Talullah Ruff
New York City, NY | Established. Jan 01, 2015 | SELF
Music
Press
Talullah Ruff makes pop music with an alt-blues twist. And while in the past her work has been more singer-songwriter oriented, “Resilience” is a bit of a departure from that, much more of a soulful electro-R&B, courtesy of production by electronic duo MEMBA. This slow-burner of a track explores the range of Ruff’s clearly skilled voice. She’s in the studio while in school at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute recording her upcoming 'What Is Honest' EP. Check out “Resilience” below.
Here’s what Talullah Ruff had to say about the new track:
MEMBA and I sat down informally to collaborate after they had heard my voice coincidentally through their floorboards. My friend Nick Cianci was there laying down guitar over a demo of the backing track, and while the instrumental was coming together, I immediately had all of these ideas flooding in. It was one of those weird songwriting mysteries where the composition comes to life in basically one sitting with the melody playing itself into your head. I enjoy dark lyrics juxtaposed by lighter melodies, and therefore tried to write a biting and sometimes cynical lyric over an airy verse and more commanding chorus. The song is ambiguous, but in just a specific enough way that it provides an emotion that I think a lot of people can relate to within their own lives. That’s what I try to do with my music: give people an emotion to relate to. These juxtapositions smoothly meld into an amalgamation of MEMBA’s style and my own, which is really intriguing for me to hear. So, although this is a musical departure for me, vocally and emotionally it’s still stylistically similar. - All Things Go
With a set of effortless vocals and a strong pop sensibility, NYC-based Talullah Ruff typically crafts radio-ready alt-blues tunes, but her latest release has a decidedly electro feel. The new single, "Resilience," is a blues-soaked banger that showcases Ruff's talent of writing tracks that are as catchy as they are piercing. Her soulful vocal performance is punctutated by nuanced EDM instrumentation, that give credence to--rather than distracts from--her poignant lyricism. Stream "Resilience" below and catch Talullah Ruff on Halloween playing The Gateway with PSYMON SPINE, For Everest, Nervous Dater, Field Trip and more. - Olivia Sisinni - The Deli
Bluesberry Jam Showcase: The Walters, altopalo, Nick Cianci and the Heights, The Misters, Talullah Ruff @ Cameo Gallery // 7 p.m. // $8
Technically, the festival wraps up on Saturday night, but once you've made it that far why not go the extra mile and enjoy altopalo's maelstrom blend of psychedelic jazz-punk? Crystal-clean pop vocals from Talullah Ruff will serve as your warm up. To hell with brunch—bring your mimosa money to Cameo. - Gothamist
Join the NYC-based singer-songwriter for a night of alternative-blues, as she performs an intimate solo set, accompanying herself on the piano. - The Village Voice
June 12
Sasha Dobson, Lantrns, Talullah Ruff, The Good Johnsons
Gold Sounds. 7pm.
...for complete show listings, visit northsidefestival.com - AdHoc
WSN spoke with seven upcoming bands and solo artists and compiled a playlist of songs by these musicians. As a twist, each musician had the chance to recommend or “telephone” a tune or album to another NYU artist.
Artist: Talullah Ruff
Backstory: The band is really just me and whoever happens to be into my music and willing to play my songs with me, so that’s been changing a bit, unless I’m performing solo and accompanying myself on the piano. I’ve been writing songs since I could form words, even though they were facsimiles of what I thought love songs were. I was initially interested in dance and theatre until I started the after-school program School of Rock, where I started listening to The Beatles, Queen, Stevie Wonder — all of the greats that really influenced and still do influence my music. But my freshman year of high school was when I really started creating and performing songs I thought were both meaningful to myself, and hopefully resonant within others.
