Cosmic Disco would like to give a big hello to the lovely ladies that are ‘Rubies’.
Whilst scouring our good friend ‘The Sorcerer’s MySpazz page we came across ‘Rubies’, listened to a few of their tracks and took an immediate shine to the lush sounds we were hearing. Something akin to the hypnotic vocals of Tracey Thorn and Everything But The Girl with sweet harmonies of 60’s Psych and Pop, updated with their own distinctly modern twist.
As a result we thought, why not ask the ladies a few questions, spread the word for one and all to hear and get a mix-tape of their favourite tracks whilst we are at it? (Mix-Tape coming soon…Keep posted!)
Here’s what we found out:
cosmicdisco: Firstly, for those who may be unfamiliar with Rubies can you please tell us who you are and where you hail from?
Well we find ourselves all over California. Oakland, Santa Barbara, and Malibu. We are Simone Rubi (Santa B/Oakland) Terri Loewenthal (Oakland) and Amy Cooper (Malibu). (For all you foreigners, Oakland is across the bridge from San Francisco. No, it is not like you think. There are really rad neighborhoods and you can have a garden there.)
cosmicdisco: What were your major influences growing up as children and what music do you remember being exposed to at an early age?
For me, the real influential music were songs with really strong melodies with a jazzy/funky influence. The earliest memories of being hit my the music lightning bolt were listening to Paul McCartney’s melodies while on European vacations with my family, playing George Gershwin/Cole Porter standards on the piano, spacing out to dub tunes in my brother’s red Mazda pick up and watching Michael Jackson videos in my pajamas.
cosmicdisco: How did you get involved with music and playing instruments?
My mom had me taking piano lessons. I started when I was about 8. I didn’t like them at first and then on year 6 or so, I remember learning some songs that had ‘blue’ notes. Those jazzy chords really resonated with me so I demanded more and more of that kind of music. I remember playing “Rhapsody in Blue” at my 6th grade recital. I loved playing in the recital that year.
I felt blissed out…
cosmicdisco: Simone, you are the main catalyst behind the Rubies project. How did you get together with the other 2 main band members?
Well when I first started Rubies, it was just a chance to hear what I could do on my own. Call and Response were on hiatus, and I had to keep making music and I wanted to get better at becoming a songwriter. Once I had enough tunes, I asked Amy to join in on drums and back up vocals. We were really experimenting at that point and having a lot of fun playing some strange covers as well like “One For One” by The Knife. I used to use a loopstation a lot, stacking my voice over beats that I made and then doing live looping on my synthesizers. This along with Amy’s naive and cool disco drumming, we found something really fun. Then Terri, who is someone that I’ve always connected with both as friends and musically, joined in on the bass and it’s only been within the last 8 months that the 3 of us have really found our live sound. People seem to like it and we think the sound is just what we’ve been hoping for.
cosmicdisco: You’re a busy lady indeed! As well as Rubies, you are a founding member of the band ‘Call & Response’ (Which includes fellow Rubies member Terri Lownethal as well as Dan Judd A.K.A ‘The Sorcerer’) How did that come about?
Dan and I have known each other since high school. After we both finished college, I was back in Santa Barbara for a year or so and met up
with him. We both had discovered bands like The Zombies and The Free Design and were dying to play some music so we started jamming together. Mostly instrumental songs that were similar to the Beach Boys and Kraftwerk. Then I started singing on top of those songs with our friend Carrie. I didn’t know how to sing but I believed that I could sing if I felt it enough. We met Terri after we moved up to the bay area. We were signed shortly there after with help from a 9 song demo we recorded in my moms dining room. I listened to those demos recently. They are pretty fun.cosmicdisco: What was the concept of C&R and what has been achieved on that particular project so far?
We wanted to make music that was fun and bubble funk. It turned into a 5 piece, totally collaborative project that produced many singles, 2
albums, and an EP. We are all really proud of what happened with Call and Response.
cosmicdisco: How is working on Rubies different from Call & Response?
