Beats, Bleeps and Bruises - an interview with Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees

Do you remember the days when electro wasn't just people with pretentious haircuts making music that harked back to '80s synth-pop? When electro meant dirty, sexy, sweaty filth which practically forced you onto the dancefloor? Yes? No? Regardless of your answer, if that sounded appealing to you, I think you might just like Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees. Their name might suggest some quirky indie-folk band, but their music brings to mind some hallucinogen-induced rave where the pounding beats and addictive riffs just keep coming. In anticipation of their upcoming UK tour, I had a chat with lead singer Rebekah Higgs, aka. 'Ruby Jean':

Tell us your names, what you do in the band and an exciting fact about each of you.

Rebekah - singer and gagettress

Jason - guitar player with amazing legs, and little short shorts

Colin - bass, beats, bleeps and blips; wizard with a turntable

Nathan - drummer, and champion of fun

How did you meet and decide to form the band? And, eventually, what exactly brought on the band name?

Colin and I met through mutual musician friends, and started getting loaded during the day, and singing along to the beats he made in his spare time. We made a 7-track demo CD of noise, and from there the band grew into the electronic dance band we are today. I decided I needed an alias, and took on the names of my grandmothers - Ruby and Jean. The thoughtful bees, in my imagination were the characters Ruby Jean might have met along her journey in a fairy tale.

There's a lot of indie dance music around at the moment, so what would be a selling factor for someone who'd never listened to you before?

My vocals are based on sound - a noise - and being as creative as possible with the instrument in my throat; I sing through different guitar pedals and gadgets to loop, distort and delay my vocals live in a show. There's a distinct metal influence in our music that comes from Jason - our guitar player, lovingly referred to as JVO - as he simulates all kinds of sounds through wielding his axe. But over all the band is about creating a party atmosphere for people to dance and feel as liberated as possible. As a motto I feel that if I am the craziest, weirdest dancing machine in the room, then the audience will feel less self conscious about their own dance moves and really be able to shake a leg. We try to blow people away with our stage personas and our abilities as musicians.

How's the music scene in Halifax? Any other recommended Halifaxian (we can pretend 'Halifaxian' is a real term) artists?

The term is actually "haligonian!", believe it or not! I'm in love with this new band of 18 year olds called YORK REDOUBT as well as another amazing Halifax band that never gets the props they deserve called DOG DAY, and Nathan our drummer also plays in YELLOW JACKET AVENGER which is an amazing 3 piece as well.

It's Halloween (well, it was) and you have to dress up - what would the band dress as and why?

I dressed up as LADY GAGA, Colin was ZEUS, JVo was the sexiest Vampire ever - with a mohawk, and blood gushing down his bare chest with the words "HATE FUCK" written across it. Nathan was a scary clown.

There's clearly a big dirty electro sound coming from your music - who would you say acted as the biggest influence on that?

The sound has been an amalgamation of Jason, Colin and I for a few years now; tweaking it, developing the songs, and how we play with each other.

I hear your live show is pretty wild - do you have any crazy stories from gigs?

This could end up being a very long question to answer. The short version is, YES, every gig is a crazy story. But let me just say that our rowdiness seems to be continuously growing, and if I didn't break my neck doing a back flip off the stage at the outdoor festival, Evolve, then there will probably be many more rowdy occasions and crazy shows.

You're heading to the UK this November - are you looking forward to it? Is playing here any different to playing back home?

It feels very different from playing at home when you play in another country; here there is an element of comfort, knowing what the crowd expects and being able to deliver that to them. But there is something incredibly liberating about playing in a new place - you are free to construct whatever kind of show you want as there are no prior expectations, but then there is the fear as well, because sometimes people hate the new... So I just hope we can have fun with the audience and evoke some kind of reaction - whether good or bad - because, when it comes down to it, art's only value is in the reaction it gets from others.

Highs and lows of being in the band so far?

The high is playing sold-out shows, crowd surfing, meeting so many other wonderful musicians. Lows are not being able to afford groceries and always being short on rent.

Tell us about the album.

The album was a year long process, for which we had many great times, many low times, a lot of arguments and tears, but in the end it's something we can be proud of. It's gritty, there is lots of vocal experimentation, and you should be able to dance and clean at the same time, all the way through the 8 tracks.

What we should be expecting from the band in the future?

