ARTiST: Ruby Suns
ALBUM: Sea Lion
BiTRATE: 189kbps avg
QUALiTY: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.97 Final / -V2 --vbr-new / 44.100Khz
LABEL: Subpop
GENRE: Indie
SiZE: 59.45 megs
PLAYTiME: 0h 41min 42sec total
RiP DATE: 2008-01-17
STORE DATE: 2008-04-03
Track List:
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01. Blue Penguin 5:01
02. Oh, Mojave 2:31
03. Tane Mahuta 2:57
04. There Are Birds 4:12
05. It's Mwangi In Front Of Me 3:36
06. Remember 4:32
07. Ole Rinka 4:19
08. Adventure Tour 3:51
09. Kenya Dig It? 4:17
10. Morning Sun 6:26
Release Notes:
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New ZealandÆs The Ruby Suns formed in Auckland in 2004, under the somewhat
longer and inarguably more rhyming name Ryan McPhun and The Ruby Suns. The band
is now shortly, sweetly and simply called The Ruby Suns, and principal Ruby Sun
Ryan McPhun is currently and ably abetted by Amee Robinson and Imogen Taylor.
Although New Zealand is somewhat isolated in the southern most part of the
Pacific Ocean, Ryan has remained true to his buccaneer instinct. He and his
Dictaphone (portable tape recorder) have ventured into the wilds of Africa, the
ancient monasteries of Thailand, and the haunting landscapes that surround his
everyday. Recorded almost entirely in McPhunÆs basement, Sea LionÆs melodic
musings found inspiration in the natural world and his travels within it. ôTane
Mahuta,ö sung entirely in Ma-ori, is an indigenous-sounding ode to the great
Waipoua forest near Auckland and ôAdventure Tourö tells a tale of a memorable
drive through New ZealandÆs South Island. An African influence also exerts a
strong presence in the album (ôKenya Dig It?ö being the most obvious). Not only
was he struck by the people (ôOle Rinkaö is about a man he met in the Maasai
Mara National Reserve), but he was also enamored of the music, especially Kenyan
traditional music and modern day hip-hop. The depth and breadth of the Ruby
SunsÆ songs has, no surprise, grown dramatically since their 2005 self-titled
debut. The epic Sea Lion was intended to be a world music album, but reverb and
psychedelic pop crept in to create a unique mixture of exotic sounds,
accomplished with an impressive array of instrumentsùfrom steel-string ukulele
to djembe drums to pots and pans, all set upon a cozy cushion of synths and
cassette samples.