‘The Eighth Note’ is 8 quick Questions with Wellington Musicians.
A chance for us to catch up with people & see what they’re up to, or introduce you to a new musician/band and their music.
Today’s guest is musician and arranger Ruby Solly.
Who are you? Tell us a bit about your music:
My name is Ruby Solly, and I’m a Wellington musician. Primarily playing cello and arranging string parts for other artists, but also playing double bass, singing and playing a bit of mandolin. I’m lucky that most of my current work is playing strings on other artists original projects, which allows me to play a large range of different genres and to use a wide range of playing styles. It’s like my work is a big Griffins sampler box, so I never get sick of one type of music or project because I’m always changing. Some projects I’m working on at the moment are strings for Jhan Lindsay and the Chattelaines, Rob Whelan Band, The Front Liners, Tom Lahatte and his Jazz Bandits, Cotton Daisy Backstep and I’m also working on writing some compositions for a solo project.
What have you been working on lately? Any new tracks or albums on the way?
I’m in a bit of an in between phase in terms of album releases at the moment, which is a nice change! Most recent release are Rob Whelan’s Search and Rescue EP, The Strowlini Orchestra’s ‘The Strowl’ EP and I did a few tracks with So Laid Back Country China on their record Sin Cristales. I’m talking with a few bands about stings for their records, but you’ll have to wait and see what those are! Over summer I’ve been working mostly on my solo playing as I want to get into more of that style of work. I’ve just finished a writing course at the Institute of Modern Letters up at Vic which is really helping my lyric writing.
Where is the best place people can follow you & find your music?
I have a Facebook page, but I only really post when there’s something going on like a gig, publication, record or I’m in the studio, so I won’t flood your feed with pictures.
What were the 3 most influential albums to you growing up?
This is a hard one. Blue by Joni Mitchell is my favourite album of all time and its had a huge influence on me over the years. I feel like every time I listen to it (which is pretty much daily) I discover something new. Jacqueline Du Pre performing the Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor also gets a lot of play in my house. It’s my favourite cello piece and Du Pre is my favourite cellist. Elgar wrote it just after the second world war and Du Pre really captures all the emotion of the piece. I love playing it too. I can’t really pick a third album, because after these two favourites there are just so many! But I’d say anything by Patti Smith, Tom Waits or Nick Cave.
Which other Wellington musician (s) would you most like to work with?
This is another tough one! When I was in high school I used to come down to Wellington for a bit of recording, or to play the odd gig and I used to watch so many bands that I really admired, and as I’ve grown up I’ve been lucky enough to play with a lot of them! Playing with The Troubles was a childhood dream of mine and I’ve got to do that.
What’s your favourite Wellington venue to play in?
Wellington has some amazing venues, but I think my favourites are all the old halls. I love the Paekakariki hall and the Breaker Bay hall. There’s always just a great atmosphere at these old venues and it really makes the gig feel like an occasion. My favourite venues in town would probably be The Southern Cross, Meow and Moon.
In your songwriting or composing (or the band’s songwriting) how do the compositions and songs take shape?
The great thing about what I do is that the composition / arranging method is always different. Some bands write all the string parts out for me and then it’s just a matter of solos and a little bit of improvising around the parts in a live context, and others give me a chord sheet and let me go to town! My favourite part of the process is listening to peoples music, figuring out what strings would help bring it into itself, then experimenting with styles with the composer. In my practice routine I try to practice as many accompaniment styles as possible to give people more options for their songs. Recently I spent a lot of time learning how to make my string arrangements sound like a full string quartet with just the cello, and before that I was working on fiddle style solos… there’s always more to discover with the cello, and that’s why I love it so much.
Where/when is your next gig?
Aro Fair with The Front Liners and Cotton Daisy Backstep = 11th March at Aro Park
So Laid Back Country China at Meow = 17th March
The Faustian Pines at Thunderbird = 17th March
Rob Whelan Band and Big Troubles at Cuba Dupa = 2pm and 4:40 pm on the 25th March.