INTRO BY TAMARA CHAPMAN
INTERVIEW BY CAMI LIBERTY
PHOTO COURTESY OF RUBY ROSE FOX
Boston based feminist Ruby Rose Fox is a fighting force in the music industry. Charting in the top 10 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, she’s on her way to the top of the chain. With her sophomore album expected to drop later this spring, we had the chance to discuss her music endeavors and how she plans to use her platform for good.
When did you first realize that you wanted to be a musician?
"I was five and had taped Roy Orbison’s Only The Lonely off the radio. I thought it was 'Holy Bologna.' I put on a show for my parents and knew exactly what I wanted to do. They laughed. I was already a 'serious artist.'"
You recently released your music video for your song ‘Freedom Fighter’, which features you running through a warehouse to catch a bullet to save a child. Where did the inspiration come from for the song and video concept?
"I wish I could take credit for this one. It was entirely conceived by our director Ben Phillipo. This idea came before #Metoo exploded although, of course, there were many school shootings still happening. When he pitched me on the idea I thought, 'This man gets me and he he gets my work.' Strangely, most ideas are not released to the public until months and sometimes years after it’s creation. When works of art are prescient to their time, it’s usually unplanned."
Especially from the recent school shooting in Parkland, why do you think it’s important to bring awareness to these issues?
"Because we live in a very flawed democracy that is looking more and more like Mike Judge’s Idiocracy everyday. I think we all need to unplug from Hulu and Netflix and start asking ourselves how we can actively improve our communities. For me this was starting a program called Gifted this year that give voice lessons to teens in Boston with no music education."
As an artist, do you feel that you have a special voice to bring awareness to these issues?
"Every woman when she taps into her person power has a unique perspective and often it’s a deeply compassionate one. I am not a mother and may never be one, but I definitely approach art with a maternal fierceness for justice and humanity."
This spring you will be releasing your sophomore album, ‘Salt’. What can we expect from the record?
"Salt is a cinematic rollercoaster intended to reflect the personal and political Zeitgiest using binaural (ASMR) recording technology often used by virtual reality to create a deep sense of intimacy and sensation in the listeners body. ASMR is currently a massive YouTube internet phenomenon and Salt is one of the first completely ASMR focused records. Many of the lead vocals were recorded while moving around the binaural mic especially a song called the Matador in which the microphone is the matador and I am the bull. It was a thrill to make. We made a lot of mistakes but it was a journey into figuring our how to create intimacy. It’s currently streaming on our Ruby Rose Fox Members page in RubyRoseFox.com."
What do you hope people take from your music?
"Empowerment mostly. I hope they take what I take from all my favorite music. That they are not suffering alone."
Aside from the album, is there anything else we can expect from you in the near future?
"Yes! So much. I’m currently starting writing and design for a one-woman show using the record called Salt: Offline. Finishing a book about acting for songwriters called Love Your Ugly, and playing with my new Roland 808!!! I will also be looking to expand Gifted as a model so other artists can teach in their communities."