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RUTH GOLLER

Ruth Goller

Skylla - 2025 Reissue

    'Skylla' is the debut solo recording of Italian-born and London-based composer, bassist, and vocalist Ruth Goller. This album of otherworldly detuned bass harmonics and dense vocal arrangements was initially released in 2021 by longtime collaborator Bex Burch's Vula Viel Records, and quickly went out of print. Since then Goller's notoriety has only grown, and her follow-up record, 'SKYLLUMINA', was released by International Anthem in early 2024 and met with high praise.

    'Skylla' is the genesis of her sound, and it is a sound that is hard to place. Listeners could be convinced that these recordings came out of contexts as disparate as 80s Downtown NYC or some mysterious Bjork-adjacent project of the Icelandic 2010s. It's hard to imagine a person making this music despite the fact that its elements are instantly recognizable.


    TRACK LISTING

    1. Often They Came To Visit, Even Just To See How She Was (M1)
    2. In More Turbulent Times, She Managed To Take The Perfect Shot (M4)
    3. What’s Really Important She Wanted To Know - Part 1 (M6)
    4. What’s Really Important She Wanted To Know - Part 2 (M7)
    5. What’s Up Is Not What’s Real Most Of The Time (M5)
    6. When They Came Closer She Realised They Were Alien Creatures (M3)
    7. The Shine Of Gold Was Too Strong (M8)
    8. When She Curled Up They Started Dancing (M2)
    9. He Was Painting Her Face With Colours She Had Never Seen (M9)
    10. I Is One (M10) 

    Ruth Goller

    SKYLLUMINA

      Goller is known for her bass and vocal work with Alabaster DePlume, whose music she elevates in live contexts with her genre-less improvisational intuition, and an incredibly diverse résumé that includes performance and recording with Bex Burch’s Vula Viel, Shabaka Hutchings, Rokia Traore, Melt Yourself Down, Sam Amidon, and even a very brief moment with Paul McCartney.

      For 'SKYLLUMINA', her International Anthem debut, Goller expands upon the concept of her first solo album Skylla – de-tuned bass harmonics with layered voices – this time collaborating with a different drummer on each track. “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. “There were some who played tuned percussion as well, so it would give me another element to explore.” Her accompanists on the album include The Smile's Tom Skinner, go-to London drummer Seb Rochford, Berlin-based International Anthem labelmate Bex Burch, and ex-pat Chicago legend Frank Rosaly. But more importantly, the music is an immersive hyperfocus for Goller and her patently distinct, singular compositional vision.

      'SKYLLUMINA', despite its highly conceptual origins, is heavy with human emotion. Its dark washes of melody and contrapuntal percussion could fit easily into a mixtape with indie downbeat / ennui royalty like Grouper or Low, while also being right at home next a Cage-Tudor prepared piano piece. And the piercing, siblant ice age siren song heard in Goller's powerfully feminine vocal arrangements find her in an otherworld only occasionally inhabited by the likes of Björk and The Knife.


      TRACK LISTING

      1. Below My Skin
      2. Reach Down Into The Deepest White
      3. Of Snowhere
      4. Next Time I Keep My Hands Down
      5. All The Light I Have, I Hand To You
      6. She Was My Own She Was Myself
      7. How To Be Free From It
      8. From Breaks To Shreds It’s A Short Path
      9. Don’t Follow Me
      10. I Have For You - Simple Truth


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