Artist ID: Alice Ruby
- Natasha Trajkovski
- Jun 18
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 19
Alice Ruby offers so much more than your average indie-pop artist. An extremely impressive background in violin provides a small explanation for the ethereal sound the Naarm/Melbourne singer has designed and mastered. Her exceptional classical musical education (not only in the stringed instrument, but also holding a double bachelor's degree in music composition and film) tastefully complements a contrasting influence of modern pop music, Ruby weaves into her mysteriously lush sonic brand.
From the Sky Ferreira-Tumblr-esque single “xx” to the beautiful, yet catchy “Flashback”, Ruby has compiled a strong set of five songs in her recent solo career outside of her work as guitarist of the band Des Cortez. Fans desperate to hear more of Ruby’s own delicate vocals enhanced with otherworldly production won’t have to wait long, as her debut EP will be ours soon, according to her, with this piece of work being her proudest in her discography so far. Her musical expertise will be no footnote in this record, as audiences can expect intricate orchestral arrangements featuring upwards of 30 layered violin parts composed and played by the one-of-a-kind young talent.
Through her personal playlist curated just for Sugar Spun, Ruby offers a personal look into her connection to her musical inspirations, highlighting different artists’ use of techniques and ability to create moods reflected in her own creative pieces. Ruby introduces this 75-minute musical journey as such;
“This is a playlist of some of my all-time favourite pieces. I’m drawn to these works due to their dark surrealist sounds. Each song has its own unique, melancholic intensity and I feel like they could soundtrack a movie about my life.”
These 16 carefully picked songs have wide versatility genre-wise, with a piece from the shimmering Cocteau Twins highlighting her clear influence on late 20th-century dream-pop and shoegaze. Not long later, we are met with an orchestral Maurice Ravel tune, “The Fairy Garden”- the elegant violin clearly representing itself as a defining piece in Ruby’s classical-inspired style. When explaining her choices in creating this mixtape of tunes, Ruby particularly focuses on the personal prominence this song holds:
“Maurice Ravel’s ‘The Fairy Garden’ makes me cry every time I listen to it. It will be played at my wedding and funeral. Each chord is so delicately constructed and arpeggiated and I try to bring this same sensibility to my own chord and harmony writing.”
Again, we can notice not only her understanding of this musical mastery as an everyday listener, but also as an extremely thoughtful artist herself, focusing on techniques such as arpeggios and how she translates them into her own work, demonstrating th thoughtfulness behind the process of producing music. We see this approach to art further as she then goes on to explain her process of inspiration in more detail.
“For me, music is first about the notes, harmonies and key rather than rhythm, lyrics and timbres. Therefore, I feel like I am inspired by that with these pieces. I am also drawn to the interplay between electronic and acoustic instruments and timbres throughout each of these works, something I have tried to build my own sound around.”
The constant theme of contrasting the traditional (acoustic) and modern (electronic) is so evident not only in Ruby’s words but also so certainly embedded into each work she creates. The reason each note seamlessly fits together in an Alice Ruby song isn’t because of sheer musical luck, but a result of a lifetime dedication and unexplainable understanding of the art form in a manner that is so infrequently reached.
Beams - Arlo Parks
Cico Buff - Cocteau Twins
Freeway Crush - Ruby Haunt
kisses (electronic version 3) - Slowdive
Worn Down - Men I Trust
Just A Western (Boy Harsher Remix) - Nilüfer Yanya
The Fairy Garden - Maurice Ravel
The Narcissist - Dean Blunt
Drunk in L.A. - Beach House
Not the Only One - Not For Radio
All I Need - Radiohead
Vênus - Nomade Orquestra
Chances - Acopia
Hopeless - Psychic Twin
State Of Mind - Air
Shirim - Melody’s Echo Chamber
It is rare to find artists such as Alice Ruby blending traditional orchestral techniques and instrumentals with the modern scene. The release of her debut EP will only highlight this dark and dreamy sonic trademark she holds, with a uniqueness impossible to remain in the underground scene for much longer.
Comments