We have loads of new material, and hope to start recording again as soon as we get back from the UK! We also plan on continuing to play lots of shows, and hopefully tour the UK again in 2010.

Any final words while you've got our attention?

I hope to return back to Canada with no less bruises then I did the last time I was in the UK.

...Ouch. And that's coming from me - someone who has a reputation for bruising ridiculously easily.

A massive thanks to the lovely Rebekah and the rest of the band, they're embarking on their UK tour so definitely go and see them if you can and help Rebekah knock-up that bruises count - find their tour dates [HERE].

Photo credit to David Waldman

Slow Down

It seems like an eternity ago that everyone was raving about North London's underage scene, which seemed to have come to a halt after Cajun Dance Party and Bombay Bicycle Club both grew-up, signed to big labels and became full-time bands. Meanwhile the bands who many deemed set to follow in their footsteps such as Pull In Emergency and Lo-Fi Culture Scene are both at fairly important stages in their schooling careers and, as such, are maintaining relatively low profiles. And thus step in Catalan Corruption, a band of 15 year olds holding up the fort for the underage indie scene, and doing a spectacular job of it.

Their debut single, 'Slow Down' is well-worth getting hold of; it's stupidly catchy, and is full of raw, energetic and infectious dance-riffs that bring to mind early Foals, or Jack Peñate's more recent music. Judging by this track at least, Catalan Corruption are a band definitely worth keeping an eye on.

'Slow Down' is released on November 23rd on underage indie label Pop! Goes the Weasel, and you can pre-order the limited edition CD here.

The Beets

I've been listening to a lot of scuzzy, '60s-eqsue garage recently - notably the Vivian Girls, The Horrors and Black Lips. So, as I'm roughly a year late on the Vivian Girls and have written about the latter two bands fairly recently, I decided to broaden my horizons and search out bands in a similar vein, yet with something notably different to make them actually worth listening to. My search didn't last very long as I almost immediately found The Beets. And no, that's not some crazy abbreviation I made up for The Beatles.

They're from New York (surprise, surprise) and make really sexy, tripped-out, scuzzy punk. If you're into any of the above mentioned bands you should definitely check them out.

Buy their LP, 'Spit in the Face of Those Who Don't Want to be Cool' from here

Amazing Acoustics: Devendra Banhart

Talking about acoustics meant inevitably I would end up writing about Mr. Banhart, whose new album is out soon which I am ridiculously excited for. Having had a listen to some of the new tracks I think they're sounding more bluesy than normal, and there's an even greater look at the warm Tropicalia sound hinted at in last album, 'Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon'. Oh, and he's now signed to Warner Brothers as opposed to XL but I don't think this means we should be expecting some mainstream-battling-it-out-with-Taylor-Swift-for-number-one kind of songs. If only.

This is an acoustic he did ages and ages ago, but I love it because he completely changes the vibe at Jools Holland:

He's just so GOOD. When he sings it sounds so intimate and warm, all those delicate tremulous parts beautifully endearing. Suddenly you're not in some studio filming for the BBC, you're in a forest somewhere sat cross-legged gathered around a fireplace underneath the starry sky. Or, y'know, whatever it makes you feel like. So remember October 27th to get his new album 'What Will We Be', and to tide you over you can listen to a couple of the new tracks here.

Get an MP3 of the lovely, lovely cover he did of Oasis' 'Don't Look Back in Anger' here.

Bonus MP3, with thanks to indie shuffle: Phoenix - 'Rome (Neighbors and Devendra Banhart Remix)' (right click, save as)

Pre-order 'What Will We Be' HERE. I just read that he's playing Shepherd's Bush Empire in London on December 15th...I have work experience that week, gutted.

Photo credit: Moses Berkson

Neglected

The picture doesn't refer to me - I'm not all that. I've been avoiding the blog out of guilt of not actually writing up the rest of the Mercury reviews and generally being terrible. Sorry.

This is what I've been doing instead:

-Bestival

-Birthday parties; everyone is turning 18

-University applications

-A-levels

-Having colds

-Driving lessons

-Not sleeping enough

-Reading, so much reading

-Ordering more books, because a reading list of 20 books is apparently too tame for me

-Procrastinating (aka. going on Facebook)

-Watching cheesy high school rom-coms, like She's All That, and, therefore, reminding you of this classic

Back to normal blogging shortly, promise.