Working on Rubies has been so different for me. For Terri it isn’t much different, because she is still the bass player and helping with
arrangements. For me, my role has shifted quite a bit. In call and response, I often took a back seat when Dan brought in songs and we would all work on the them and then Carrie would sometimes come up with melodies/lyrics. With Rubies, I’m taking the drivers seat and writing the songs on my own and then bringing them to Amy and Terri and then they become Rubies songs.
cosmicdisco: Does working on Rubies help keep everything else fresh?
Working on Rubies is exactly what I was looking for. It’s been great getting all these songs fully realized with the other girls. It feels like a
real accomplishment to hear the songs come to life that were just little creatures in my head in my bedroom. Playing live with Terri and Amy has been some of the funnest experiences of my life. The first 1 1/2 years of this project, I played in cities all over Europe gathering musicians the week before each show and we played the songs together. It created something really special.
cosmicdisco: Call And Response took you north from California to San Francisco where the local
music scene seemed to welcome you with open arms. What’s the difference between the California & San Francisco music scene?
I think you meant that Call and Response took us from southern cal. (Santa Barbara) to northern cal (San Francisco/Oakland). I think the main difference is population. Santa Barbara is a real small town with a lot of really comfortable people. Not a lot to rebel against and not enough friction to really hear your voice when trying to write songs. Being up in the bay really opened our eyes to what people were up to musically, but more importantly it validated that what we were doing (coming from a small beach town) was strong and unique and TOTALLY US. It solidified our vibe. We made sure not to become a ‘local’ band and played very sporadically in the bay area. We wanted to keep the magic alive and stay true to our sound. Being up there really made the music a priority though, we started meeting so many people in bands and so many people that were collecting records- so our knowledge just got more expansive which in turn, made our musical skills grow more complex.
cosmicdisco: In San Francisco you found record stores such as Ameoba Records. This resulted in ‘Record listening parties’. What would happen at these parties and what records were you discovering at this time?
Tons of people were trying to out collect each other. Or there was a lot of that, you know, late night conversation/hang out where people were
referencing different bands and players – trying to bring it all back home and connect it all. So it would turn into DJ hang where people would chill and play records for everyone and then we would bug out on it and dance.
cosmicdisco: What was the last record you bought?
“West Coast” by Swedish duo “Studio” and I bought again (after losing track of it) “Radio-Activity” by Kraftwerk and a Chordettes record.
cosmicdisco: What record do you get most sentimental about?
It changes. I got really sentimental when I heard the Beach Boys “Friends” album at a friends house the other night.
cosmicdisco: Do you have any favourite record labels?
Well I mainly just follow bands and musicians that I like…but I’ve also been following so many small labels lately. Some great stuff on
Smalltown Supersound, Domino, Service, Licking Fingers, Telle, Tirk, Moshi Moshi, and I think Full Pupp is one to watch… I like a lot of spacey/beachy dance stuff but on the flip side I love really classic beautiful folk and pop songs sung from the heart.
cosmicdisco: When Rubies perform live in different locations we’ve heard that you often use musicians from the particular town you happen to be in at the time to perform with you, enabling you experiment and achieve new sounds. How does this work both arranging the gigs and taking results into the studio to record new material?
It’s been such a great experiment. First, out of necessity, I decided to take a tour with my twin sister who is a photographer. We had this idea that I would perform and on that same night, she would display a new series of her photographs. I knew a few people in each town we were
visiting and we set up some shows in venues and some in galleries- to try to work in each environment. We wanted to fuse the art/music experience together. I ended really connecting with some of the musicians which later led to a relationship to our swedish vibe master Karl-Jonas Winqvist, who convinced me to take Rubies to Sweden and do our first section of recording there for the Rubies album. Currently we will use a different drummer for each show to keep that element there, keeping the songs fresh. We usually welcome guests to join in on a song or two on their instrument of choice. From the results of the exciting experience we had in Europe. We ended up recording most of the songs in 2 towns that provided great musicians and good friends. Stockholm, Sweden and Bergen, Norway.
cosmicdisco: What cities/towns have thrown up the best players?
