PREMIERE Lara Ruggles, "No Matter"
Lara Ruggles at home in nature with a Fender Player Lead III; photographed by Nikki Hall.
The breakdown of societal systems can be witnessed in plain sight. The downward trends toward universal unaffordability of practically all basic necessities, where essential commodities are repositioned & rebranded as premium products & goods. Food, health care, toiletries, general utilities, civic stability, access to the arts, and media rights left in the holdings of tech-corporatocratic monopolies; the all but unscalable paywalls have permeated through our society where upward mobility feels locked up like a stick of deodorant at a major drugstore chain in an underserved community.
As the disparities of wealth widen and the hegemons continue to consolidate their powers, whilst pilfering from the lower tax bracket class, and annexing small businesses as but another gold pin for their bloated portfolios; the descent into helplessness feels all too easy. Rethinking how we show up in our communities, how we engage with media, and finding new ways to support our fellow vulnerable folks can serve as radical acts of constructive kindness. In re-imagining how we consume the arts in the era of subscription based digital models galore, we can elect which platforms we prefer as the faint specter of physical media softly fades into cloud based systems governed by arbitrary licensing acquisitions, attached to lucrative (not to mention ludicrous) shareholder values.
Tucson artist Lara Ruggles shares an anthem about finding genuine connections, constructive care and communities in the futility of operating in what are broken, backwards, and ultimately outdated feudal paradigms that persist on “No Matter”. After the report of Spotify’s CEO investment in a military AI company, Lara has moved away from the platform that is notoriously unequitable for independent artists as expressed in the following statement:
“Spotify had already been making decisions that undervalue artists for years. It’s hard to ignore that the unpaid labor of so many musicians put that money in [Spotify founder Daniel Ek’s] pocket.”
“No Matter” is a song about more than merely rising above the high tides, but building upon something more meaningful than the spirit crushing drudgery and exhaustion of subsistence alone. Lara’s soaring delivery reaches with arms outstretched in a ballad that hopes for something better than the old tiresome by-your-own-bootstraps routine. Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Justin Glasco, Ruggles drives home a shining message of love, care, and collective solidarity amid the existential realities of operating within oppressive and predatory labor and living schemes. These unsustainable models are countered with the spirit of living out your truths, channeling the infinite aura of desire even while hustling contractual-based occupation on mobile apps that harvest the last vestiges of energy that remain in humanity.
Visuals made in conjunction with fellow collaborators Syir Productions and Meela Hill focus on Hill managing event orchestrations around Tucson, being an active community leader and participant, all the while trying to make ends meet to keep the proverbial lights on. We witness the local open mic series Light the Mic that amplifies the voices of BIPOC and queer artists, a market for the arts, dance class, and contending with the late capitalist games that slumlords play. Meela, Lara and accompanying creative company can be seen pursing the arts of elevating one another in evocative and visceral arts of endless appreciation. Together they showcase a solidarity that extends outside the superficial spectacle of antiquated economies, looking instead to build a better unified bond of friends, neighbors, lovers, merchants, and a progressive state of stability and serenity of the soul. These are not the things that are measured by the Dow, S&P indexes, Bitcoins, follower count, and other such mercurial trivialities — but rather by a certain sort of peace that is largely bereft in an era beleaguered by antagonistic obsessions, in hand with their corresponding agitators.
Lara Ruggles focusing on brighter days and flowers; photographed by Nikki Hall.
Lara Ruggles provided insights on the inspiration of “No Matter”:
I had Jessie Reyez’s “Great One” stuck in my head for a while, it’s a great song that goes deeper lyrically than those first lines, but it got me thinking about what I want for myself—what success actually means to me. And money isn’t it. I sat down at the piano with that in mind, and “No Matter” is what came out.
Finding peace in fields of lavender with Lara Ruggles; photographed by Nikki Hall.
Cover art for “No Matter”; courtesy of the artist.