The Ruby Suns
Ryan Mc Phun created The Ruby Suns in New Zealand in 2004. |
01. Blue Penguin
02. Oh, Mojave
03. Tane Mahuta (CLICK TO LISTEN)
04. There Are Birds
05. It's Mwangi In Front Of Me
06. Remember
07. Ole Rinka
08. Adventure Tour
09. Kenya Dig It?
10. Morning Sun
Get from:
Norman Records
Rough Trade
Memphis Shop
iTunes
01. Kenya Dig It?
02. Gibble
03. Papatuanuku
04. Khaki Kikoi
01. Trees Like Kids
02. Sleep in the Garden
03. Maasai Mara (CLICK TO LISTEN)
04. Look out SOS!
05. Function of the Sun
06. It's Hard to Let You Know
07. Criterion
08. Birthday on Mars
09. Trepidation Part One
10. Trepidation Part Two
11. My Ten Years On Auto-Pilot
12. There's Soup At the End of The Tunnel
"A beguiling sophomore album" - The Sunday Times
"Fairytale pop that's bold and forward-looking in equal measure....Even as pan-global psychedelic phantasmagorias go, this one's a real brain-buster." - Mojo ****
"The Flaming Lips reborn as benevolent game wardens... could be a surprise hit" - Word
"A stunning psychedelic symphony" - Uncut ****
"Stationed on New Zealand's North Island, the California native dresses his work in global music, nibbling at the edges of unfamiliar sounds but, ultimately, skillfully creating sunny psych-pop. - Pitchfork 8.3
PRESS FOR "THE RUBY SUNS"
"A lovely pop record to lighten winters darkest moments" - Word
" A real melodic potency" - **** Independent On Friday
"Harmonic Genius" - 4.5/5 The Sun
"Sparkling multilayered sunshine pop" - **** Uncut
"Astonishingly good" - **** Mojo
"A psychedelic star-child of a record" - NME
"Poppy, Sun-Kissed and strangely addictive" - **** Boys Toys
"Whimsical, pretty and soothing" - Sunday Telegraph
"This album lets the sunshine in" - *** Independent on Sunday
"Top notch, glorious pop tunes" - Play Music
"Bound to be big in 2007" - **** Nuts
"The Ruby Suns shines as a consistent and blossoms with allure" - Total Spec
"Sun-kissed, grandiose, eccentric and as far away from emo as it's possible to get" - The First Post
27 September - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre (w/ the Dodos)
28 September - San Diego, CA - Casbah (w/ the Dodos)
29 September - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress (w/ the Dodos)
30 September - Phoenix, AZ - Modified (w/ the Dodos)
02 October - Dallas, TX - House of Blues (Pontiac Garage) (w/ the Dodos)
03 October - Houston, TX - The Orange Show (w/ the Dodos)
04 October - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival (w/ the Dodos)
06 October - Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder (w/ the Dodos)
07 October - Atlanta, GA - The Earl (w/ the Dodos)
08 October - Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle (w/ the Dodos)
09 October - Washington DC - Rock and Roll Hotel (w/ the Dodos)
10 October - Baltimore, MD - Talking Head (w/ the Dodos)
12 October - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church (w/ the Dodos)
13 October - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg (w/ the Dodos)
14 October - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (w/ the Dodos)
15 October - Cambridge, MA - Middle East Downstairs (w/ the Dodos)
16 October - Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa (w/ the Dodos)
17 October - Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace (w/ the Dodos)
19 October - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge (w/ the Dodos)
20 October - St. Paul, MN - Turf Club (w/ the Dodos)
22 October - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater (w/ the Dodos)
24 October - Boise, ID - Neurolux (w/ the Dodos)
25 October - Portland, OR - Aladdin Theatre (w/ the Dodos)
26 October - Vancouver, British Columbia - The Biltmore Cabaret (w/ the Dodos)
12 March - SXSW Fader Party @ TBD, Austin, Texas
13 March - SXSW Waterloo Records In-Store 3pm
13 March - SXSW NZ Showcase @ Brush Square Park, 6.45pm
14 March - SXSW Home Slice Pizza Party, Austin, Texas 4:45pm
14 March - SXSW Sub Pop SXSW Showcase @ Bourbon Rocks, Austin, Texas 8:30pm
15 March - SXSW Outside Music/Exclaim Party @ Saxon Pub, Austin, Texas 4:00pm
18 March - The Earl w/ Le Loup, Atlanta, Georgia
19 March - Local 506 w/ Le Loup Chapel Hill, North Carolina
20 March - The Barbery w/ Le Loup, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
21 March - Black Cat w/ Le Loup, Washington DC, Washington DC
23 March - Mercury Lounge w/ Le Loup, New York, New York
24 March - Union Hall w/ Le Loup, Brooklyn, New York
25 March - TT The Bear's w/ Le Loup, Cambridge, Massachusetts
27 March - Waldron Arts Centre w/ Le Loup, Bloomington, Indiana
28 March - Schubas w/ Le LoupChicago, Illinois
29 March - First Ave, 7th Street Entry w/ Le Loup, Minneapolis, Minnesota
01 April - Chop Suey w/ Le Loup, Seattle, Washington
02 April - Holocene w/ Le Loup, Portland, Oregon
04 April - Bottom Of The Hill w/ Le Loup, San Francisco, California
05 April - The Echo (Early Show) w/ Le Loup, Los Angeles, California
06 April - The Casbah w/ Le Loup, San Diego, California
07 April - Modified w/ Le Loup, Phoenix, Arizona
