"Real"

..is about knowing your core self and remaining true to it despite the vast changes or pressures we might feel in the world around us. The song begins as a rubato ballad, which shifts into a latin groove and continues to throw in sonic surprises the whole song! The groove and feel shifts are meant to mirror the daily chaos we feel, while the lyrics encourage strength and resolve as the guiding force from beginning to end.

The song weaves a ballad into a samba inspired groove into a *quite not half time* tempo and groove change into the synth happy Soul/R&B vibe. The latin groove was partially inspired by our (Adam and I) mutual love for Chick Corea's "Spain" and "Armandos Rhumba". The tempo change was kind of a happy accident in some ways, Adam made this really crunchy, Dilla-esque drum groove and the vocals really just slid over it into this funky tempo. I was listening to a lot of Anderson Paak at the time, so one can imagine the impulse. Another special note about this production is the muted trumpet parts I recorded cup, harmon, glass ash tray (it's a cooler plunger and was sitting around the studio) and flugels. The harmon in particular has this moment after the big synth transition drum hit section where Adam melded the decaying synth into the start of the harmon (time and space section). The pitch, tone and everything was shaped to make it seem as if there was no beginning harmon sound or ending synth sound.

Lyric wise, I remember writing this when I was extremely frustrated with a few guys being indecisive about how they felt as well as being constantly pressured by the general LA vibe of being all puffed in the chest for very shallow and vain reasons. I have always been a person of substance and desiring those around to also care about being themselves and not these clones of capitalistic expectations. We are heavily marketed to and expected to follow trends in fashion, stock, media, art, etc... I prefer to just live a life I am proud of regardless of any trends or correlation to marketing schemes (like companies marketing "green" values and "Black lives matter" values to customers because it's seen as a good way to gain customer trust, but not actually caring about the issues. All this to say that I know no one is perfect, but it's about intention, education and constantly evolving as a human.

ART

My friend Patricia Lewis aka Melo Gía created this from a selfie I took while in Adam's studio during one of the many quarantine studio weekends. She used procreate along with her amazing art skills and made with many layers and detail. She is a singer, percussionist, recording engineer in training, producer, writer, activist and all around a very accomplished friend and colleague =)

My songwriting is fluid and in-the-moment most of the time. I regularly turn on voice memos, sit at the piano, and sing my feelings/thoughts of the day. One of those reflected how deeply I feel conflict and hate in this world. I am a practicer of constant self-evaluation in relation to my personal care, friend/family space, and then the world as a whole. I see the desperation and poverty right next to the dazzling towers and entities of wealth with constant dissonance. I want the world to be balanced, full of light, love, and gratitude, but this isn't about to be miss america peace speech, so I digress. So much like water itself, this song involves self, community, and global reflection. Here are the lyrics and a voice memo I have so far of this song - it's a bit long, but enjoy (the produced version is in the works) 

Much love <3 Ruth

LISTEN HERE

- W A T E R - 

We’re only in survival mode till we find the water 

We only feel our hearts break when we love each other 

When all this is said and done how will we find another 

With all this toxic fear and hate when we’re just like each other 

And how can we love if we can’t hold each other 

How can we learn if we don’t listen 

What is there to say if we don’t care anymore 

What is there to do if we’ve already given up 

We’re only in survival mode until we find the water 

When all of this is said and we just want a lover 

We only have ourselves to blame 

If we can’t find each other 

We’re only in survival mode till we find the water 

We all need water 

And we all need the water 

And how can we love if we can’t hold each other  

How can we learn if we don’t listen  

What is there to say if we don’t care anymore  

What is there to do if we’ve already given up 

I am very very excited to announce my first single as a solo artist! It is coming out April 10th - of course you can preview it here already, but make sure you stream once it's out! So the story behind Hopeful Romantic... I thought this would be a better place than any to get into some details about it...

Quick note: Mahealane is my middle name, it's Hawaiian and means by the light of the full silvery moon. I thought it would be a nice distinction from my freelance/gig life. 

August 2018 was my second year going to Burning Man, where I played lots of jazz music and enjoyed the culture of desert freedom. During that time I found a kindred spirit in a fellow burner by the name of Sparrow (you'll see the lil sparrow in the album artwork). We had a wonderful week, explored the playa and we were caught up in a dust storm on the Esplanade one night! Luckily we made it back to the Playa Jazz Cafe aka our burner home camp. Renewed and connected to love and life I returned home and started writing a song about our week on the playa.

I ended up finishing the song the next year after Burning Man - I tend to work on things for as long as the inspiration runs and then take a break till the song calls back to me. I brought this song to the amazing Michael Blum and after a few sessions had the track and vocals laid down. My friend and a wonderful drummer Efa (of Moonchild!) recorded live drums and we meshed them with electronic drums elements to create the rhythmic base of the track. The trippy part is an homage of sorts to the Burning Man vibe. This was such a fun song to produce out with Michael - he's the best!

I'm so very happy to be releasing this - I have many more songs waiting to be recorded/produced, so no worries, there won't be a shortage of music. I hope y'all are getting through quarantine alright, taking care of yourself, trying to work and keep focused without losing our minds is the name of the game!