Ruby

Ruby served as the performing alias for vocalist Lesley Rankine, who had earlier fronted the Scottish noise-provocateurs Silverfish. Following her exit from that band after its 1993 LP Fuckin' Drivin' or What, Rankine left London for Seattle, where she teamed with producer Mark Walk. The pair had already crossed paths on material for the industrial collective Pigface. They christened the venture Ruby in honor of both artists’ maternal grandmothers and fashioned an electronica-oriented sound that diverged from the abrasive rock of Rankine’s prior work, resulting in the acclaimed 1995 LP Salt Peter. A remix EP titled Stroking the Full Length appeared the following year. For her next project Rankine resettled on the outskirts of Scotland, issuing the 2001 album Short Staffed At the Gene Pool through the English imprint Wichita Recordings and Thirsty Ear in the United States. Several abstract producers, among them Warp Records artist Mira Calix, handled mixes for the track “Grace.” Later that same year the collection Altered & Proud assembled additional remixes by figures including Max Tundra, Kid 606, Console and Dot Allison.