Xenia Rubinos' Black Terry Cat Out Today
The album Black Terry Cat by singer-songwriter and multi instrumentalist Xenia Rubinos is now in stores.
With a delightfully unique and empowering sound that Spin recently described as “multi-genre-hyphenate instrumental textures beneath Billie Holiday-esque croons” and inspired DIY to declare, ”Once Xenia Rubinos begins to sing, nothing else matters,” the talented Rubinos uses her soulful voice to traverse an array of genres from R&B to Hip-Hop to jazz and beyond, all of delivered with a New York punk-funk abandon.
Rubinos was recently profiled in New York’s Village Voice, who said of a recent live performance, “Her energy was like a flame: fitful, glowing, and fiery. Her voice was, as always, a multifaceted wonder. Read the piece here: http://www.villagevoice.com/music/unboxed-genre-hopping-with-xenia-rubinos-8677933
To accompany Black Terry Cat’s release, Rubinos collaborated with director Simon Benjamin to create a series of evocative visualizers that perfectly mirror the feel of photographer Joseph Rodriguez’s album cover. You can watch the visualizers here: http://bit.ly/1TXKKPT
Director Benjamin explains, “I saw creating the visualizers for the album as an opportunity to expand the look and feeling of Joseph Rodriguez’s photography for the album cover which feels distinctly New York. The custom nameplates that Xenia had made for the song titles were also too good not to use. We took the nameplates off of the chains and floated them in familiar everyday spaces around New York City – re-contextualizing the pendant and making it into a typographic title with the city serving as a textural background element.”
Rubinos adds, “I’ve been a fan of Simon’s work and wanted a subtle moving image to just help you vibe out with the music, like a night light that’s on while you're dreaming. I was imagining the nameplates as these high fashion jewelry pieces that you see in a Tiffany’s display window, except my window is the city and my jewelry is from the Fulton Street mall in Brooklyn.”
The album finds Rubinos assisted by longtime drummer Marco Buccelli, who produced the album, and Jeremy Loucas as engineer. The three worked an average of 16-17 hours a day for five months to complete the record which is named after “a giant black scraggly cat” that surprised Rubinos one cold night in Brooklyn.
Early Raves For Xenia Rubinos’ Album Black Terry Cat:
"She’s her own melting pot, and musically speaking, she pulls on enough funk, art rock, and R&B styles to match that.” - Consequence of Sound
" Rubinos really has no use for sonic labels. She is clearly in a class by herself.” - Bust
"Even a weary plaint has an indomitable spark when New York–based Puerto Rican-Cuban singer-songwriter Xenia Rubinos strolls by. “ - MTV.com
"On Black Terry Cat, Rubinos returns fully formed, with her musical vision still finding ways to meld the unexpected, the familiar and, in songs like "Mexican Chef," the fiercely political.” - NPR All Songs Considered
“It’s a clattering, experimental triumph that leaps from thick funk basslines to spooky horn sections and then to broken-down hip-hop beats, like a kid playing with Legos. Above it all, Rubinos’ warm, smoky voice flutters about, revealing a vocal dexterity and a slew of alter egos the listener is constantly trying to catch up with.” – Remezcla.com
"Rubinos has a flare and skill that makes it a thrilling ride.” - Wonderland Magazine
"This is as hard-hitting and as entertainingly compelling as what Anglo-Sri Lankan artist M.I.A. has done from a nouveau Europe perspective, and in some ways as incisive as prime Public Enemy” - KPCC's Take Two
Xenia Rubinos On Tour:
06-04 Baby's All Right Brooklyn NY
06-15 Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia PA
06-24 Logan Sqaure, Chicago IL