Ruby Gill is an indie folk pop Melbourne-based pianist, guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. pronouns (she/they)
If anyone can silence a room, it’s South Africa-born, Melbourne-based musician Ruby Gill, whose arresting lyricism and deadpan wit have already garnered millions of streams, awards and radio play from triple j and every major metro station in Australia, to BBC6Music and KCRW over the pond.
Known to bring even the most stoic to tears with profound reflections on society and self-awareness, Ruby’s “melancholic lyrical wizardry” has earned the reputation of unmissable, with accolades such as as Sunday Times’ Breaking Act (UK), Emerging Artist of the Year at Port Fairy Folk Festival, nominations for The Australian Music Prize (Mercury equivalent) and Best Folk Work at Music Victoria, and high praise from NME, CLASH, The Independent and more. Consistent reviews echo triple j’s Zan Rowe: “excuse me while I scrape myself off the floor.”
“Calm and resolute, but the force and power behind it is undeniable.” – KCRW
Her song Some Kind of Control was inspired by the all new freedom and day-to-day power Ruby Gill suddenly had during Naarm/Melbourne’s extensive lockdown while simultaneously, like so many others, wrestling with an absolute lack of control over the circumstances – a duality she hadn’t experienced before.
Ruby Gill shares, “I had been grappling with what it meant to have all and no control over my time and body – all at once. In a big way, the world was in charge, but also in a day-to-day way, I had all the power: I could move freely through my kitchen and clothes and kindness however I wished – it was a new experience for me after feeling quite trapped in some difficult spaces and systems for a long time – “always babysitting other people’s arguments instead of my own” as the lyrics say. I feel like this song encompasses so much of what I’ve learnt and reclaimed in the past few years, and feels very reflective musically of my true, silly, powerful self and community“.
Featured on episode 32 of Discover Her Music Podcast
Song: Some Kind of Control
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