Hello Halo

“The sound artist Ruby Colley, whose brother is non-speaking, has created a touching reminder that people can express themselves in other ways” — The Guardian

Ruby Colley, the violinist, composer, and sound artist whose work spans genres from classical, to folk, sound art, and film, announces Hello Halo via New Amsterdam Records. Hello Halo was written for and performed by the contemporary vocal ensemble Exaudi alongside Colley on Violin. Hello Halo is a composition that was developed alongside Colley’s brother, Paul Colley, who is neurodivergent and non-speaking. Despite being termed "non-verbal," Paul uses a rich repertoire of sounds and gestures to communicate. Colley transcribed these communication methods, using live voice and recordings of Paul, to make a vocal map of his life and relationships. “Hello Halo is an intimate examination of communication, both subtle and nuanced, that asks questions of what it means to be human.”

The piece is an archival snapshot of his life and relationships, but also it’s a metanarrative, collaborative effort that grows out of the relationship into the sphere of moving artistic statement. “This record feels like a true representation of who I am as a composer, and that's not to say that my older work isn't, but I think this is the most authentic kind of work that I've ever written so far,” says Colley. The album aims to “challenge the idea of language’s status as the cornerstone of what humanity is. Through this work I am highlighting Paul's humanity in a very clear way through our sibling interactions. This is how we've interacted and this is how we’ve connected, even though we've never spoken a full sentence to one another in our whole lives. It’s not just me putting that out, it’s also Paul offering the infinite variations of his personhood.”

The album artwork was created by Paul Colley as he keeps an active visual art practice which can be explored via Project Art Works.

1. Hello Halo
2. What Is It
3. Duet 1 - Then
4. Echoes
5. Duet 2 - Now
6. Cosmology