See above…
cosmicdisco: Do the stand in ‘players’ play on the final recording of the tracks or do you personally reinterpret these ideas between the main band members?
Those stand in players definitely did end up on some of the recordings which is great. Still, though there is a solid foundation of the three of us.
cosmicdisco: We’re guessing this has resulted in a few ‘interesting’ performances? One particular being an impromptu on stage dance contest mid set! Anything else you want to (Or can!) share with us?
Oh yeah, we did have a dance contest mid set. Sometimes it’s been fun to mix it up a bit- at one of our most recent shows, the band except for me left stage and Erlend Oye (Kings Of Convenience) came up with his ukelele and we did a duet together of an older song I wrote with Call and Response. I thought we’d lose the crowd since we had been playing real up-tempo dance tracks before that moment. Instead, the crowd was very enthused and started creating beats with their hands and feet right away and carried us through the entire song. great!
cosmicdisco: Do you incorporate any cover versions into your live sets? If so, which ones?
Very early on we were doing “One For One” by The Knife. Now, we do “Turquoise” by Donovan and just recently we suprised Erlend Oye with covering on of his newer songs “Burning” by “The Whitest Boy Alive“. All great songs to play with.
cosmicdisco: You’ve played all over the world with all types of people. Any standout locations?
With call and response we played at a beautiful old church in Edinburgh. It was fantastic. Recently one of our dreams came true when Rubies was on tour with Feist and we played a sold out show at the Fillmore in San Francisco….
cosmicdisco: Do you have any particular methods when it comes to writing new material? Who writes what parts etc.?
What has worked so far since I am living between both San Francisco and Santa barbara, is that I usually write a song on the guitar or piano, and demo it in pro tools with some beats, harmonies, and synths to fill it out then I bring it to Amy and Terri and they put some new groove into it and work on some harmonies to turn it into a Rubies song.
cosmicdisco: We’re guessing you’re big fans of synths & obscure pop. Do you have any favourite European based acts?
I’m listening to so much music from both the states and Europe lately. When I spent a few months in sSandinavia last year, I got hooked on a lot of Swedish and Norwegian sounds for a few months not really synth based – but more pop….also from other parts of Europe. Marine Girls, El Perro Del Mar, Studio, Fujiya & Miyagi, Bed, Doris, Racket and Ball, ASS, Jenny Wilson, Blood Music, Todd Terje… these are just coming off the top of my head…right now I’m listening to Steve Miller. He’s not very European.
cosmicdisco: What instruments are used in the Rubies setup?
Wurlitzer Electric piano (green!), Microkorg, Loopstation, hollow body 60′s guitar, 60′s Fender jazz bass, some sequences from a laptop, and a drummer.
cosmicdisco: Does Rubies music have an eye on the dance floor?
Yes, our 3rd eye!
cosmicdisco: We’ve noticed that you’ve performed on-stage with Erlend Oye. (Kings of Convenience/Whitest Boy Alive) Has this resulted in any studio work or input directly reflected in Rubies work?
He and I did record a song together a couple months ago…it was so much fun. He has definitely been there during the album making process for Rubies, just playing him rough mixes at different stages. He has great input/ideas. Somehow I really trust his intuition. Less is more. He has always been in our musical radar. call and response toured with king of conv. and were former label mates- so call and response has been a bit of their backing band at times and erlend is great at getting things together so i’m sure there will be a collaboration in the future. We did however collaborate with Eirik (the other king) and his new band mates (he’s got a new group called “Kommode” in Bergen) for 2 tracks on the Rubies album. We used Davide Bertolini as the engineer at Greighallen there in Bergen (Davide recorded, mixed the last kings of c. album). Eirik was the most amazing person to work with. He really understands music in the same way as I do. We are on the same chapter in the same book. We also had the joy to have singer Leslie Feist, join in with some harmonies on 2 tracks as well. She was great. She took my shure 57 mic and mbox while we were all learning to surf in Mexico and laid down some of the sickest back up harmonies ever. Dan Judd (Sorcerer) really upped the ante as well with some great funky guitar playing on a few tracks. Another stand out moment was Maria Eriksson’s (The Concretes) harmonies on our version of “Turquoise” for the album.
