Author | Cathleen Marie Thérèse Parra
Xenia Rubinos is a singer/keyboardist who currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. I was able to speak with her after the sound check for her show last month with headliner Man Man at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Rubinos has just finished headlining her biggest European tour promoting her debut album Magic Trix. As a fan myself I wanted to ask her about this album and what has influenced her unique musical style, lyrics, and playfully surreal music videos. When asked about the inspiration for Magic Trix Rubinos responds: “I feel like your first record is this autobiographical presentation of who you are.” What makes her sound so unique and enjoyable is how hyper beat-centric each song is, right down to the vocals.
Rubinos uses her voice as an instrument through voice sampling, loops, and even scatting while keyboard and drums are played by her collaborator Marco Bucceli. Buccceli had conceptual input on the album and music videos and is also one of Rubinos’s producers. “Marco is an incredible collaborator to have on the record. He really shaped the sound with me, and helped me realize that the sound of Magic Trix was just us playing in a room live. That was crucial. He’s just this great sound wizard… without him Magic Trix wouldn’t sound the way that it does,” says Rubinos. On top of the music having a flavor all of it’s own, the music videos Hair Receding and Whirl Wind are very fun, clever videos dealing with the concept of time and perspective. Both videos are directed by Italian filmmaker Francesco Lettieri. Hair Receding documents Rubinos’ grandmother’s daily life around Hartford, CT with nine Go-Pros attached to her. The Whirlwind video is more stop-motion-esque, synching the movements of Rubinos and Buccelli to the loops in the song. The visuals are reminiscent to that of the White Stripes’ The Hardest Button to Button video if it were trying to tell you a joke.
On Magic Trix Rubinos uses two traditional children’s song known in the Caribbean and Puerto Rico. She describes one use of the children’s song in Pan y Cafe as “a personal archive of my childhood… it’s been cool to perform it and hear people’s versions of that little section of that rhyme. It seems like a lot of people have different versions of it from their childhood, but with slightly different words.”
Xenia has experienced quite a bit of press and success since the release of Magic Trix in April 2013 having been recognized by NPR, MTV, Wall Street Journal, Time Out NY, Deli Magazine and Vice. She will be headlining her first show of the year on March 11th at Mercury Lounge located at 217 East Houston St, New York, NY 10002. Buy tickets here.
Check out her video for Hair Receding below:
