First Look Friday: Xenia Rubinos Is Pure #BrownGirlMagic + So Real

Okayplayer: To music snobs the world over, you are making an impact. What is it that those in music game are seeing and hearing that the rest of the world has yet to discover?

Xenia Rubinos: Well, I don't know exactly what it is for others, but I did put a lot of passionate work into making this album + packed it as full to the brim as I could with music I believe is saying something. It has substance and feeling. I am trying to figure things out and always searching to follow my imagination, ask questions, challenge myself and have fun! So, I think that is what my music is about, and it has been cool to see people connecting with it and being excited by it. I think the more your intentions are clear, the better chances you have of someone hearing you.

OKP: For those who have a passion for music, they honed their skills and practiced their craft. Who are your most cherished influences in music and why?

XR: Many more influences than I have space for here but, composer and bassist Charles Mingus was a big one for me of just changing my perception of all the adventurous things you could do within a composition. Erykah Badu's voice and storytelling have been keeping me company a lot the last few years, and I got to see her live for the first time recently and was so inspired by how her band was playing almost as if the show was a live mixtape, referencing other jams in the middle of her song and just flipping things in unexpected places.

It felt like this super dope cypher, but also very much in control and powerful. Every day I try to listen to at least one piece of music I have never heard before, I am constantly searching for and finding artists who inspire me. My latest discoveries where Bill Laswell and Gal Costa.

OKP: Can you talk about how your life was while developing as an artist? How did you react to your first bits of press?

Photo of Xenia Rubinos taken by Laurent Chevalier of Chevalier Creative for Okayplayer.

XR: I self-released my first record Magic Trix with my drummer and producer Marco Buccelli in 2012. Together, we started an LLC to release the record and start learning how business things work. We were really eager to learn and proud of that record. We believed in that music with every fiber of our beings and were doing everything ourselves out of my apartment. Every day I would send a ton of emails to blogs, writers, DJs, other musicians, people I admired, just reaching out and sharing the music.

So, anytime a little bit of press came in our way, it felt like the most monumental thing had happened. I wanted to pop a bottle every time I saw a blog post or someone responded to an email. Every little response felt like an enormous victory, every single day something would happen and it all felt so incredibly exciting. It was just all this dream, this imaginary thing that I spent all my time daydreaming about and wishing for and working towards, so when people started reacting to my work I almost couldn't believe it was happening.

OKP: With incidents involving people of color, police and racism occurring almost on a daily basis around the globe — how can your music (and/or others) help to relieve the trauma that is being experienced by the masses?

XR: I think art can be a refuge and helps us make sense of our feelings and things that are difficult to grasp or articulate. Songs can become anthems for movements or can become a companion to so many emotions and experiences. We find ourselves in music and art, it helps us name things, it helps us see ourselves, it can empower and heal us. I am really curious to learn about how to create moods with my music.

OKP: What have been the most definitive obstacles that you’ve overcome in your career thus far?

XR: Figuring out how to live and make the music I want to, touring, and all of the financial logistics of keeping the business afloat and growing has been a really challenging obstacle that I continue to face. I think a pivotal moment for me was when I stopped caring as much about people's judgements about my playing or whether or not I was "good enough" to do something. When I shed some of that thinking and realized that it's all good, it's all music — I was a lot more productive.

I started playing keyboards and just went for it even though I am not proficient on that instrument, I just did my thing and it made it possible for me to perform my music live and accelerated a lot of things. This time around I played bass on a lot of my record and have done it a few times live too and it is totally frightening and exhilarating. It doesn't matter if I don't have the chops to shred on these instruments, I am making my music, it is real and I have something to say. Sometimes you got to get out of your own way, stop overthinking and just go do it. We waste more time and energy worrying about what we are going to do and how it is going to go than actually just doing it!

OKP: Can you also talk about the importance of the music industry scene as how you’ve experienced it? How do you see it evolving in the next five years?

XR: I have no idea what is going to happen in the next five years! I have been noticing a lot of new writers and sites that are focused on more specific music scenes or experiences. Maybe that means that things are becoming more niche and fragmented? In a way, it feels like there are more people writing about music now than ever before, but that might not be a fact. It is just that everyone is a music critic these days, or they curate a playlist, or they host a podcast or write for a blog. Maybe this means we will continue to see really tailored music experiences like platforms with algorithms that learn what you like and suggest more of that.

More of these really personal, tailored music experiences, y'know? Maybe it will mean there are more and more opportunities for new and unheard artists to be found. For ideas to be shared. Everybody knows vinyl is back and it is growing, so maybe more artists will start creating work with that format in mind? Subscription services seem to be growing so it seems like streaming and digital platforms will continue to thrive.

Playlist culture champions singles over full albums and encourages a culture of listening to a large quantity of stuff rather than fully digesting the work of a handful of artists. Brands seem keen to partner with an artist to help assert their identity and cultural relevance in certain scenes. The way we engage with music seems to be more and more visual and about an overarching aesthetic which involves online personas, social media and feeling like you, the listener, are a part of this person's life or identity with their lifestyle and culture.

I think that'll continue to develop in freaky or fun ways [that] I can't quite imagine now.

OKP: What are some things that you’ve learned about yourself that come out in your music?

