Chatting with Ruby Darbyshire

There’s the story of one newfound fan who, after her performance, asked Ruby how many copies of her CDs she had, brought the lot and distributed them freely throughout the audience! Ruby Darbyshire has that effect, seemingly wherever she goes……

I’m thrilled Ruby is playing RowdeFest on 30^th May. On 21^st June she supports Chantel McGregor at Long Street Blues Club, a music appreciation society where attendees gaze upon acts in respectful silence. But, I’ve witnessed Ruby captivate regulars of the noisiest pubs into muted awe!

At Devizes’ Three Crowns, number one pub for cover bands knocking decibels across a raucous crowd, Ruby crouches, packing away her bagpipes after a sublime Sunday set of mellowed and breezy originals and covers, professionally smiling, greeting either familiar faces or new fans desperate to express their delight and gratitude.

However long it takes for the crowd to wane, I’m determined to catch up with Ruby. Whilst I’ve known her gregariousness for a couple of years, she also maintains an enigmatic charm, rarely talking backstory, life and what inspires her. I wanted to discover Ruby’s motivations, solve riddles behind how she’s so mind-bogglingly talented at just nineteen. Oh, and if we’ve been heaven sent, or how it comes to be we have this remarkable singer-songwriter on our local circuit.

Icebreaker first. Ruby has two EPs, and a few separate songs, like Caller Unknown, a soulful debut single co-composed with Justin Haywood, and with help from Tim Burgess of the Charlatans. Produced by Freddie Cowan of The Vaccines, it was played on BBC6. But her forthcoming is called God is Offline, which Ruby recently posted a demo of….online!

I asked Ruby if she had a release date. “No date yet,” she replied, “but we’ve planned for the end of the summer.”

“It was inspired by our recent trip to Egypt,” Ruby explained, “where we narrowly escaped Dubai’s missile attack by a few hours. When we got to our apartment, we could see down on the street. There were loads of prayer mats, because the mosque was so filled people had to spill out onto the road. And so that inspired it.”

It’s deeper meaning, I presumed, was not to seek faith online, but to look either spiritually or in the real world. Ruby elucidated, “more just the fact that everyone is the same, whether they believe in a different God or they are from a different part of the world, they’re all the same. We’re all just trying to live our lives. To say, why are we bombing each other, then bowing to God? It’s just saying that God isn’t looking down on us, and he’s not actually looking after us. Or that you cannot connect with him.”

There’s characters in her narratives lost or searching for a light, others dubious of their own answers or consequences. But, if there’s a sparkle in Ruby’s eyes, they are not naïve stars. Rather they’re symbolic of precociousness, one who modestly acknowledges, and is confidently content with, their calling.

Ruby is well-travelled. Across the UK, into Egypt and over in India, she is adjoined to her music, therefore it’s not just us who loves her performances, it’s infectious wherever they trek. To discover why is surely to delve deeper into Ruby’s background and roots.

“My mum’s Filipino,” Ruby said, “My dad’s English, but lived in Scotland for a long time and I was born in Scotland.” If you’ve seen Ruby busking with bagpipes, or at a Burns Night, the latter part might’ve been obvious, but how and why has she settled on the Kennet & Avon?

“I was homeschooled. So we moved down to Cambridge, which was said to be the best place to be homeschooled,” Ruby continued. “And then, during COVID, we needed a change. So we moved, because we had some friends here, we moved over with the boats from one side of the country to the other side. It took us about a year to move the boats.”

I know the reality differs, but I supposed life on the canal can behold a certain perception of idyllic tranquillity, so I asked Ruby if she felt that has an influence on her songwriting. “Someone said to me that I have a lot of songs which are connected to the sea and water, which I would say yes, I’ve got a few of them,” she reacted. “I don’t know. I guess it does. Everything influences songwriting, whether you live in a city or in the countryside. And I guess it does show up in my songwriting.”

A common question which somewhat stumbled Ruby, was particular artists she would cite as influences, because as she explained,  “I get a lot of influence from different places. I think, lyrically, Mumford and Sons, made me fall in love with music, and their lyrics are beautiful. Artists I like, Nina Simone for her vocals…. and you’ve put me on the spot!” This though proves her natural professionalism, an understanding that most musicians could write an extensive essay on their influences, but the objective here is to be brief.

On cover choices for a live set though, Ruby mused, “I hear a good song and think about what I can do with it rather than, oh, let’s play it exactly like them. I try and put my own slant on it.”

But, we really should focus on songwriting. Does Ruby have a template or system for writing, or do they more simply sporadically or randomly evolve? “It’s really difficult, songwriting,” she confessed, but explained she “was inspired by the title, God Is Offline. Crowned Lightbringer, I was inspired by a riff. Insomnia, I was inspired by a metaphor I found online. It just comes, like there’s loads of ways of writing and I guess it just depends on each song, because each song is unique and individual.”

While her fanbase is perpetually expanding with each gig, I asked Ruby if she preferred to play to a majority aware of her, or to new audiences, particularly in a foreign country.

“I think it’s nice to know that I have support,” she expressed, but the preference  did not allow geographical boundaries. “For example,” Ruby expanded, “there were so many people that knew me from other gigs here, and they’ve come back, which reflects on the quality. It shows me that I’m appreciated. We did some house parties in Egypt where all of our friends came and people that had come to loads of gigs, and they were the most supportive and most enjoyable parties or concerts that I’ve ever done, because it was all people who supported me.” Which returns us neatly to our opening line: Ruby Darbyshire has that effect, seemingly wherever she goes….

Future reflections seemed vaguer, for Ruby’s proficiency is folk, self-disciplined, not scholarly, and I always felt she was comfortable there. Dabbling experiments with breakbeats over her piping, perhaps to modernise its perception, I omitted, but possibilities of forming a band I did mention. “Was this like a year ago?” Ruby causally inquired, but pondered “it’s always a thought,” noting some particular gigs where, “it would be good to have some more musicians, to play and accompany me.”

The ‘what comes next’ section was dominated by her enrolment on an online music course. “I’ll do an undergrad starting September,” she told me, and furthered proposals to continue writing and “experiencing different music,”  mostly through planned travelling back to Egypt “next winter, so, experience the Arabic music, beautiful stuff.”

My hopes for this broad-horizons, free spirited prodigy might be proficient backing and a renowned producer, and I often marvel at the possibilities when pondering this imagining. This led us onto talk about the music industry today. Ruby explained how the shift relied heavily now, not on schooled certification or headhunted raw talent, rather on an artist’s ability to self-promote and build an online presence. From monumental beginnings like The Edinburgh Fringe Festival to opening for us at The Wiltshire Music Awards, if Ruby’s journey would one day make as equally a fascinating biography as some musical legends, I envision a day people would be engrossed by it.

But while Ruby’s roots, travelling, and gigs and festivals, to song-writing on her narrowboat, are all narratives in the natural progression of her skills as a multi-instrumental musician, there’s one defining, and perhaps incredulous element to solving the riddle behind how she’s so mind-bogglingly talented, which is that Ruby has been playing music since she was three and a half, and busking by four. Dammit! That’s the kind of age I’d have considered acquiring the skillset to bite my own toenails an achievement!!

Ruby Darbyshire

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