. And, being a big fan of funk and soul, he went towards the growing momentum of deep house. At first, he played records, and his friend added some African flavour to the whooping bass drum by playing tall drums called congas. Later they decided to record house music together. Compton’s parents gave him the largest room in his father’s house as a studio, while a bank gave him a large sum for a label (a reasonable business plan solves everything :-) Compton lived in a picturesque wilderness, so he called his first label Rural Promotions. Later, they began to call themselves The Rurals and recorded tracks with views of green meadows.

In 1999, it wasn’t clear what they could achieve until their mutual friend from a music store (as interestingly noted in one article: “The Rurals’ own village comes into view—one shop, one pub and one funky-soul-fuelled family.”) introduced Compton to Maria Tweek, an unrecognised soul diva who, though she didn’t like house music, hung out among drum‘n’bass musicians. Andy understood that the band must go to the next level and used a trick: he persuaded her to record a funky song, gradually arranging it to sound like garage house, and then like pure deep house. “She didn’t even realize it,” he said. In the summer, they recorded songs and in the autumn they realised that there was something more between them than just deep house. The label and the band became a family business—Maria started running its online shop and communicating with suppliers. “Everything about the music is made by us, manufactured by us, sold by us, and sent out by us,” says Tweek.