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.

Photograph by Sarah Chamberlain

Photograph by Christopher Williams