cosmicdisco: You are currently in the process of completing the 1st Rubies album. How far is this from completion and any idea of a possible release date and on what formats will it be available?
We have just finished all of the rough mixes! So now, it’s being sent to a list of labels, in hopes to get it mixed/mastered and out to the people. So far we just have a Japan label in line, for all other countries we are crossing our fingers. Hopefully LP and CD. We have a tour lining up now in Scandinavia in late August-early September. We might stop in London and Berlin too.
cosmicdisco: Where was the album recorded?
Mostly in stockholm. The basic tracks were mainly recorded there in our friend Karl-Jonas’s studio. Some other tracks were recorded in Bergen and then I did a lot of the overdubs myself at home with some days at our friends studio in San Francisco. A new songs came out of those sessions called “I Feel Electric” that we are really happy with.
cosmicdisco: Does the album have a working title?
If it came out today I would like to call it “Golden Warnings”
cosmicdisco: What label/s is the album due to be released on?
we are in that process now. just sent it out to all the labels yesterday. so far, just one label in japan. “Rallye/Klee”
cosmicdisco: How would you describe the mood of the album?
Uplifting/dance tunes with a single tear. Some songs are really mellow and stories about being in a small town and longing for everything and nothing at the same time. A definite mix between pop/folk/ and disco.
cosmicdisco: With Call & Response you’ve worked with Beck & Air producer Mickey Petralia. Your music involves lots of notes without forgetting the groove of the song, which tells us you guys are very accomplished musicians with an eye for high production values. Who’s on production duties with Rubies?
So far I’ve been sorta’ troupe leader on the ideas fueling the tunes, we are hoping to get someone special on board when it comes to do the final mixes of the album and see what happens with the songs. Terri has a great ear for arrangements and between all of us and the engineers, it all comes together. Working for so long with call and response, I’ve learned a lot about being in the studio and what kind of sounds I want. Learning how to record my own songs has been really a huge step forward for knowing what I want when I’m in the studio. I’ve spend endless hours on pro-tools messing up and then cleaning up.
cosmicdisco: How do you plot your harmonies?
Usually we listen for little catchy riffs that we want to split into 3 part harmonies to emphasize the music that’s underneath instead of complicating it. Sometimes, if a harmony comes to easily, we don’t use it, we keep searching for the more complex harmony.
cosmicdisco: Your music sounds retrospective whilst also being very modern. (If that makes sense!) Are you conscious of reinvention?
I think I’m conscious of reinvention. It’s hard not to be but at the same time I know the song is turning out right, when the words I sing make sense with the music that is being played. It can’t feel anything else but ‘now’.
cosmicdisco: What live dates have you got coming up?
We have a couple San Francisco shows and then we are mainly working on the business side of things trying to get the album mastered and out. We have a few shows in Scandinavia in late august and early September. Eirik and Erlend are going to join us in Bergen and we’ll be reunited with all the players in Stockholm as well. It will be really exciting for us. It will be the first time playing in Europe with the 3 of us gals.
cosmicdisco: From looking at photos and design concepts from your website & previous performance photos we’ve noticed your penchant for colour on stage as well as drawing on your faces. Explain please!?! ?
We’ve always been into the element of performance and what it means to be able to get on stage and perform and sing for people. We want it to be an experience both for us and the people watching. We give as much as we can when we are on stage. I get really worn out but it’s really fun. I think having an idea about what to wear gives us a persona and makes us perform better. Sometimes it feels like we are moving illustrations when we have drawings all over our faces.
cosmicdisco: It’s obvious you all have a vested interest in the arts. Again, influences please?
