Resonance | Interview: Clariloops
Hollie Kenniff chats with classically trained, Australian-based clarinetist Ruby Ester Mae about finding her voice through loops and electronics on the heels of her new album The Quiet Below
Ruby Ester Mae, who records and performs under the name Clariloops, creates immersive ambient music that weaves together classical clarinet and subtle electronics, rooted in curiosity and a deep sense of mindfulness. Based in Melbourne, Australia, she has released four albums, collaborated with artists including IKSRE, Six Missing, and Garreth Brooke, and had her music featured on stations like KEXP and PBS. She has quietly established herself as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary ambient music. Her new album, “The Quiet Below”, on Whitelabrecs is out now.
What was your musical upbringing and what drew you initially to the clarinet? Do you come from a musical family?
My family love listening to music and are quite musical themselves, although they would probably disagree! My dad played drums in high school, and my mum played the clarinet. I actually started off on her clarinet when I picked up an instrument at age 9! Unfortunately, it’s a very boring origin story though - I picked clarinet because it was convenient haha. I love it now but at the time it was “that’ll do!”
Growing up, I remember listening to heaps of different music and watching my dad enjoy singing along. Most notably, I remember Bob Dylan, Steely Dan, The Beatles and later Jimmy Barnes, Evermore and U2. He has an incredibly large vinyl and CD collection that we would dig into on the weekends. And on my mum’s side of things we would listen to lots of jazz and more experimental instrumental music. My mum’s favourite album of all time is Kinda Blue by Miles Davis - so much so that she listened to it every time she drove. I can basically sing the entire album from start to finish at this point.
You studied classical clarinet at university, at what point did the world of ambient or experimental music start to enter into your musical vocabulary?
In my final year of my degree I found a lot more freedom in what music I wanted to play. Previous to that I really tried to like classical music. Not to say that I don’t enjoy it now, but during my degree there was this (relatively ugly) competitive nature about listening to symphonies and whatnot. I was constantly questioning why it was such an effort to enjoy that kind of music when everyone around me was listening to a symphony a day and having something interesting to say about it. In my final year of study though, I found that the music I really like is 20th century impressionist music. The music of Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy had previously piqued my interest but in 2017 I discovered Julián Menéndez and Frederick Delius among others (just writing this, I’m wondering where all the women are!)
I also started listening to Ludovico Einaudi, Olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm, Jeff Reilly and other ambient/experimental composers around this time.
Having gone through a traditional music education, how does the academic approach to composing and performing and your experiences in that world communicate with what you are doing now?
I definitely appreciate what the academic approach to performing taught me. I’m able to communicate so clearly and authentically through my instrument thanks to my time studying classical music. I wish I had learned more about composition though because, although I really enjoy experimenting with different combinations of notes I wish I had a better idea of what I was doing!
There aren’t many clarinetists who are using the instrument the way you are in the context of ambient music. Were there specific composers or instrumentalists that helped pave the way for your approach?
This is such a tricky question. It’s so hard to pin down exactly who has inspired me, because I feel like I’m inspired by everything I listen to! When I first started out with the electronics in 2020, I was inspired by some ambient guitarists I’d watched on instagram and youtube. I was also really inspired by pedals in general and how they could generate such cool sounds with only a little bit of input. From a compositional perspective, I discovered (and became internet friends!) with UK based artist Josh Semans who composes beautiful music with Ondes Martenot and electronics. I’d say I was also inspired by the spine-tingling musical moments of Lianne La Havas and Palm Springs and tried to create moments like that in my own music. For my latest album I’ve been incredibly inspired by the sounds of Nala Sinephro, Laurie Torres, Six Missing, Blood Incantation and Svaneborg Kardyb.
You’ve done a mix of collaboration and solo material; what do you like from each of these different processes?
Working solo is a wonderful way for me to fully explore my creativity in a low pressure environment. I started Clariloops as a way to have a bit of fun outside of classical music so working solo has been great so far. That being said, I do get so much out of collaborating and it’s something I want to do a lot more of (when I get the time!)
The collaborations I’ve done so far have all been online which is such a wonderful way to work when time is lacking. And it’s been a lovely way to meet new people and create relationships over long distances. I’m really looking forward to doing more in person collaborations though. Last year I did a 45 minute improvised set with a cellist and harp player and it was a wonderful experience that the audience really loved. There’s so much strength, energy and creativity that comes from sharing the space with real people.
What kinds of things are exciting to you right now (books, films, music)?
My husband and I are doing a bit of a digital detox at the moment so one of the things that excites me is reading physical news in the Guardian Weekly, rather than getting a constant stream of it on my phone. I’m finding I’m able to connect with the world’s events a lot more when I take the time to read it in a physical format.
I’ve also recently been reading a lot of Robin Hobb books. Epic fantasy, fabulously written. Could not recommend highly enough!
Music that’s currently inspiring me is a lot of metal believe it or not. My husband is really into metal and has been playing a lot of albums of late that I’ve gone “wow, I actually really like this.” My favourite albums that he’s played me lately are Baroness’s “STONE” and Faetooth’s “Labyrinthine” and everything by Elder. I also love jazz and afrobeat. I’ve been adoring the new Nubiyan Twist music coming out and have been diving into their older music too.
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