Q&A: meet Ruby Cesan, the new kid on the block

May 10

Contemporary RnB/soul singer Ruby Cesan has just dropped her debut single La de Da and it’s the delicious mix of funk and sass that we LOVE listening to at FTM. It makes you feel fierce from the first verse right through to the last.

The Auckland-born singer has made the trip across the Tasman and is currently residing in Melbourne. Her introduction to the world of music was a great spoonful of buttery heaven that reminds us of the likes of Jorja Smith and Ella Mai, a chill funky track that has a dirty underground sound to it. Huge mood.

Ruby throws around her lyrics with power but also in such a soft and elegant way. Definitely not an easy thing to do. The songs lyrics relate to times in her life when she has had to deal with uncertainty and doubt, bringing forth emotions of nostalgia and joy.

One our favourite things about this track is that her brother Andrew produced it. How great is that? They were just vibing, sending music back and forth whilst working on multiple other tracks. She even had her dad take part on the congas. We j’adore a family affair, so much love and fun put into the making of this song.

We caught up with Ruby for a chat about her music debut and what’s next up on her radar.

Here’s an excerpt of our conversation:

So, for those who don’t know you too well, tell us a little bit about yourself?

Hey world! Well my name is Ruby Cesan, I'm a Kiwi-Uruguayan gal born and raised in Auckland, currently living in Melbourne. I've just released my solo project RUBY., and I guess my dream is to create some really great music that I'm proud of, that people enjoy, and hopefully travel as much as possible to play it.

Although you’ve just released your debut single ‘La de Da’, have you always created and played music?

Yes! I've been singing my whole life, I grew up around musicians and dancers, my dad says I used to make up songs in the car as a toddler while he would drum on the steering wheel. My parents are both super creative and supportive of my choice to pursue music, so I'm really lucky. During high school I got involved in Musical theatre, I was such a theatre kid, and that's why I decided to move to Melbourne, where I studied that full time. It was cool and I learnt a lot, but I didn't write a single song during my two years there. Once I graduated I started my first band, called Wax Jax and the Midnight Snax, and we made like funky 70's psych rock, which is my other true musical love besides RnB and Soul. I still want to be Grace Slick, lol. I had the best time writing music again, collaborating with other artists and playing live gigs, and realised that was the direction I wanted to head in, so the Musical Theatre thing kind of fell by the wayside. Last year the band broke up, I started working as a corporate entertainment and cover band singer, and started to write as a solo artist. And here we are!

I can imagine it would be quite nerve-wracking putting out your debut single as it’s everyone’s first look into what you can do, how do you feel now that it’s finally out in the world?

Yeah, super scary. Especially coming from releasing music as part of a band where whatever we put out was a collaboration of everyone's style, tastes and ideas, whereas this project is truly my own. The songs are really personal and I knew that if the music wasn't good, then that's all on me! Also I wanted to make sure that La De Da set the tone for how I wanted to portray myself as an artist, so I put a lot of pressure on myself. I definitely feel relieved now that the first single is out, I've had such amazing support and feedback so far which is helping me push myself to continue learning, creating and putting out music.

How long had you been working on this track before it’s release?

So my brother Andrew sent me a bunch of beats he had been working on in October last year, and I immediately was inspired to start writing what would eventually become La De Da over one of the tracks. I wrote the first verse and chorus that night and then when I went back to NZ in November, we wrote the rest of the song like the first day we got together in my parents living room. We put it on the back burner for a few months while we worked on other tracks, but knew that when the time was right, that was going to be the first single.

Talk to us a little bit about your brother and how he produced this track.

So he and my other two older brothers are just the most insane dancers, and Andrew also raps and makes beats. I feel like with him all of those elements are super intertwined, there's definitely some really sick hip hop elements in this track and others we've worked on so far, and interesting rhythms. With La De Da he made the first draft really quickly, the chorus melody just came in to his head and he recorded it, and then he got our dad to lay down some congas over it before forgetting about it until he found it again, looped it, and sent it to me. The rest was just a process of us sending voice memos back and forward to each other until I went home, and the song was formed. He was honestly the best person to work with, we vibed on everything and the whole process was really fun.

You mentioned this song is about dealing with a lot of uncertainty and doubt, can you tell us a bit more about that?

Yeah, absolutely. If you listen to the lyrics of the song the first verse is quite nostalgic and joyful, when I heard the beat it straight away made me think about being a teenager and chilling with my friends, just feeling so incredibly carefree and hopeful for the future. The second verse kind of deals with how I was feeling last year when I was writing it. I was at a real cross roads with my music, I think as you grow up and have more experiences you kind of lose those rose tinted glasses telling you that everything is going to be easy and amazing all the time. I'm definitely someone who can struggle with self doubt and anxiety, which I'm coming to realise now can actually be a strength when you learn how to harness it and use it in your art. It's a work in progress! I'm just super grateful to have an outlet, the biggest hope I have for anything I create is that it will resonate and people will be able to relate it to their own experiences in this crazy world.

This song is so fun and care-free, it reminds me of Jorja Smith. Who would you say influences your music?

Ah thank you!! Yes Jorja Smith is such a vibe, and definitely an influence. Honestly her and that whole RnB scene that has been coming out of the UK lately has really reignited my love for RnB over the past couple of years, ELIZA, Mahalia and Cleo Sol to name a few more. I have my forever faves Erykah Badu and Amy Winehouse of course. And you'll always find me looking back to 60s and 70's rock and soul music for song writing inspiration.

What would be your last meal? (entree, main, dessert)

Extremely tough question. I had this goat cheese soufflé once and I still think about it, it was so bomb so that's gotta be the entree. Main I'm thinking like a miso eggplant don situation with some tempura vegetables on the side. Dessert - Sticky Date pudding. Oh yeah.

What’s your go to throwback movie?

Romeo and Juliet. I saw it for the first time in English class when I was 14 and fell in love. Great soundtrack, Baz Luhrmann...90's Leo.

Do you have any other music coming out soon that we can look forward to listening out for?

Yes! Keep an eye out over the next couple of months. I'll be releasing another single really soon, and also a collab track that I'm really excited about is in the works too.

The 23 year-old can give herself a huge pat on the back for the release of debut track. It’s fun, it’s soulful, it’s funky and we love it. Ruby also has new music coming out very soon and we can’t wait to hear it.

Check out her new song below or head to our Work/Study/Chill From Home ✌️playlist to hear more songs like this one.

By Samuel Seedsman.

Sam Seedsman