EMMA RUTH RUNDLE
Releases New Video “In My Afterlife”
Headlining North American Tour w/ Patrick Shiroishi
Kicks Off This Month – LA’s Masonic Lodge (2 Nights – SOLD OUT), NYC’s LPR, SF (2 Nights), SEA, PDX, CAN, BOS & More Dates Added
First Stateside Performances Since the Release of Her Acclaimed Album Engine of Hell and Orpheus Looking Back EP – Listen / Share
By Ruby Gold
Singer-songwriter and visual artist Emma Ruth Rundle has released her new video “In My Afterlife” today. Self-directed with John Bradburn, the visual is “an expiration of insanity, a lot of sagazan and influence from Julie Taymor’s circa 2000 film rendition of Titus,” Rundle tells.
“I developed the character, makeup and costume myself, which I made by painting and modifying found articles while I was in the UK. This mask or character is supposed to represent what is left after life ends, wandering the halls of their own existence, reliving little joys, and sufferings. They are a demented and unsettled character.”
Rundle’s headlining North American Spring tour kicks off March 24 in Vancouver and will be the first time she performs her latest renowned albums Engine of Hell and Orpheus Looking Back EP (Sargent House) live stateside. Japanese-American multi-instrumentalist and composer Patrick Shiroishi will be supporting all dates. Highlights include two nights at Los Angeles’ Masonic Lodge at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery (which are now sold out), two nights at San Francisco’s Swedish American Hall, NYC’s Le Poisson Rouge, Chicago’s Thalia Hall, Vancouver, Toronto, Boston (sold out, new date added) and more. See below for a full list of dates – tickets are available here.
Rundles’ latest and riveting album Engine of Hell is stark, intimate, and unflinching. For anyone that’s endured trauma and grief, there’s a beautiful solace in hearing Rundle articulate and humanize that particular type of pain not only with her words, but with her particular mysterious language of melody and timbre. The album captures a moment where a masterful songwriter strips away all flourishes and embellishments in order to make every note and word hit with maximum impact, leaving little to hide behind.
Rundle has always been a multifaceted musician, equally capable of dreamy abstraction (as heard on her debut album Electric Guitar: One), maximalist textural explorations (see her work in Marriages, Red Sparowes, Nocturnes or collaborations with Chelsea Wolfe and Thou), and the classic acoustic guitar singer-songwriter tradition (exemplified by Some Heavy Ocean). But on Engine of Hell, Rundle focuses on an instrument that she left behind in her early twenties when she began playing in bands: the piano. In combination with her voice, the piano playing creates a kind of intimacy, as if we’re sitting beside Rundle on the bench, or perhaps even playing the songs ourselves.
Listen / Share Engine of Hell Here
“Emma Ruth Rundle’s voice will pierce your chest and keep on going” NPR
“to listen to Emma Ruth Rundle is to face not only total openhearted honesty but unwincing, unsolvable, unmemeable anguish. It’s a rare and life-savingly relatable perspective for anyone simply trying to survive their own pain, for anyone too ground down to be able to turn their pain into a punchline.” STEREOGUM (Read the Interview)
“haunting acoustic-driven masterpiece…it’s striking in its nakedness.” GUITAR WORLD
“Her lyrics have never been so detailed or naked” THE GUARDIAN
“she sings with a familiar mournfulness, celebrating the beauty of grief laid bare” THE FADER
★★★★ RECORD COLLECTOR
★★★★ MOJO
“As far as dark singer/songwriters go, Rundle is one of her generation’s best”
BROOKLYN VEGAN
“truly sublime and haunting” FLOOD
“‘Engine Of Hell’ is not only a testament to her seemingly endless talent, but an unadulterated glimpse at a human being’s soul.” KERRANG! (Read the Interview)
“Rundle establishes herself as not only an exceptional musician and vocalist, but as a visual artist, poet, and mythmaker.” POST-TRASH
“Emma Ruth Rundle is about to tear your heart to shreds” METAL INJECTION
“pure, raw truth” TREBLE (Album of the Week)
Emma Ruth Rundle Live Dates:
All Dates w/ Patrick Shiroishi
Tour Admats / Posters For Socials Here
Mar 24: Saint James Hall – Vancouver, BC
Mar 25: Neumos – Seattle, WA
Mar 26: Revolution Hall – Portland, OR
Mar 28: Swedish American Hall – San Francisco, CA
Mar 29: Swedish American Hall – San Francisco, CA
Mar 31: Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever – Los Angeles, CA (SOLD OUT)
Apr 01: Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever – Los Angeles, CA (SOLD OUT)
Apr 04: Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL
Apr 06: Axis Club – Toronto, ON
Apr 08: Crystal Ballroom – Boston, MA (SOLD OUT)
Apr 09: Le Poisson Rouge – New York City, NY
Apr 11: Crystal Ballroom – Boston, MA
Jun 21: Center United Church at Sled Island – Calgary, AB
Watch Engine of Hell Official Music Videos:
Emma Ruth Rundle : Visual Artwork : Instagram : Twitter : Facebook