ARTIST: The Ruby Suns
Ryan McPhun is a musician who grew up in Ventura, but also spent a great deal of his youth in New Zealand (eventually moving there in his late teens).
His self-titled debut album was filled with sparkling indie pop, with layers of instrumentation worthy of Brian Wilson. Next, McPhun's interest turned toward rhythm and his second album, Sea Lion, had drumbeats inspired by those he'd heard in Africa and he used a plethora of acoustic instruments that were strummed and thumped to create a vibrant, upbeat feel.
More recently, McPhun has begun to make more use of synthesised beats and melodies. The Ruby Suns latest album, Fight Softly, shows that his knack for creating catchy vocal melodies has stayed with him and since moving more towards the digital end of the spectrum, his scope for creating fresh sounding rhythms has expanded exponentially.
The band has been stripped back accordingly and the band now tour internationally as a three-piece - a live drummer and keyboard/bass player join McPhun on stage, while he plays guitar, drumpads, keyboards, and anything else that takes his interest.
