Interview with Ruby Doll
By Natalie Ingalls
Photo by Lea Garn
Ruby Doll is the moniker of Taylor Jordan, a Los Angeles-based indie pop artist. Ruby Doll released her first song, “Nostalgia,” in November of 2020 (originally under the name Tae), which has since garnered close to 8 million streams on Spotify. On the dreamy, lush “Nostalgia,” Ruby Doll relishes a romance that feels like it’s never going to end, and combines that soundscape with more groovy, electronic production in future releases. I talked to Ruby Doll about her debut EP FACEPLANT, which explores themes of heartbreak, anxiety and self-doubt, out now on all streaming platforms.
Natalie: I want to ask questions chronologically, so we'll end talking about [your EP] Faceplant, but I did just want to ask- we're a week and a day out from the release. How are you feeling?
Ruby Doll: Feeling good. It's been a really long journey to get to this point. I started releasing music at the end of 2020, my first few singles. And when “Nostalgia” took off, we thought, let's test singles and create the EP. And so literally since 2021, I've been trying to craft this together. Life got in the way and you never know when the right time is to release. And so eventually it got to a point where I was like, if I don't put out these songs, I may never do it.
Thankfully my team and the people around me that love the music just as much as I do, they were like, we gotta release this, give it a shot.
I think I found my artistic identity and sound with this project. I'm really excited for it to be out in the world.
N: We talked a little bit before recording that you come from a musical household. You have a big family. Tell me more about how you got into making music and how much of that do you think came from growing up with a creative family?
R: My mom sings as well. I grew up watching her and idolizing her. She would sing at different churches and weddings, and I was so in awe. My dad can't really sing, but he is such a lover of music. He showed me New Order and the Beastie Boys and The Cure, so many different genres of music from a really early age. I feel like that's really influenced a lot of my music taste today.
I have four brothers, and they all sing or do music in some capacity. I did some theater growing up, and then when I got a little bit older, honestly, during COVID, is when I was like, I’m going to learn how to play piano and I'm going to write music, and I'm going to put it out.
I reached out to a producer that lived near me at the time, Saint Mesa. He was so gracious and saw my vision and really, really helped me. And together we created “Nostalgia,” “Moonlight,” and “Jaded.”
“Nostalgia” kind of erupted months after it was released. I think I released it in like November of 2020, and then in February 2021, is when it started going.
N: Can you tell me more about what you remember from releasing it in November of 2020 and the feelings surrounding starting to see it blow up?
R: When I first released it, I had literally no expectations. And I think that is the best way you can be about it. I had no knowledge of Spotify playlists or what people do to get streams or anything like that.
Then this music blog, I think it was called Behind the Data at the time, made a TikTok about me in February, and it didn't go hugely viral, but it got a lot of views. I worked a corporate job at the time and woke up on a Friday; I was used to two people listening, and on my artist app, it was 45. I was watching the streams live every day.
I got in trouble at my job because I was checking my Spotify too much. It was just such a fun, exciting thing and a great escape and reminder for me that I'm working the corporate job, but I have this building on the side, and I'm going to do something with this.
N: Starting with “Heartthrob,” you've worked with Austin Corona, who is also your partner in life. Tell me more about what it's like to work with Austin.
R: We first met through our managers in April of 2021. And immediately, he was the coolest guy ever.
He's so kind and has the biggest heart, but is truly so musically in tune with everything. He grew up with playing in punk bands and then went into music production and knows every instrument.
He's one of those people who is so talented, but extremely humble. Being a woman, being pushed out to all these male producer sessions was super daunting. And he was really the first session I walked into where I felt extremely comfortable and respected. He challenges me on a lot of stuff, and we write together. I will help produce sometimes, and he gives me that freedom to do so. We just make a really great pair, and we've been making songs together ever since.
N: When I think of your music, I think you are the queen of catchy melody. Every element of a song stands out and stands on its own. What would you say, from your perspective, is the Ruby Doll signature sound?
R: I always want a listener to like feel like they're floating at some point.I'd like to think that my signature would make you feel like you're floating through the ether, providing an escape from life. You can smoke a jay, put on your headphones after a hard day, and take a walk and feel like you're levitating.
N: I would love to talk a little bit more about FACEPLANT. The songs deal with feelings of betrayal, being hurt and loneliness. And then smack in the middle is “BLUSH,” which is so joyous. Tell me more about what this EP means to you thematically.
R: I wanted to create a project that explores all levels of emotional vulnerability. A lot of my childhood was fueled with so much emotion and not knowing what to do with it. It led to inner self-reflection: Am I the problem? Why do I feel so alone in what I'm going through? I feel like I've fallen on my face a lot of times in this life.