09 April - Lola's w/ Le LoupFort Worth, Texas
11 April - The Yauhaus w/ Le LoupCharlotte, North Carolina
12 April - TBA w/ Throw Me The Statue, Norfolk, Virginia
16 April - Drunken Unicorn w/ Throw Me The Statue, Atlanta, Georgia
18 April - Mohawk w/ Throw Me The StatueAustin, Texas
19 April - Lola s w/ Throw Me The StatueFt. Worth, Texas
30 April - Alvin s w/ FoalsDetroit, Michigan
01 May - Showplace Theatre w/ FoalsBuffalo, New York
02 May - Lee s Palace w/ Foals, Toronto, Ontario
03 May - Cabaret Music Hall w/ Foals, Montreal, Quebec
05 May - Higher Ground Lounge w/ Foals, Burlington, Vermont
06 May - Middle East Downstairs w/ Foals, Boston, Massachusetts
07 May - Maxwell s w/ Foals, Hoboken, New Jersey
08 May - Union Hall w/ Foals, Brooklyn, New York
16 May - The Deaf Institute, Akoustik Anarkhy nightManchester
17 May - The Great Escape FestivalBrighton
19 May - Hoxton Bar & Grill w/ Most Serene RepublicLondon
20 May - Firebug, Leicester
21 May - Faversham w/ Most Serene RepublicLeeds
22 May - Leadmill w/ Most Serene RepublicSheffield
23 May - The Captains Rest w/ Most Serene RepublicGlasgow
24 May - Dot to Dot Festival, Nottingham
25 May - Dot to Dot Festival, Bristol
26 May - Amersham Arms, London
28 May - Barfly w/ Most Serene Republic, Liverpool
29 May - Auntie Annie's, Belfast
30 May - Crawdaddy, Dublin
31 May - Fleche D'Or, Paris
02 June - Paradiso, Amsterdam
03 June - Witloof Bar @ BotaniqueBrussells
04 June - StadtgartenKoln
05 June - Trix, Antwerp
07 June - Hani Bi, Ravenna
09 June - Chelsea, Vienna
10 June - K4, Nurnberg
11 June - Bassy Berlin
12 June - Debaser, Malmo
13 June - Restless Romance @ Debaser, Stockholm
14 June - Pop Bar @ Razzmatazz, Barcelona
19 July - Pitchfork Festival, Chicago, Illinois
24 September - Mars Bar w/ Joseph Giant!! Seattle
21 October - CMJ New York
24 October - CMJ New York
25 October - CMJ New York
01 November - Crawdaddy Dublin
02 November - Rosin Dubh Galway
03 November - Cyprus Avenue Cork
05 November - White Heat w/ AJ Holmes London
06 November - Fuzz Club @ The Uni Sheffield
07 November - Louisiana Bristol
08 November - UWIC (Tommy s Bar) Cardiff, Wales
09 November - The Albert Brighton
10 November - Ruby s Lounge Manchester
12 November - Grand Mix w/ The Dodos Tourcoing
14 November - Point Ephemere w/ The Dodos Paris
15 November - Cabaret Electric w/ The Dodos Le Havre
17 November - Nachtleben w/ The Dodos Frankfurt
18 November - Headcrash w/ The Dodos Hamburg
19 November - Voxhall w/ The Dodos Aarhus
20 November - Loppen w/ The Dodos Copenhagen
21 November - Knaack w/ The Dodos Berlin
22 November - Akropolis w/ The Dodos Prague
23 November - 59-1 w/ The Dodos Munich
24 November - Chelsea w/ The Dodos Vienna
04 December - King s Arms Auckland
05 December - Spectrum Sydney
06 December - Northcote Social Club Melbourne
12 December - Meredith Music Festival Meredith, Victoria
29 December - Rhythm & Vines Festival Gisborne
2009
27 March - Maus Habitos, Porto
28 March - ZDB , Lisbon
29 March - Sinister Noise, Roma
30 March - Clandestino, Faenza
03 April - Cafe Teatro, Valladolid
04 April - Moby Dick, Madrid
05 April - Apollo 2, Barcelona
10 April - Jazz, Kocsma
15 April - SubClub, Bratislava
23 April - Musikcafeen, Aarhus
24 April - Rust, Koebenhavn
01 May - The Natural History Museum, Los Angeles, California
29 May - Mum @ Cassette w/ Signer, Auckland
30 May - MIghty Mighty w/ Little Pictures and Signer, Wellington
04 June - Chicks Hotel w/Signer Port, Chalmers
06 June - Al's Bar w/ Signer, Christchurch
The Ruby Suns' current live line up is 24 year old lead singer/songwriter and Californian expat Ryan McPhun, New Zealand native Amee Robinson. The bands' first self titled album was originally released locally in 2005 on Auckland based indie Lil' Chief (home of the Brunettes amongst others) and in 2006 on Memphis Industries in the UK. Subsequent critical acclaim led to tours in the USA, UK, NZ and Australia variously with The Shins, Animal Collective and Field Music.
In early 2007 the band signed to Sub Pop for the USA while agreeing to continue their fruitful relationship with Memphis Industries in the UK. They put the finishing touches to their next album in a variety of locations in New Zealand and Australia with sound effects culled from Ryan's dictaphone travels round NZ, Oz, Africa, USA and Europe.
Sea Lion is a hugely inventive album, each song bursting with colour and glorious, summery vibes. The lyrical influences are direct ones referencing Ryan's experiences in Africa (see Ole Rinka - the name of one of Ryan's Maasai mates - Its Mwangi In Front of Me - Ryan shooting the breeze on Mount Kenya with a guy called Mwangi - and of course the punning Kenya Dig It?), New Zealand (Tane Mahuta - named after one of New Zealand's oldest trees - and Adventure Tour - detailing a rainy trip to the South Island) and California (Oh, Mojave). Whilst the first album's musical hat was firmly tilted toward the Wilson brothers, Sea Lion goes walkabout with a rucksack full of ideas, revealing a joy for the natural world that'd put Attenborough to shame.