Rucyl
{{Short description|American artist and musician}}
{{Infobox artist
| name =
| image =Rucyl_Mills.jpg
| caption =
| birth_name = Rucyl Mills
| birth_date =
| birth_place =Philadelphia, PA
| nationality = Trinidadian and German-American
| education =
| style =sound art, experimental bass, avant R&B, music technology, interactive performance
| movement =
| website =http://rucyl.com
}}
Rucyl is a new media and sound artist, singer, musician, and producer. Her interests involve experimentation and process as performance,{{Cite news|url=http://tomtommag.com/2012/03/rucyl-mills-rip-it-up-and-start-again/|title=Rucyl Mills: Rip it Up and Start Again - Tom Tom Magazine|date=2012-03-27|newspaper=Tom Tom Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=2016-10-26}} time-based analog effects systems, and using sound to represent concepts that are non-tactile (time, natural forces, emotion, identity, and physics). Her earlier experimental works incorporated vocal improvisation and computer generated algorithmic music in tandem with generated visual projections,{{Cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/1232539|title=Computer Nerd|website=Vimeo|access-date=2016-10-25}} using Max MSP and VJ software. Rucyl improvises during her live performances{{Cite news|url=http://tomtommag.com/2012/03/rucyl-mills-rip-it-up-and-start-again/|title=Rucyl Mills: Rip it Up and Start Again - Tom Tom Magazine|date=2012-03-27|newspaper=Tom Tom Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=2016-10-25}} using MIDI controllers, loopers, diy software and hardware, and effects processors.
Biography
Rucyl was an original member of underground hip-hop group The Goats{{Cite web|url=http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2010/01/29/philly-blunt-the-goats/|title=Philly Blunt: The Goats|website=www.magnetmagazine.com|access-date=2016-10-25}} (Ruffhouse/Columbia Records) from 1992-1994. The Goats toured and performed internationally with bands like Bad Brains, Fishbone, and The Beastie Boys.
Her first interactive pieces included the Chakakhantroller,{{Cite web|url=http://makezine.com/2008/09/03/leather-snakeskin-midi-co/|title=Leather & snakeskin MIDI controller wearable {{!}} Make|date=2008-09-03|website=Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers|access-date=2016-10-26}} a wearable interface MIDI controller for audio and visual performance, and installation Watch What You Are,{{Cite web|url=http://eyebeam.org/archive/events/eyebeam-summer-school-hardware-hacking-for-interaction|title=Eyebeam Summer School: Hardware Hacking for Interaction {{!}} eyebeam.org|last=|first=|date=|website=eyebeam.org|publisher=|access-date=}} in collaboration with Justin Downs, which was featured as part of Eyebeam Interactive Art Gallery's "Double Take" exhibition in July 2008.
Also in 2008, Rucyl co-founded Saturn Never Sleeps{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/SaturnNeverSleeps|title=Saturn Never Sleeps {{!}} Facebook|last=|first=|date=|website=www.facebook.com|publisher=|access-date=}} (SNS), a futuretronic label and audiovisual group created during the resurgence of the contemporary Afrofuturism movement, with DJ/producer King Britt. Saturn Never Sleeps was founded on the principles of process as performance,{{Cite web|url=http://mycitypaper.com/Sleeping-Giant/|title=Sleeping Giant|website=mycitypaper.com|access-date=2016-10-25}} inspired greatly by the media and music of the great experimental jazz musician, Sun Ra. These collaborative, audiovisual live performances were featured at The Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, Painted Bride Art Center, The River To River Festival at the World Financial Center in New York City, Art Basel in Miami, and Moogfest{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/arts/music/02moog.html|title=Moogfest, in Asheville, Honors a Synthesizer|last=Pareles|first=Jon|date=2010-11-01|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-10-25}} in Asheville, NC. Rucyl traveled internationally with SNS to Istanbul, Berlin, Madrid, Switzerland (Stadtmusik Festival) and Tokyo (Micro-cosmos). Curated performances in Philadelphia and Brooklyn included artists Taylor McFerrin, Ras G, [http://www.sarahwhitemusic.com/ Sarah White], Teebs, Ben Neill, Flying Lotus, Stef Eye, Shabazz Palaces, and Tokimonsta.