I wanted to go through all the different ways we fall on our faces in different situations. So, in love with “BLUSH,” in heartbreak with “LOVEBIRDS,” in betrayal with “FACEPLANT,” self-doubt with “REDEYE,” and anxiety with “BOMBSHELL.” Putting “BLUSH” in the middle, I was like, let's give a little bit of a break here.
Photo by Lea GarnN: As you were writing these songs, were you drawing on specific memories?
R: The last year or two was really tough. I think going through your twenties and especially the times we're going through right now is so ridiculous and really, really hard.
And I think a lot of the time, the heaviness is just too much, and I isolate. I think that's really what I wanted to portray; if I feel this way, I sure as hell know a lot of other people are feeling this exact same way.
I wanted to be brutally honest because that's what I catch when I listen to music. I wanted to paint a picture where a listener could be like, wow, that one line resonated with me. Or it does scare me to feel alone. Or being betrayed by a friend and faceplanting, fuck that. Friend breakups are the absolute worst. It even makes you feel more isolated and alone. And instead of making it where it could be a negative thing over my life, I wanted to turn it into a piece of art that I could share and hopefully help someone out as well.
N: Who inspires you musically? Who are you a big fan of these days?
R: Oh my gosh. It's so across the board. Right now I've been listening to a lot of Hall and Oates, Tyler, The Creator, and I just found Searows. That's some of the most beautiful music I've heard in a long time. I’ve also been getting back into the Justin Timberlake FutureSex /LoveSounds album. I like listening to a lot of different music. Rico Nasty. Always, always. I’m a fan of any woman who stands on business, who's like here I am, this is my shit. I feel like it took me so long in my life to feel confident like that. Artists like Rico and SZA really inspire me; they are dominating this industry with such grace and class but also saying whatever they want to say with power.
N: How do visuals play into your music?
R: I've always loved watching visuals. When I was younger, music videos, visualizers, and anything like that were always my favorite part of a song. Unfortunately, as an independent artist, it's tough to find a budget, and I don't want anyone to work for free, so my friend Jake and I will grab my VHS and go to a park and shoot, and I'll edit everything together.
I can't wait to have a budget one day so I can really push out my vision. Even when I'm making a song, I'm like, this is how it's going to go live, this is how it's going to be in a video visualizer.
But I've been able to do really personal handmade visualizers for all of the songs, and I think that shows me more than anything, to shoot my family and friends and their dogs. I think there's a cool handmade aspect to it.
N: Ideally, in five years, where's the Ruby Doll project?
R: More music for sure. I would love to tour. That's something I've always dreamt about doing. I think getting a cool opening spot would be great. I would love to open for Magdalena Bay. Eventually, I would love to do either a couple shows in LA or New York and then a full-fledged tour.
Labels are something that I think every artist in the beginning wants, and I'm absolutely open to that, especially if they're going to give me a good deal. I think what happens to a lot of artists is they just don't know what kind of deal they're partaking in. So many people work so hard for so long to then sign something that's disrespectful. I've seen that too much to where I’m going to wait until it's right for me and until I have leverage.
I can make VHS videos for as long as I live and make music with Austin. To scale up, it might be necessary, so who knows. This music is my baby, so it's going to take a lot to have to give up some of my percentage. When it works out, it'll work out, but thankfully I have a great manager, a great lawyer, and friends and family around me that can kind of give me a lot of great advice, so I'm very lucky.
N: How much time is devoted to music, and what are you doing in your free time?
R: I hang out with my dogs all day. I have a golden retriever and a little baby super mutt, and he looks like a fox, and they're my pride and joy. I do a lot of different video freelance editing, that’s my side gig. I’m currently in this writing camp right now, where we've been bringing in different writers and trying out different things, trying to see where the next world is going to be. I want it to stay in FACEPLANT land, but I think you can evolve and change and grow into new spaces, so a lot of my time is spent writing, recording, and figuring out kinks. We have so many ideas from over the last few years. We need to go file by file and revisit them and see which ones we want to make into full. It's been a lot of that, and then hanging out with my dogs.
N: Is there anything relating to you or to FACEPLANT that I didn't ask you about that you'd like to say?
R: I hope you listen to it and you enjoy it and take something from it. I've had a really weird release schedule the past few years. It's been like, here's two songs and then I'm going to leave for a year and a half, but that's not happening anymore. I have a great schedule now, and I have a great idea of what I want to be doing. It takes time to figure that out. A lot of artists in the beginning just struggle with finding their groove, especially when they're still doing regular life stuff, trying to work, trying to live. This time is different, the music is here, I'm here, and I'll be releasing a lot more this year and next.
