Ruby was a former soloist in the children’s choir of the Opéra de Paris before coming to Berlin to further explore his new persona. To describe the music of Maury111, one might use the term “mysticosmic pop.” Featuring a blend of bionic noises and contemplative moods.
It’s easy to pick up on the album’s desert- or more specifically, empty-space themes and moods just by listening to it once. The use of reverb in record production ensures that this is communicated to the listener.
It seems to reason that a selected topic like this implies other distinct but connected concepts like loneliness, sorrow, and contemplation. ‘Indisla,’ the first tune, does just that. The reverbed beats accelerate and decelerate at varied intervals, accompanied by eerie vocals, creating a sensation of distance. The music then transitions from irregular to progressive drum rhythms, which, from a production standpoint, keeps the tune from becoming too boring too quickly. The use of effects in the voice and the hybridization of electronic and acoustic drumming effectively capture the sense of nothingness and space.
Meanwhile, the second track, ‘Erased,’ quickens the tempo of the first by introducing a fast-paced baseline accompanied by a little DnB-esque percussion beat, with the echoing vocals shifting in and out of focus throughout the track. The framework of the tune is similar to that of a funk composition, but with more digitalized modern elements.
Which brings me to the third tune on the album’s list, ‘Inner Temple,’ which is more smoother and slower paced than the previous two tracks but has the same voice effects and reverbs. Again, I notice some DnB influences in the tune that remind me of London’s electronic music culture in the 1980s/90s. ‘Sable,’ on the other hand, shifts from the slow-paced ‘Inner Temple,’ which has themes of ideas and introspection, into a sound combination of clocks, wind, and music that conveys a sense of urgency through the melody. The final track on the album, ‘Setsun,’ begins with a relaxing classic RnB beat with lyrics I can only describe as sorrowful, and finishes with a gospel choir that closes the album’s tale of death… or rebirth, depending on how you look at it.
This album is not melodic or rhythmic, but rather tonal. Similar to the early Vaporwave producers of the 2010s, the emphasis is on the atmosphere rather than a specific melody or composition. The artist does an excellent job of attempting to create in the listener a world of wide, barren desert and isolation. Every song on the CD depicts the sensation of travelling alone on a spaceship in the depths of space. It is a solid 8.5/10 and an honest and direct portrayal of an artist’s feelings, something we don’t see as often as we once did.
Edited by: Viola Karmy