Photo: Zak Watson
Anyone who has been paying some attention to the UK jazz and improv scenes over the last couple of decades will be familiar with Ruth Goller. The Italian-born, UK-based bassist, vocalist and composer has recorded and performed with a ton of incredible bands and musicians including Acoustic Ladyland, Vula Viel, Melt Yourself Down, Alabaster DePlume, Shabaka Hutchings, Kit Downes, Paul McCartney, Damon Albarn and many others. Goller has announced the release of SKYLLUMINA, following 2021’s SKYLLA, and marking her debut album for International Anthem.
Each piece on SKYLLUMINA features a different drummer, including Tom Skinner, Seb Rochford, Bex Burch, Frank Rosaly, Jim Hart, and others, each one of them taking a decidedly different approach to augmenting her music. “I love playing with drummers and I decided to focus this work on my close connection to that instrument and the amazing people I’ve met in my life who play it”, Goller commented. “I started getting a list of drummers together that I wanted to be on the record and it was huge. I had to limit myself.”
Speaking about SKYLLUMINA, she had this to say:
“This record is a deep insight into my soul and my recent life. It’s coming through a meteor storm and grasping the first light. Coming out of a very unexpected tumultuous time. There are a lot of feelings of grief, loss, hope, pure love, connection to my home, death, and new configurations — as well as self-discovery.”
Ahead of its release on March 1s, Goller has shared lead single ‘Below my skin’, an eerily beautiful track “about intimacy and sensuality, being so close to someone, becoming one and losing the boundaries of your own body”. The track features Skinner on drums, and of their collaboration, she says:
“I first saw Tom play when I just moved to London and I started to explore the music scene. He was doing a regular jam session at the Jazz Cafe at the time and I used to go every Sunday. I always found his playing so creative and fell in love with his sound. After a few years we then met properly and played together a lot in Melt Yourself Down. His touch, sound and inventiveness is completely unique to me. I was so happy when he said he would be up for being on the record and I knew to expect something completely unique and unexpected, which is what he did.”
‘Below my skin’ comes with an accompanying video created and directed by Zak Watson and you can watch it below.