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Ian Ruhala, better known as HALA, has been writing and recording music for several years now and at the
young age of 18, he is already a singer/songwriter veteran.
With several releases already under his belt, even before graduating high school, Ruhala has created some
buzz with his solo, at-home/DIY recording style that relates well with music from artists like M. Ward,
Mac DeMarco and Travis Bretzer.
After attending college at Central Michigan University for a semester, Ruhala’s mind was more on lyrics than
on school-work. Writing over sixty songs during this time period, Ian decided to fully immerse himself into his passion to manufacture his first proper debut, Spoonfed.
The meaning behind Spoonfed, as Ruhala explains, is about dealing with the things and ideas that people feed you when you are young, and trying to do your best to not repeat the norm. Songs like “Phone Calls,” and
“Not Your Modern Man” discuss topics like marrying young, and society’s fear of face-to-face interaction
with each other, with lyrics that you will be surprised to find out, came from an 18 year old kid from Michigan.
Every song on this album tells a story; heart-break is talked about in the ironically upbeat song “Reruns,” and the track “Just Because,” shows HALA’s appreciation for the simple things in life, with the line, “Sunday morning, Dad’s at home, watches football and paints his toes, will I ever be?” One thing is for sure, it is extremely refreshing to see someone so young be able to produce something of this magnitude; Ruhala’s future is bright.
Get your bowls, and a spoon, because this Indie singer/songwriter says, "breakfast is served."
- Genre
- Indie