Our ‘Track By Track’ guide sheds light on the stories behind some of our favourite artists’ music.
London-based, Italian-born composer, bassist, and vocalist Ruth Goller is back (tomorrow) with a new album, SKYLLUMINA, out via International Anthem. Following her 2021 solo debut, Skylla LP, this album sees Goller building on her experimental sound as she augments every piece with a different drummer.
“As a bass-player, I love playing with drummers and I decided to focus on my close connection to that instrument and to the amazing people I met in my life who play it,” says Goller
As well as International Anthem labelmates Bex Burch, Tom Skinner, and Frank Rosaly on the album, she is accompanied by prolific British player Sebastian Rochford and longtime Vula Viel collaborator Jim Hart. In addition, this music serves as a hyperfocus for Goller’s patently distinctive and singular approach to composition.
SKYLLUMINA is out tomorrow (pre-order here). Watch the brilliant Zak Watson-directed video for the opening track ‘Below my skin’ underneath, followed by Ruth’s introduction and exclusive track-by-track breakdown.
SKYLLUMINA is the follow-up record to SKYLLA and I wanted to keep the main sound of the band the same but add another level to it. I always want music to develop, not just on gigs but also in terms of recording work. The base sound of Skylla (de-tuned bass harmonics with layered voices) to me is a strong sound and there is far to go with that. Initially, just thinking about where to go next felt like there were so many opportunities to explore with different instruments. Then, as a bass player, I love playing with drummers, and I decided to focus on my close connection to that instrument and to the amazing people I met in my life who play it. I started getting a list of drummers together that I wanted to be on the record, and it was huge. I had to limit myself. I also liked the idea of asking drummers, as there were some who played tuned percussion as well, so it would give me another element to explore. This record is deep insight into my soul and my recent life. it’s coming through a meteor storm and grasping the first light. Coming out of a very unexpected tumulus time there is a lot of feelings of grief, loss, hope, purest of love, connection to my home, death and new configurations as well as self-discovery.
Ruth Goller
Below my skin: is the first track on the record, and my guest is Tom Skinner. I first saw Tom play when i just moved to London and i started to explore the music scene. He was doing a regular jam session at the Jazz cafe at the time and I used to go every Sunday. I always found his playing so creative and fell in love with his sound. After a few years, we then met properly and played together a lot in “Melt Yourself Down”. His touch, sound and inventiveness is completely unique to me. I was so happy when he said he would be up for being on the record, and I knew to expect something completely unique and unexpected, which is what he did. The piece itself is about intimacy and sensuality, being so close to someone, becoming one and losing the boundaries of your own body. Being elevated to another level of consciousness.
Reach down into the deepest white: In this song, I find myself standing on the steep slope of my alpine home. My hands reach down into the cold deep snow until I can’t feel the pain anymore. That’s when I let go of the pain, and grief turns into a calm, content sensation. A lot of my grief is connected to that place and I become one with it, fully accepting it. It is part of me forever, but I become free from it at the same time. I have chosen to have Mark Sanders as guest on this track. The warmth of his drumming always made an impression on me and I felt like he can balance out the coldness of the ice. Mark is another hero of mine and I have seen him play a lot over the years. every time he plays, he does something completely new, something that I have not heard any drummer do before. His creativity is endless.
Of Snowhere: is segue track which originally I had as a long into to the next one. Later I decided to embrace it as its own thing. A moment of stillness and low movings between two songs. It has Mark Sanders’ drumming on it and introduces the bowed vibraphone of Jim Hart, which features on the next track. This track is like slow waves to me.
Next time I keep my hands down: features Jim Hart on bowed vibraphone and drums. I have played with Jim a lot over the years in Bex Burch’s band Vula Viel. Jim, apart from having become a dear friend always impressed me with his incredible musical skills as well as his musical choices. His vibraphone playing, as well as his drumming, is very unique to me. The process with this track was slightly different, as usually I would make a song at home, send the drummers the finished version and ask them to play on it. This time, I asked him to send me some improvised bowed vibraphone playing, which i then edited into a song and composed over it. The bowed vibraphone sound works beautifully with the sound of a female voice, and it was such a pleasure to work on this. This song is about not always offering to take everyone’s shit. it’s also about anger towards being seen as someone that might not necessarily be true. It’s about people who are sure of themselves and don’t listen and judge too soon.
All the light I have I hand to you: is about the purest love. Without ownership, without jealousy. Simply wanting someone you love to be the happiest they can and offering myself to someone like a blank canvas to draw on. Trusting completely. Max Andrzejewski is a drummer I played together in Germany, and I could really hear his beautiful sound on this music. I love the way he plays the bells on it and adds bowed cymbals.
She was my own she was myself: features my dear friend Bex Burch. I have asked her to send me an improvisation with llimba and ….. Initially, I made a completely different track with this, but later ended up using only one part. A vocal melody which I improvised and felt so strong to me that i couldn’t stain it with anything else. This song is a deep look into myself, into my sadness, grief and trauma, but feeling strong and invincible because of it. As much as it expresses all my sadness, it also releases anger. This is the only track where I didn’t play any electric bass on and just played double bass. It’s a very warm soothing track to me, which still touches my soul deeply, although having listened to it so many times.
How to be free from it: begins with the peak of intensity of the record. It portrays love and intensity. It’s about living day by day, very much in each moment, which is the way that allows me to be myself as much as I can, with me and with other people. Nothing matters so much as much as how we are in the moment, with ourselves and with others. The drummer on this track is Emanuele Maniscalco, a brilliant drummer I also have a duo with called ‘Iomoon’. We recorded his drumming together in Italy during a few shows we did together. Emanuele is a brilliantly creative drummer and also keyboard player. I gave him some guidance on how I heard it and he translated it perfectly in his own way.
From breaks to shreds it’s a short path: is the first song i wrote for this record which now feels like quite a long time ago. It’s the most similar tune to the previous record to me. this song is about pain. So much emotional pain that your body hurts. Unable to get up or be human in any way. The drummer on this tune is Sebastian Rochford, and I could write pages about him. Sebastian is one of the most beautiful humans and musicians I have ever met. He is outwardly. His playing is incredibly deep and he will always surprise you with something. I feel like I have to thank Sebastian for a big part of who I am as a musician and as a person today. I was lucky enough to meet him very early in my career when I was still at university. He allowed me to recognise my roots as a punk musician and not to categorise myself. I love the sparse way he chose to play on it, the ringing of his sound and deep cymbal sounds. Also featuring on this track is Lauren Kinsella, one of my core members of the live set-up. I’ve admired Lauren’s creativity for a long time. She is such an amazing singer who could sing anything and any style of music, but always strongly sounds like herself. She is an amazing improviser and to perform with her is so much fun, as she always takes the music to new and unexpected places.
I have for you – simple truth: This track features my dear friend Will Glaser. An incredible musician who i have met a few years ago and whose playing I deeply fell in love with. I don’t know anyone who embraces sound as deeply as him. I have asked him to send me an improvisation with gongs which then again I edited into a tune and composed on top of. the sound of the gongs and the bendiness of the tuning was perfect for me and very inspiring to write to. I worked out the tuning of the gongs on my bass and doubled some of the hits. This is a very slow song which can be very dark but very happy at the same time.
