They’ve only physically met 4 times, but We Met In Paris - a trans-Atlantic duo from the US and UK - seem to have a connection that transcends geographical barriers. Mike and Ruth actually did, indeed, first meet in Paris, way back in 2000.
"Mike and I really hit it off on a musical level when we first met in Paris" Ruth recalls. "It was so nice to find an English-speaker who was as passionate about music as I was, and so we kept up a long distance correspondence about our mutual interest. I was a singer and guitarist at this point, but not a songwriter."
However, Mike is a well-established songwriter from Dayton, Ohio, with two solo albums and numerous EPs and singles under his belt. It was he who persuaded Ruth to start writing just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Mike admits: "I might have been more assertive than Ruth expected when I insisted that we would write together, maybe we can chalk that up to cultural differences based on where we're from." Whatever the case, Mike essentially mentored Ruth into becoming a co-writer, after spotting her knack for writing a good melody.
“The first idea Mike sent me was this amazing concept of celebrating a beautiful place in France called Aiguille du Midi – Needle at Noon – in the Mont Blanc mountain range. I was so inspired by researching the place, that I wrote the melody and lyrics in an afternoon. Mike loved it, and so a partnership was born.”
Mont Blanc Massif is released on Tuesday 26th September 2023 and will be available on all major music streaming services.