Mercury 2009: The Horrors, 'Primary Colours'

I know my Mercury posts have been somewhat lacking, so for the remaining 11 albums (oh dear I've got a lot to do before Tuesday) I'm doing shorter reviews, having done the lengthy, indulgent review for 'Two Suns'; the album I want to win.

So, The Horrors. If you'd told me two years ago I would be writing something positive about The Horrors I would probably laugh at you and be like, "puhlease, do you think I'm a 15 year old emo/scene-kid?". True I was 15, but I wasn't buying into the whole "we wear all black, therefore we must be deeper than you could possibly imagine" thing, and didn't really trust Artrocker's judgement over my own. To be honest, I never really listened to their first album; there's something to be said about music being associated with a particular scene or trend, as it discourages people not from within that clique from listening to the music. People who liked the same music as me didn't like The Horrors, and that was all I needed to know. As far as I was concerned it was dark, screamy and ridiculous.

Fast forward to around three months ago, and suddenly the entire blogging-world was going on about how awesome The Horrors were, and suddenly questions like "isn't Faris dreamy?" pervaded the air. Well, the last bit isn't true, but Faris and co certainly raised in my estimation when I saw the video for 'Who Can Say?' (below), my reaction to which was "wow". Dark, sexy, distorted guitars and almost nonchalant, low vocals. Was this honestly the same band? Am I now a 17 year old emo/scene-kid? Does my swooning at Faris in his white tux mean I actually think he's dreamy? These compelling questions could only be answered by seeking out the album, 'Primary Colours', and so I decided I would let go of all my silly prejudices and give it a listen.

There is a reason this album has been nominated, and I wouldn't be surprised or displeased if it won. Sure, there are still a couple screamy moments, but now I'm older and wiser it all seems to make so much more sense. Indeed, perhaps it's not only me but the band itself who have matured into an experience that's poignant, dissonant and - in many ways - nostalgic. The melancholy seems less ridiculously emo, more beautifully, delicately introspective, and the bits that are loud and aggressive are really intense, scuzzy and spectacular. It's frantic, it's wild, it's a little bit pretentious - isn't this what punk is all about? Listening to this startlingly assured album is like listening to a band that have found their feet at last.

Some critics argue that the sound isn't that original, but who cares if it's a great album? There are loads of garage/post-punk bands out there right now, sure, but they've got nothing on this.

Congratulations to The Horrors for converting me to a (somewhat embarrassed) fan, and well done on making a fantastic garage rock album.

Free download: 'Sea Within A Sea' from Spinner UK

BONUS TRACK: Faris and a member of Ipso Facto doing a very dark cover of Black Lips' 'I'll Be With You'

I think this review is longer than my Bat For Lashes one, whoops.

Buy 'Primary Colours' HERE.

Amazing Acoustics: Nirvana

I know, I know - I promise all these awesome new features and reviews then I don't actually do anything about them. How I'm going to fit in all the Mercury reviews before the winner is announced is beyond me, but I will persevere soon. Soon.

Anyway, when I was on the plane home they had lots of different music you could listen to, including a list of albums they called 'Essential Albums'. Personally I didn't get how a Bon Jovi album had made it into the list, but each to their own. Anyway, the 'essential album' that made me smile was Nirvana's fantastic 'MTV Unplugged in New York', and one of my favourites from it is the opener - 'About A Girl', the studio version of which can be found on their 1989 album, 'Bleach' (which is being reissued this year by label Sub Pop in honour of it's 20 year anniversary, read more here).

Nirvana are one of those bands who people perpetually disagree about; some think they're overrated and dislike Cobain's vocals, while some insist on wearing nothing but their ragged Nirvana hoodie emblazoned with the yellow smiley face logo. I'm closer to the latter camp; they used to be one of my favourite bands, and although my musical tastes have since changed my love of the band has not disappeared. I barely listen to them these days though, which means when I do it always makes me ridiculously happy. Sadly I never went as far as buying the hoodie, but there's still time.

However you feel about the band, this is a track worth listening to. It's probably one of the poppiest of their songs so even if you're not into grunge there's still hope you'll love it as much as I do. Cobain's emotions and longing come pouring out so sincerely, straining through his gravelly vocals.

Download the amazing 'The Man Who Sold The Word (David Bowie cover)' - Nirvana, from the same album.

Buy 'MTV Unplugged In New York' HERE. It's an amazing album, and I thoroughly recommend it.