Genre: A shifting blend of Rock, Blues and Alternative
Description of song / album: Right now I have an eclectic mix of demos on my SoundCloud and Spotify, as well as a live performance session on YouTube, all just under “Talullah Ruff.” I’m in the stages of planning what’s next and figuring out exactly how I want to package and produce my music, and hopefully soon I’ll be ready to put out some new material that I feel best — or at least better — represents who I want to be as an artist. But before that you can see me live at Muchmore’s on April 28, after another video produced with Chiu Productions is released via YouTube next Monday, April 18!
Telephone to: “When You Entered the Room” by Nick Cianci. I would say that one of the absolute most talented people I’ve heard since coming here is Nick Cianci. His music is mostly a blend of John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen, but in a fresh, head-banging, guitar-driven way. “When You Entered the Room” is definitely a song I can’t get tired of, and I can’t get tired of geeking out to that guitar solo, either! - Washington Square News
WNYU Bluesberry Jam & Invertebrate Showcase @ Cameo Gallery, 93 N 6th St, Williamsburg (SUN 7pm, $8)
with Talullah Ruff, Nick Cianci And The Heights, The Misters, Altopalo, The Walters - Bushwick Daily
Discography
'What Is Honest' (EP, 2017)
Photos
Bio
Since writing her first 200-page fantasy novel in the fifth grade, the now 20-year-old Talullah Ruff has sought comfort in the written word. Over 200 unreleased songs and 2 unpublished novels later, she has not only become obsessed with creating her own disparate worlds, but entering and embodying those alternative realms of being, and – usually to her own disappointment – hoping for others to come and join her.
Many places of fantasy epitomize forms of gloom and terror, but for Ruff, darkness is found in the life around her, with her imaginative music providing the light. The remedial escape to various forms of emotional trauma that have continually tarnished relationships between family and would-be friends, thus instilling in her a generally cynical outlook on the humanity she has come to know. But she has hope, both for herself and others, as through her piano, voice, and personal experiences, she tells her stories that she wishes will hold a greater resonance within listeners and their own lives, offering them the same refuge she has built for herself.
Through a series of misfortunes, progressing from her mother incorrectly spelling “Talullah” on her birth certificate and middle school bullies slamming her into lockers to the more serious stories told on her self-produced, debut EP, What Is Honest, Talullah Ruff has grown into an individual with a “clearly skilled voice” (All Things Go) and “poignant lyricism” (The Deli). With carefully selected songs whose timestamp ranges from eighth grade to sophomore year of college, What Is Honest documents 1/3 of the life of a “Paper and Ink Girl” who is “flammable but will never burn out”. “The little girl you mocked until she swore that she would cower down,” who knows “we all have blemishes on the face and the soul,” but then asks, “Does it make me ugly if mine are comfortable?” Who doesn’t “want to be here anymore,” but explains why “death is a thing so terribly overdone.” Despite its highly personal elements, the record was made for others who are not thick-skinned, but whose “foundations are the words [they] think.”
Blending 1970s-esque production with 1990s alt-rock songwriting tendencies, Ruff has developed her own piano-driven strain of truth rock, in which each composition conveys a singular sonic palette, and thus creates its own world. But realizing each of the five tracks that make up What Is Honest was the result of another set of realizations through a number of more professional journeys. Whether it be venturing to California at age 18 to work with a variety of “industry” figures fixated on following worn-out paths to pop stardom, attempting to topline electronic music by producers who favored female collaborators with more ulterior motives than notable art, or trying to convince engineers to actually work to form her own sound on her own EP, Talullah Ruff presents a record that showcases how it takes hardship, triumph, and time to cultivate one’s own artistic mission.
Since moving from Highland Park, IL, to New York City in the fall of 2015 to attend NYU’s Clive Davis Institute, Ruff has performed at venues such as Rockwood Music Hall, The Gateway, Muchmore’s, The McKittrick Hotel, and more, while sharing stages with Sasha Dobson (of Puss n Boots), The Walters, Scott James, altopalo, and Natalie Duffy, among others. She has made appearances at 2016’s Northside Festival, as well as 2015’s CMJ Music Marathon.
What Is Honest will be released in summer 2017 with a visual accompaniment.
Band Members
Links
