- The song "Stranger In Paradise" is embedded in popular culture. Tony Bennett turned it into a hit single in the '50s, and though there have been many covers since, his sultry rendition is the best known. The original song is from the musical Kismet, which hit Broadway in 1953 and the West End two years later, but was originally written in 1911 as a three-act play. Versions of Kismet, a complicated love story set in the era of Arabian Nights, have been endlessly tweaked for changing theatre, cinema and television audiences ever since.
It's a fitting illustration of creative mutation, which is the essence of Ruby My Dear's music. For the Toulouse native, just about anything is fair game: jazz, folk, opera and beyond. (Check out his RA podcast for a good example.) What defines his furious breakcore hybrids is their poignancy and highly melodic content. He's a bit of a class act in a scene that's often way too silly or ridiculously extreme.
Strangers In Paradise isn't quite business as usual for Ruby My Dear. On "Kismet," his classical references have been swapped for a musical theatre motif. It's still lush and cinematic, though, tangled up in digital breaks, brashy bass and acidic tear-outs. "Katchoo" is proper breakcore ragga business, thanks in part to Dutch MC Noia. The best bit comes right at the end, during the oddball banjo finale. "Bristol's Sunday" is typically melancholic and screw-faced, using a RMD favourite: folky piano scattered amidst the din. "Choovanski" is a spooky ambient track with just a few treated guitar notes, a moment to catch your breath in between all the skanking. The dub version of "Kismet" is RMD at his best. Shimmering and opalescent, with a pulse that ripples instead of pounds, this is breakcore at its most refined.
TracklistA1 Kismet
A2 Katchoo feat. MC Noia
A3 Choovanski
B1 Bristol's Sunday feat. MC Noia
B2 Kismet (Dub Version)