XR: I love to dance and laugh. I feel most alive when I am [being] spontaneous. I am messy and I have a wide range of interests and influences in music that converge in my writing, I think.

OKP: What were some moments from your recent travels that will forever stick with you? Why?

XR: Performing at Yerberia Cultura in McAllen, Texas, was wild and beautiful last fall. I felt welcomed with so much love and openness, as so many beautiful people and musicians were there. [McAllen] is a border town just a few miles from the Rio Grande. It feels like a town stuck in time with a lot of old Mexican businesses, quinceañera shops, bakeries and an old movie theater that now host weekly wrestling matches. There were people of all ages at the show, some undocumented folks too, and we were playing outdoors with the big black sky stretched out over us.

During soundcheck I noticed some helicopters with searchlights. There was just so much going on—it felt so full of life. It was a huge sweaty party. I had a blast and felt really honored to perform there and be welcomed into that community. To hear people's stories of growing up there, things that they had been through with their family and meet local musicians who played all different kinds of music was impressive. They all supported each other and it resulted in it being such a magical night and place to be.

OKP: What was the first song that you ever wrote entitled? Can you talk about what it has come to symbolize since you’ve entered into the professional life?

XR: I wrote nonsense songs when I was five or six-years-old. Other stuff was when I was around 13. I remember recording songs that I made up on my karaoke machine with cassettes. I would sing a bunch of layers and played my Casio keyboard and made beats by hitting boxes and stomping on the floor and stuff like that. [Laughs] Actually maybe not all that different from how I make music now!

OKP: How can your music speak truth to power in an age where people are so quickly digesting sounds and disposing of artists in a nanosecond?

Photo of Xenia Rubinos taken by Laurent Chevalier of Chevalier Creative for Okayplayer.

XR: I take my time developing my music and ideas. I put myself into it completely and I believe people can hear and feel me. Real recognizes real, right?!

OKP: Collaboration is uniquely a key to the success of certain creative individuals who wish to change the game. Who would you want to work with this year going into the next and why?

XR: There are so many people who I would love to collaborate with this year, but among them I would love to work with Ladybug Mecca [of Brookzill!] because her voice and flow really inspire me. I was listening to her work in Digable Planets a lot when making this album and then got into her solo work and new project, Throwback to the Future. There's a whole Philly crew of music makers who inspire me and that I would love to work with including King Britt, Ursula Rucker, Tim Motzer, Chris Powell and the list goes on and on! I also want to learn from and collaborate with journalists who work in radio, I am curios about how they put together their audio stories. I also bet there are a lot of people i don't know about yet that I am going to want to meet and play music with.

OKP: What is the overall message that Xenia Rubinos is trying to present in her music?

XR: I don't think there is one overall message... I am just searching and trying to learn. Maybe my message is [that] you can manifest your own reality, go get what you want and go make it! You do not have to live in a flat image that others may have created for you. We can be many things and that multitude is something beautiful to celebrate! If there is not a space for you then build your own.

OKP: Can you break down the inspiration behind a song that you created but never put out?

XR: There is a song that didn't make it out yet called "Grasa," and it is about making a lot from a little bit. It is also about eating, food and a kind of craft sexiness. I love those old school jams in a lot of Cuban and Puerto Rican music that talk about food as something sexual or as a metaphor for sex. I think that is really luscious and fun. There can be something really sacred, ritualistic and beautiful about food.

OKP: How do you see yourself changing the music industry for the better versus all of the bad stuff that goes on within it?

XR: I would really be full of myself if I said that I am going to change the industry. What I am  going to do is keep making work I believe in that excites me to be about something and to be good to people.

OKP: How do you get over any anxiety before hitting the stage to perform live? What are some lessons or tips that you’ve learned from others about doing a stage show?

XR: I take deep breaths. I dance and I listen to Busta Rhymes' "Still Shining" and growl with him like a dungeon dragon [laughs]! I could write a book about the things I've learned on tour watching my heroes and sheroes perform and just working, going through tour stuff. So many lessons! People can't tell what you're going through personally when you're on stage, so just get over yourself and put on a great show no matter what. Greg from Deerhoof told me once that the only way my set could've been better is if I had played a little less like it was the end of the world, like if I just cared a hair less whether or not I got it perfect.

That was a game changer advice for me! Also, I learned about pacing yourself and having stamina on tour. If you know you're in it for the long haul and you're doing what you got to do to not burn out then that can mean sometimes you're really gotta go party after the show and just have fun, be silly and other times that means you need to drink lots of water, talk less during the day, try to eat and sleep as much as you can. I also learned that no matter what stage of the game you are, things are going to go wrong on stage. It is not about not having problems, it's all about how you deal with those problems.

You can't panic, you gotta keep a cool head, smile and keep it moving. Don't be mortified by your mistakes and when things go wrong remember you're in it for the long haul. You'll keep trying to make it better and better.

OKP: If the reader’s learned one thing from this First Look Friday chat with Xenia Rubinos — what would it be?

XR: Damn, that photoshoot was so last minute and this girl really put together that whole monochromatic outfit at a thrift store in less than one hour for less than $80!

Be sure to keep your eyes and ears open for more from Xenia Rubinos (and us!) by following her on Twitter @XeniaRubinos.