Xenia Rubinos
Xenia Rubinos performing at The Haunt in Ithaca, NY, 2017
Xenia Rubinos performing at The Haunt in Ithaca, NY, 2017
Background information
Birth nameXenia Rubinos
Born (1985-07-24) July 24, 1985
OriginHartford, Connecticut, United States
GenresFunk-rock, R&B, jazz-funk
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, record producer
Years active2013–present
LabelsANTI-
Websitewww.xeniarubinos.net

Xenia Rubinos (born July 24, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

Background and early life

Xenia Rubinos was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1985 to a Puerto Rican mother and a Cuban father.[1] She studied jazz composition at the Berklee College of Music.[2] She spent most of her 20s acting as the primary caregiver for her father as he dealt with a degenerative illness, which inspired her song "Black Stars."[3] She has lived in Brooklyn since 2006.

Career

Her album Black Terry Cat was released to critical acclaim and was named the 11th best album of 2016 by NPR.[4]

Music

Rubinos' early music influences include composers like Prokofiev and Ravel,[5] as her father was a fan of classical music and opera.[3] Salsa, rumba and merengue, including releases by Fania Records, were popular in her house while growing up.[5][6] Later, she became enthralled with hip-hop, R&B and Miles Davis in particular, which led her to study jazz at the Berklee College of Music.

She is inspired by her Latin American heritage and Santería practices.[7] She is also inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement,[3] and discusses her experiences as a woman of color in her songs, but she sees her music as broader than the category of protest music.[1]

Rubinos' music is not easily categorized, as she crosses many genres in both her lyrics and her sound.[1][7][8][9]

Discography

  • 2013 - Magic Trix (self-released)
  • 2016 - Black Terry Cat (NuBlack Music Group)
  • 2021 - Una Rosa (ANTI-)

References

  1. 1 2 3 Snapes, Laura (October 24, 2016). "Xenia Rubinos: 'I'm saying things about being a brown girl in America'". The Guardian.
  2. ↑ "Articulate: Xenia Rubinos". PBS.
  3. 1 2 3 "In 'Black Stars,' Xenia Rubinos Memorializes Many Lives In One". NPR. July 3, 2016.
  4. ↑ "NPR Music: Best 50 Albums of 2016". NPR. 5 December 2016.
  5. 1 2 Raygoza, Isabela (May 31, 2016). "Unboxed: Genre-Hopping with Xenia Rubinos". The Village Voice.
  6. ↑ Brown, Helen (June 17, 2016). "Xenia Rubinos, Black Terry Cat, review: 'the sound of the summer'". The Telegraph. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  7. 1 2 Martin, Rachel (April 23, 2013). "Xenia Rubinos: Adventures in Syncopation". NPR.
  8. ↑ Grier, Chaka (July 13, 2016). "Album Review Black Terry Cat". Now Toronto.
  9. ↑ Snapes, Laura (May 24, 2013). "Magic Trix Review". Pitchfork.
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