{{Cite web|url=http://www.factmag.com/2012/03/15/tokimonsta-fame-boozers-lullaby-ft-rucyl/|title=TOKiMONSTA – 'Fame Boozers Lullaby' (feat. Rucyl)|website=FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music.|access-date=2016-10-25}} In June 2010, the [http://www.leeway.org/ Leeway Foundation]{{Cite web|url=http://www.leeway.org/|title=Leeway Foundation|last=|first=|date=|website=Leeway Foundation|publisher=|access-date=}} featured Rucyl on a "Women in Indie Music" panel where she discussed the re-emerging lo-fi/DIY aesthetic in music, digital distribution and the place of activism within her art. In spring 2011, Saturn Never Sleeps opened for TV on the Radio, and appeared with the Sun Ra Arkestra at Eyebeam's event "Past Futures." SNS released a series of works and podcasts{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/search.php?query=subject:%22saturn+never+sleeps%22|title=Internet Archive Search: subject:"saturn never sleeps"|last=|first=|date=|website=archive.org|publisher=|access-date=}} from under-the-radar POC artists from 2009-2011. SNS's full-length album, Yesterday's Machine,{{Cite web|url=http://revive-music.com/2011/08/02/saturn-never-sleeps-yesterdays-machine/|title=Saturn Never Sleeps Yesterday's Machine|last=|first=|date=2011-08-02|website=Okayplayer|publisher=|access-date=}} was released in summer 2011.
After SNS disbanded in 2011, Rucyl continued with collaborative performances highlighting POC women and artists of the experimental electronic genre under the moniker Woman + Machine.{{Cite web|url=https://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?688726|title=Woman + Machine|website=Resident Advisor|access-date=2016-10-25}} Her most recent work is the Sound Prism{{Cite web|url=http://soundprism.tumblr.com/|title=Sound Prism|last=|first=|date=|website=soundprism.tumblr.com|publisher=|access-date=}} (2016), a solar powered sonic performance and installation that explores sound as a physical representation of the transmutation of organic energy.
She currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.
Discography
- [https://rucyl.bandcamp.com/album/caveat Caveat], 2016
- [https://rucyl.bandcamp.com/album/uma-kanya Uma Kanya], 2011
- [http://www.alphapuprecords.com/releasepage.php?UPC=669158523139 Yesterday's Machine], 2011
- [http://www.traxsource.com/track/3610861/i-wanna-be-with-you-rucyl-bass-mix-rucyl-bass-mix Sarah White - I Wanna Be With You (Rucyl Bass Mix)], 2009
- {{Discogs release|2996515|Ursula Rucker - Ruckus Soundsysdom|type=album}}, 2008
- {{Discogs release|6136938|The Goats - Outtakes Of The Goats|type=album}}, 2007
- {{Discogs release|1877726|Olu Dara - Neighborhoods|type=album}}, 2001
- {{Discogs release|518973|The Goats - ¿Do The Digs Dug?|type=album}}, 1993
- {{Discogs release|538480|The Goats - Tricks Of The Shade|type=album}}, 1992
- Full {{Discogs artist|artist=Rucyl|name=Rucyl}}
- http://rucyl.bandcamp.com
- http://soundcloud.com/rucyl
Education
M.P.S., Interaction Design - ITP, Tisch at NYU, NYC, Dean’s Fellowship, 2008
B.S., New Media - New School University, NYC, 2006
The New School Jazz Program, NYC, 1996-1997
Residencies
[http://organizmo.org Organizmo Design Center] Residency 2016, Bogotá, Colombia
[http://www.artistsu.org/ Artist U] Residency via Creative Capital 2011, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Painted Bride Art Center 2009 (with Saturn Never Sleeps), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Hardware for Hacking: Eyebeam Art & Technology Residency 2008, New York City, New York