DIGABLE PLANETS' LADYBUG MECCA
CHATS WITH XENIA RUBINOS
DISCUSS NEW DIGABLE PLANETS ALBUM, INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM
AND BEING THE ONLY WOMEN IN THEIR TOURING PARTIES
Ladybug Mecca (Digable Planets, Brookzill) and Xenia Rubinos are genre-mashing, multicultural artists who bring socio-political commentary (and the party) to their music. After Rubinos wrote a glowing piece about Brookzill's LP for Talkhouse, and they heard that Mecca's fandom was reciprocal, we knew a Talkhouse Music Podcast was in order. The two sat down to mutually fan out and discuss being the only women in their touring parties, singing to their parents as they were dying, how travel triggers creativity, the difficulty of collaborations, why their early audiences were so white and male, intersectional feminism and so much more.
QUOTABLE MOMENTS FROM THE PODCAST:
"We're figuring out where and how to start working on a new record. We're pretty interested in, like we were talking about destination studios, and going somewhere [to record] for like a month. So that, really, we're leaning towards that. That will take place this year for sure." - Mecca announces Digable Planets are recording a new LP this year "I find that in my travels I'm often surrounded by a lot of dudes, and I'm usually the only woman. And I actually never realized that that was a thing even until a couple of months went by and someone was asking me to sign records and I started drawing vaginas on people's records. I'm like, "Why am I doing that? That's so weird!" And then I realized, I was only listening to Erykah Badu every day, and I'm like, "What's going on with me?" And I realized I needed to actually see another woman. You know like I would see [them] at shows and stuff sometimes, but I was surrounded by men all the time." -Xenia on being the only woman in her touring party
ABOUT TALKHOUSE:
Artists talk about their own work all the time, but they rarely get to talk about other people's work. That's what the Talkhouse is all about: smart, distinguished artists from the worlds of music and film, of all genres and generations, writing about the latest releases. And there's a twist: the artist who's being written about is encouraged to respond to the piece. The idea is to promote dialogue between creators who may never have interacted otherwise. Talkhouse readers can have a ringside seat to this unique exchange, or they can join the conversation too, in our moderated comments section.
Check it out! Subscribe now on iTunes or Stitcher to stay in the loop on future Talkhouse Podcasts.