Ruth Moody Interview: SXSW 2010

Australian-born Ruth Moody grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, belting out classical tunes with her pure soprano vocals. The ethereal folk singer-songwriter then spent more than a decade in bands, including the now-defunct Celtic roots act Scruj MacDuhk and the Wailin' Jennys, one of Canada's most beloved folk acts. Now she's ready to try something new, releasing her first full-length solo album this year. She took some time away from rehearsal to chat with Spinner about Winnipeg, flying solo and the Texas barbecue she'll partake of during SXSW.

Describe your sound.

It's folk roots. Maybe I'd say ethereal folk roots. It's rootsy. It's ethereal because I have more of an airy, pure voice, but the music isn't always light and ethereal. I think it's kind of a cool combination.

One of the things I've had to come to terms with is that I love roots music and I love country roots and roots rock music, but I don't have a rock voice. I have a really sort of pure voice, a pure soprano voice. And so I've had to accept that I can't rock out with my voice, which has been really difficult for me. But I've been having fun figuring out how to express what I'm hearing or feeling with my voice.

What are some of your musical influences?

In terms of singing, I'm influenced by a lot of traditional singers, and I also love singers that aren't thought of as great singers like Bob Dylan, Neil Young. For songwriting, I go back to the great songwriters: John Prine, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Randy Newman, Lucinda Williams, Johnny Cash. Niamh Parsons and Alison Krauss and Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton are also big influences for me.

Your mother was a music teacher. Your three siblings all play stringed instruments. Was music inevitable?

Music was all around me when I was growing up. It was the obvious path for me to take. Joining a Celtic band when I was 20 sort of got me on the folk path. Before that, I was training classically, but I always had a taste for music, a taste for writing.

You've been in several bands. Is it important to break out on your own?

When I realized I needed a break from touring with boys, I decided to form a girl band, and that's when the Wailin' Jennys came to be. We've been touring around the world for the last eight years. That's been my full-time thing, and then recently the band took a year off so everybody could pursue their own projects -- and mostly so my bandmate could start a family.

Do you like performing solo better than being in a band?

I love both. Performing solo is actually a relatively new thing for me. I've been in bands my whole professional life. It's really new. But what I have done is great because there's a real sort of intimacy there that I love and is a big part of my music. So performing solo adds a nice setting for the music. But I love collaborating, and there's an energy that happens with that collaboration between musicians onstage that you don't get as a solo performer. When you're performing solo, it's all about the connection with yourself and with the audience. When you're in a band, there's a third element: the connection between musicians onstage.

How is Winnipeg's music scene?

Winnipeg has a really amazing music community, and I feel really lucky to have benefited from that. I think it has a lot to do with the weather. When there's six months or more of hard-core winter, one of the things you can do is make music and play with other musicians to pass the time.

How do you write songs?

I tend to write about my experiences and just how I process what's happening around me. A lot about personal relationships or what's happening in the world or more philosophical ideas. I tend to write mostly from my own personal experience rather than narrative stories. I usually don't even think about it; I just start writing. Mostly it's not a brain thing but a heart thing.

Why did you pick singing over stringed instruments like your siblings?

I've been singing since I was 2. I just knew I loved to sing. It always felt like the most natural thing for me, and I always felt it was the most spiritually connected that I felt. That's not to say that it's not challenging. I'm always learning and exploring new ways of expressing myself and refining the way I do things. My sister was playing a recording of something I did a few years ago. It was a shock because I don't sing like that anymore. It shows how you develop as a musician, and you have to acknowledge that that's where you were at the time.

Tell me about your new album.

It's called 'The Garden.' There's a song called 'The Garden' on the album, and I think it was the right title for the album. I like the idea of the garden being a metaphor for life in terms of planting things and watching them grow, reaping what you sow. I was maybe 14, reading Voltaire's 'Candide,' and I always remembered the idea from that novel -- Il fault cultiver son jardin -- the idea that you have to cultivate your garden and make your corner of the world as beautiful as it can be. I've never forgotten that.

The best place to start in your life is making your corner of the world as beautiful as it can be. Let that being inspiring to others and in that way, helping each other. Deal with your own stuff and be a positive influence in that sense. The idea is that we have work to do in our garden to make sure it stays beautiful.

What else does the album talk about?

It's really about the journey of life. It deals with the universal themes of love and loss and self-discovery and acceptance. I also think there's so much promise of life in the garden, but things also die and some things don't grow the way you think they would. You can't control it. Things don't come up the way you think they will, so there is some darkness on this album.

What else is in your future?

I'm splitting time between touring with the Jennys and starting a solo tour in the fall. It's going to be a really busy couple of years.

Are you excited for SXSW?

I love it. It's crazy and overwhelming but I love it. I feel strangely at home there. I love Mexican food, and I love barbecue, so I'm looking forward to that.


Sadia Latifi is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.