So many! Terri is a photographer, Amy is getting into film making, and I’m a graphic designer/installation artist. We use these tools in our music making too.
cosmicdisco: Hailing from west coast USA you have the weather, beaches and the ‘Baked’ hippy culture. Listening to your music, whilst being instantly accessible, gives a welcome relief from ‘mainstream’ music with its bling and emphasis on superficiality. Does your present location give you an emphasis to going back to your roots, keeping the feel and ideals behind your music as organic as possible?
It’s hard to be objective. People always tell us that it’s obvious we are from California. I think the weather plays a part for sure…. and a general positive and casual attitude. I’ve always been a bit ambitious, that can get me into trouble sometimes around these parts. Hah!
cosmicdisco: What has been the highlight of your career/s so far?
As an artist, i can say that I’ve recently completed some art that i can stand %100 percent behind. (This is the art i made for Feist’s new album ‘The Reminder’) I am so proud of the work i did for her record. for music, i can say getting signed was a huge moment for call and response. touring and meeting great people was so exciting for us. for rubies, working with some of my favorite musicians ever. it’s all been great, a TON of hard work, but really great.
cosmicdisco: What other artists can you recommend we should be looking out for in the future?
Dan Judd’s record as “Sorcerer” is unreal. Dan has been the number one inspiration for my musical career. I have learned so much from him after playing music with him for so long. He is the standard for me when it comes to good melodies and arrangements. Also, I’ve been begging my friend Marcus in Stockholm to finish his record as “Racket and Ball”. He plays guitar and does some outstanding harmonies on the Rubies record and I think he is really talented.
cosmicdisco: What music has been getting heavy rotation on your turntable recently?
A lot of mellow stuff lately I would even go so far as to say that I’m back at listening to some soft rock again. Ned Doheny and Kenny Rankin. I love this band from Baltimore called “Beach House”. I listened to “Mr.Sandman” by the Chordettes recently and their harmonies totally blow my mind and I’ve been a bit curious about the Kinks again. Poppy dub music climbs into my musical vortex too. I like this Los Angeles folk pop band right now called “Lavender Diamond” too. The Knife still moves me. Marine Girls.
cosmicdisco: Your responsible for organising a music festival. What groups would you have on the bill and where would you hold the event?
In a field in Switzerland. Kommode, Whitest Boy Alive, Sorcerer, Racket and Ball, Prins Thomas & Lindstrom, Tussle, The Knife, ASS, Kissogram, Kelis, Japancakes, Midlake and Vincent Gallo.
cosmicdisco: If you could create your ideal ‘Super Group’ (From artists living or deceased) Who would you have in the band, playing what instrument?
Rick Wakeman on synths, Dan Judd on guitar, Colin Blunstone on vocals, Andreas Soderstrom on acoustic guitar, Brazilian singer Joyce on harmonies, Lars Skoglund on drums, Terri Loewenthal on bass and finally myself on triangle!
cosmicdisco: If you weren’t involved in music, what would you most likely be doing?
Gardening, cooking, graphics…
cosmicdisco: Outside of music, what do the members of Rubies get up to?
Terri is a photographer (and has the raddest 3 year old) amy has her own music project as “Amy Cooper” and is learning how to make films.
cosmicdisco: What’s Rubies idea of perfect happiness?
Making another album and playing in fun cities. Hugging.
cosmicdisco: What’s next for Rubies?
Starting a new record, touring, getting this album out!
Cosmic Disco would like to thank Simone and fellow Rubies members for taking the time to answer our questions. Be sure to check out their fantastic album (Title TBC!), hopefully out very soon. You can hear Rubies tracks via their website so go and listen NOW!
All photo’s provided courtesy of Danielle Rubi.
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