Therapy Helped This Grammy-Winning Trio Level Up

Fifteen years ago, when James Hunt connected with bandmates Jon George and Tyrone Lindqvist of the Grammy-winning trio, RÜFÜS DU SOL, he knew they were onto something special. “But I could never have foreseen the level it’s gotten to,” he told me this week on Men’s Health’s Instagram Live show, Friday Sessions. “We still pinch ourselves sometimes,” he said, “it’s very surreal.”

As the two of us chatted about a range of topics—from recording the album in Austin to the bandmembers’ pre-show breathwork routine—a fan typed, “your music is so healing.” That reminded me of one of the first times I heard RÜFÜS DU SOL. I was in a sweaty yoga class, probably balancing myself on one leg while connecting my breath to movement. Inhaling and exhaling to the band’s colorful melodies anchored by a steady—but syncopated—beat. I was “in the zone,” and RÜFÜS DU SOL’s music had helped me get there.

It seems appropriate that their newest album is titled Inhale/Exhale. Spoiler alert: they didn’t necessarily sit down to write an album that could help you deepen your breathwork practice, even if ultimately it might do just that. James confessed that the album and its tracks were actually titled after they were written. But as you might imagine, a little breathwork was involved in the process.

“We were playing a bunch of music for some friends in LA for a breathwork class,” said James. “We rounded out the session with the song that became ‘Exhale.’ There was something powerful about taking it in—we liked the duality of the title. It all emerged from there.”

What has also emerged over the years is a deep connection and a personal friendship among bandmates. That involved a stint in group therapy that helped them resolve conflict so that the studio remains a “sacred space.” Although the trio is currently living on different coasts—Tyrone is in San Diego and James and Jon are living in Miami—they “meet in the middle” these days for work. That allows for quality time and enhanced creative energy. You will certainly hear that energy on RÜFÜS DU SOL’s new album Inhale/Exhale whether you are breathing to the rhythm of the beat or not.

You can find our conversation, in full, below.