Name: Ruth Mascelli
Nationality: American
Occupation: Composer, producer, vocalist, songwriter
Current release: Ruth Mascelli's Non-Stop Healing Frequency is out via Disciples.
Recommendations: We recently lost an incredible mystic and visionary musician, Master Wilburn Burchette. I really love his albums Music Of The Godhead and Psychic Meditation Music and think more people should hear them.

If you enjoyed this Ruth Mascelli interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit him on Instagram, and Soundcloud.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

When I’m listening intently on headphones I always experience music spatially. Like it’s a room I’m in or a landscape I'm moving through.

Eyes closed is a must, though certain things really come to life when you are looking out a car window.

What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience - can one train/learn being an artist?

I guess the first steps were getting over my self doubt and being obsessive. If you’ve got the temperament to express yourself artistically you just have to become obsessed with what you're doing.

Actually finding the time and energy for this is another story though.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13- 16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

They say all sorts of things in scientific studies.

Like any little gay freak in a world that was not open or understanding, music really was a lifeline.

I didn’t start making my own music til my mid twenties and it’s really changed how I listen to and appreciate music. I think I listen a lot more deeply now.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

I really just have to do it. Having a project I’m consistently working on or conceptualizing is what helps my brain get through. Through day jobs, through our depressing political reality.

I work a lot with unconscious material and let it guide me. I rarely know the destination when I start.

To quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

I wish I knew.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

Different tracks require different sounds. I do tend to like things that sound a bit wonky, a bit fucked up. Like they’ve gone sour.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

The sound of a huge group of frogs mating. Anyone who has lived in New Orleans will know. It’s rhythmic, it’s transcendent. Five stars.

From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

Extreme times call for extreme sounds. I’m a fan of contrast.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?

I feel like the best ideas are spontaneously presented to you fully formed. It’s a matter of being open enough to catch them then doing the work (and it can be tedious) of creating a structure that lets them shine through.

Maybe it’s the collective unconscious or maybe it’s God (or maybe those are the same thing). I’m okay with not knowing.

Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

Yes, definitely, for instance with this record I drilled a hole in my skull for research purposes.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

I don’t know. I would like to use my time on this earth to vibe while taking care of myself and others.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

It depends on the context. Anyone who tours a lot can tell you that something you wrote that meant so much to you can end up feeling like a mundane chore sometimes.

Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song orpiece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?

Hearing “Einstein On The Beach” by Phillip Glass on a college radio station totally changed my life and the way I think about music.



There really is something about hearing a string of numbers.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

I’d like to be surprised.