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Paedantic Basterd · 11-18-2011, 01:22 PM

Róisín Murphy - Ruby Blue (2005)
Genre: Art Pop

Who are the unsung heroes of music? Are they the drummers, whose control of rhythm and meter engages the oldest part of our brain, the cerebellum, and gives us a pleasurable structure in which to comprehend the music? Are they the bassists, whose lines give a pulse to a song, often buried in layers of instrumentation, the unseen drivers of a song? I feel it is the producers, whose details and nuances flesh out the feel and consistency of an album. Artists such as Radiohead and Brand New depend so heavily on their producers as to consider them members of the recording line-up (Nigel Godrich and Mike Sapone, respectively). Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips once said "If someone asked me what instrument do I play, I would say the recording studio".

What is your idea of a non-traditional instrument? The didgeridoo, created from the found, termite-infested trunks of gum trees which only a master of circular-breathing can play? Is it the theremin, an instrument played without physical contact by interrupting the radio frequencies between antennae? What about compact mirrors, hairspray, shuffling cards, or the various rings of doorbells, telephones, and alarm clocks? If the recording studio is Wayne Coyne's instrument of choice, then Matthew Herbert's is the world.

Matthew Herbert is the musician and producer who pioneered the art of applying "found" sounds to modern electronica. His work merges the inaccessible idealism of musique concrète with the sweet melody of popular music. His work as a solo artist includes albums constructed entirely from the sounds found in various environments, from the food chain (Plat Du Jour), to the household (Around the House). It makes for a fascinating dichotomy.

Enter Róisín Murphy (formerly of trip hop act Moloko), best described as the full potential of Lady Gaga realized. She is the sultry songwriter and husky voice without which Ruby Blue would have no soul. In the pair's first session together, Murphy was instructed to provide Herbert with an unspecified item to record being banged on a microphone; and thus the spirit of Ruby Blue was born, to present Murphy as an individual artist, enveloped in the sounds that accompany her everyday life.

Ruby Blue is an album of eclectic and sensual pop music, empowering Murphy in her post-Moloko independence. It embodies all the sensuality and quirkiness of its star; qualities sorely lacking, or poorly replicated in mainstream music (Lady Gaga has cited Murphy as an inspiration, and all but plagiarized her incomprehensible public image). It employs hundreds of unidentifiable samples, tied together with bursts of jazz instrumentation and Murphy's rich voice.

Songs range from the deprived Sow into You, describing sexual encounters through metaphors of rain and harvests atop brassy arrangements, to the shockingly simplistic and straight-forwards Closing of the Doors, a confessional cabaret ballad. The pinnacle of Ruby Blue however, is Ramalama (Bang Bang), which ingeniously juxtaposes the entire construction of the album with a chorus sung in onomatopoeia: the true spirit of Herbert and Murphy's work together exemplified.

This review is written for Matthew Herbert as much as it is for Róisín Murphy, and for all producers without whom the end products we've come to love would be unrecognizable. Ruby Blue is an album all mainstream pop should aspire to; diverse, creative, and broad in its vision while maintaining the paradigm of its genre.

11-18-2011, 01:22 PM	#94 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	Róisín Murphy - Ruby Blue (2005) Genre: Art Pop Who are the unsung heroes of music? Are they the drummers, whose control of rhythm and meter engages the oldest part of our brain, the cerebellum, and gives us a pleasurable structure in which to comprehend the music? Are they the bassists, whose lines give a pulse to a song, often buried in layers of instrumentation, the unseen drivers of a song? I feel it is the producers, whose details and nuances flesh out the feel and consistency of an album. Artists such as Radiohead and Brand New depend so heavily on their producers as to consider them members of the recording line-up (Nigel Godrich and Mike Sapone, respectively). Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips once said "If someone asked me what instrument do I play, I would say the recording studio". What is your idea of a non-traditional instrument? The didgeridoo, created from the found, termite-infested trunks of gum trees which only a master of circular-breathing can play? Is it the theremin, an instrument played without physical contact by interrupting the radio frequencies between antennae? What about compact mirrors, hairspray, shuffling cards, or the various rings of doorbells, telephones, and alarm clocks? If the recording studio is Wayne Coyne's instrument of choice, then Matthew Herbert's is the world. Matthew Herbert is the musician and producer who pioneered the art of applying "found" sounds to modern electronica. His work merges the inaccessible idealism of musique concrète with the sweet melody of popular music. His work as a solo artist includes albums constructed entirely from the sounds found in various environments, from the food chain (Plat Du Jour), to the household (Around the House). It makes for a fascinating dichotomy. Enter Róisín Murphy (formerly of trip hop act Moloko), best described as the full potential of Lady Gaga realized. She is the sultry songwriter and husky voice without which Ruby Blue would have no soul. In the pair's first session together, Murphy was instructed to provide Herbert with an unspecified item to record being banged on a microphone; and thus the spirit of Ruby Blue was born, to present Murphy as an individual artist, enveloped in the sounds that accompany her everyday life. Ruby Blue is an album of eclectic and sensual pop music, empowering Murphy in her post-Moloko independence. It embodies all the sensuality and quirkiness of its star; qualities sorely lacking, or poorly replicated in mainstream music (Lady Gaga has cited Murphy as an inspiration, and all but plagiarized her incomprehensible public image). It employs hundreds of unidentifiable samples, tied together with bursts of jazz instrumentation and Murphy's rich voice. Songs range from the deprived Sow into You, describing sexual encounters through metaphors of rain and harvests atop brassy arrangements, to the shockingly simplistic and straight-forwards Closing of the Doors, a confessional cabaret ballad. The pinnacle of Ruby Blue however, is Ramalama (Bang Bang), which ingeniously juxtaposes the entire construction of the album with a chorus sung in onomatopoeia: the true spirit of Herbert and Murphy's work together exemplified. This review is written for Matthew Herbert as much as it is for Róisín Murphy, and for all producers without whom the end products we've come to love would be unrecognizable. Ruby Blue is an album all mainstream pop should aspire to; diverse, creative, and broad in its vision while maintaining the paradigm of its genre.