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New Album: Ruby Solly

‘New Album’ is where a band or artist answers some questions about their latest release. Up next is Ruby Solly. Her album ‘Pōneke’ actually came out last year, but we thought we would catch up with her for a chat about it ahead of an upcoming Gallery Album Showcase.

When/where was the new album recorded?
Pōneke was recorded in a range of different places in Wellington, then the cello parts were recorded at home in Aro Valley. I wanted to change the hierarchy of the recording process by prioritising the environmental sounds first, then responding to them with pūoro within the environments.

Who produced/engineered the album? How did the tracks come together in the studio, or at home?
I did all the recording myself, and I was super lucky to have Al Fraser mix the album and Lee Prebble master it. It was kind of a lockdown project for all of us doing our parts to put it together at the end.

How did the songwriting happen? Are there any overall themes within the songs/album?
At the start it was just me trying to document my learning process with taonga pūoro and how we use the environment as one of our teachers. But from there it grew into a project more about decolonizing the recording and composing process by changing what we prioritise within it. I think in terms of themes the album is really about how we are constantly living within the histories around us, and all the sounds we hear are influenced by the historical soundscape.

Were you going for a different sound/approach on this album?
It’s funny to have a first album be a concept album! But in a way I think this will be the track my work takes for a while, I think the approach of environment first with pūoro responding, then cello in the studio, works really well with how I think about the relationship I have with taonga pūoro and music.

Was there any specific gear you used to capture that?
To let the cat out of the bag (now the album’s been out a while and done okay) I recorded 90% of this album on my iPhone 4 using an app called Ntrack. I used a lot of the techniques for recording that were used in the 1920s when gear was less high-tech by distancing things from the mic and overlaying environmental sounds to exaggerate or build up sound. It was a good challenge and I wanted to show that I could make a decent album with the gear I had. I was finishing Uni while making this album so there wasn’t a lot of money around for new gear, but in the end I’m happy with how it turned out.

Is there a particular single/track that you feel captures the essence of the album?
I feel that they’re all quite different, as they represent each place. But for me musically I think ‘Karaka-Wana’ sums up the things I like about my playing and shows my personality the most. It was recorded in Karaka Bay near some trees planted by my Kāti Māmoe tūpuna. I think having that in mind helped the recording to feel really strong and full.

Is there a physical copy available? If not which digital platforms is it available on?
Just online at the moment at rubysolly.bandcamp.com. There’s a fancy booklet that comes with the download too with poems and paintings for each track to give you the historical info.

Are you working on a video/videos for any of the songs? Are you doing any gigs or promotion for its release?
I was really lucky to get to work with Seb and Victor from Otis Makers on a few videos to go with the album which you can find on Vimeo. I do a live version of Pōneke occasionally as a set too, including a performance coming up at Adam Art Gallery on Friday 9th April.

~ K a r a k a – Tau ~ still from a film by Sebastian Lowe


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