Ruby Vell & the Soulphonics recently released their new single "Overwhelming" from their album "State Of All Things". To celebrate we asked Ruby to tell us about the song. Here is the story:
"Overwhelming" follows many people's journey with their minds in an effort to interpret their surroundings. For some, "Overwhelming" is the day in and day out semi-monotony of the grind. The part of many Americans lives where we wake up and go, skip lunch, we don't even drink water. We work and we keep ANYTHING that we can identify as ourselves, or as a human, out of the equation. We essentially turn into fallible robots, but since we are complex humans with real emotions our expectations overwhelm and we succumb to chaos.
This song is certainly cathartic for me as I've created our music in cycles along with holding down many, many jobs in the creative arts fields. As an indie artist I'm no stranger to the litany of tasks to effectively keep shop, so there are parts of the song that details this as well.
But in the wake of such suicides as Anthony Bourdain and Robin Williams and Kate Spade, we have yet a different lens on the song. We chose not to discuss as a nation every facet of our mental health, and we are seeing that it's creating many more problems than simple communication and vulnerability would net. It's devastating to hear we all tend to feel these dark corners of life, but we can't break down the walls and authentically share. However, I do believe with awareness comes change, and these deaths have sparked a growing conversation. I'm proud to see leaders even in the music industry, like Shanti Das, starting Silence the Shame, in an effort to 'check in on our strong friends' and intend to keep this conversation going in the US.
Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself right here!
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