Spookey Ruben (born Alan F. Deil) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

musician, producer, songwriter, composer, and filmmaker. Best known for his song and music video "These Days Are Old", Spookey's songwriting and eccentric production techniques often contrast high and low vocals, analogue keyboards, found sounds, sampled beats and stringed instruments such as electric and Spanish guitar. Spookey has released seven full-length solo albums.

Early life

Due to his father's work as an ESA

aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

, Spookey grew up in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

In his childhood, Spookey's parents insisted he take up an instrument and so he chose classical guitar. At age 13 he got his hands on his first electric guitar and spent the remainder of his teenage years playing in an array of hardcore and

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

bands, most notably progressive thrash metal bandbr>Transilience
It was at this time that he received his nickname "Spooky", a result of high-school friends teasing him for his long hair and "Satanic T-shirts". At age 19, he moved to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, and enrolled in

film school A film school is an educational institution dedicated to teaching aspects of filmmaking, including such subjects as film production, film theory, digital media production, and screenwriting. Film history courses and hands-on technical training are ...

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

. It was at this time that Ruben accumulated musical ideas via four-track recorder.

Recording artist

Spookey's home recording experiments led to the making of his solo debut album '' Modes of Transportation Vol. 1'' (

TVT Records TVT Records, originally Tee-Vee Toons, was an American record label founded by Steve Gottlieb in 1984. Initially created to release the '' Television's Greatest Hits'' series of classic TV theme tune compilations, the label would expand into ra ...

) which was partially engineered and mixed by Gadi Foltys, Don Kerr, Brad Nelson and Mark PlatiModes of Transportation, Vol. 1: Information from
Answers.com (1995-10-03). Retrieved on 2012-01-05. (best known for his work with

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

). International critical acclaim followed, hailing the album as the "''

Pet Sounds ''Pet Sounds'' is the eleventh studio album by the American Rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966, by Capitol Records. It was produced, arranged, and primarily composed by Brian Wilson with guest lyricist Tony Asher. R ...

'' of the 90s" and "

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

pop masterpiece". In 1996, Ruben contributed to the

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

benefit album '' Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip'' produced by the

Red Hot Organization ''Red Hot Organization'' (RHO) is a non-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization with goals to promote diversity through equal access to healthcare through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors ...

. Disputes with TVT resulted in his leaving the label and years of apparent silence. Eventually, in 2002, Ruben simultaneously released two separate CDs entitled ''Bed'' and ''Breakfast'' (Hi-Hat/Zomba) that were later repackaged as a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording ...

. ''Alone at the Zoo'', co-produced by John McEntire of

Tortoise Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like o ...

/ The Sea and Cake was released as a special limited compilation of demos in 2003. On 16 June 2009, his full-length album, '' Mechanical Royalty'', was released in Canada on Hi-Hat/Sonic Unyon. He has since released a new EP, ''Shackleton'' (2010), ''Welsh Rarebits'' (2012), and ''Modes III'' (2016). and is playing live dates in North America and Europe.

Filmmaker

In 2008, Spookey Ruben began filming a series of short films (Spookey Ruben's Dizzy Playground) fo
Exclaim!
an
AUX Television
There have been seven episodes, which include musicians from various bands. Episodes *Omen of the Goblet – Featuring

Brendan Canning Brendan Canning (born 1969) is a Canadian indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used ...

Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band and musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed by Kevin Drew (vocals, guitar) and Brendan Canning (vocals, bass) in 1999. Alongside Drew and Canning, the ...

*Exit to Panama – Featuring Hannah Krapivinsky and Anna Edwards of Foxfire *Space Package – Featuring John McEntire of

/ The Sea and Cake *Cavity Central – Featuring

Melissa Auf der Maur Melissa Gaboriau Auf der Maur (; born March 17, 1972) is a Canadian musician. Auf der Maur began performing in 1993 after forming the indie rock band Tinker (band), Tinker while she was a student at Concordia University. She was recruited ...

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid Body (physics), body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in m ...

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...

*Natural Born Grannies – Featuring

Ariel Pink Ariel Marcus Rosenberg ( ; born June 24, 1978), professionally known as Ariel Pink, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter whose work draws heavily from the popular music of the 1960s–1980s. His lo-fi aesthetic and home-recorded al ...

*The Adventures of Spaghetti Cowboy - Featuring Leslie Feist of Feist/

*Puzzleface - Featuring Denis Bélanger of Voivod, Maylee Todd, Rodrigo Gudiño and film director

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films were mainly liberal adaptations of ...

Personal life

Spookey married Japanese painter Yori Hatakeyama on 2 November 2019.

Discography

Albums

*'' Modes of Transportation Vol. 1'' (TVT records 1995, Quattro Japan 1996, Intercord Germany 1996, EMI UK 1997) *'' Wendy Mcdonald – Live in Japan EP'' (TVT records 1996) *'' Modes of Transportation Vol. 2: What's a Boy to do?'' (Quattro Japan 1998) *'' Brunch'' (Quattro Japan 2000) *''

Bed and Breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

'' (Hi-Hat/Zomba – released separately in 2002, 2003 then repackaged in 2006) *'' Alone At The Zoo'' (Hi-Hat 2003) *'' Ausfahrt Walsrode EP'' (Lamm/Universal 2006) *'' Mechanical Royalty'' (Hi-Hat/Sonic Unyon – special edition EP 2008; full length edition 2009) *''Shackleton'' (Hi-Hat – special limited edition EP 2010) *''Welsh Rarebits'' (Hi-Hat 2012) *''Modes III'' (Hi-Hat 2016)

Singles

*""These days are old" (1995) *"Running Away" (1995) *"Wendy Mcdonald" (1996) *"Brand New Game" (2002) *"Shauna" (2003) *"Glenn Take Care" (2003) *"Are There Any People You Don't Love?" (2006) *"Superpoke" (2009) *"Mr Everywhere" (2017) *"Midsummer Dropout" (2019) *"When Your Heart Says Yes" (2020) *"Pliny the Elder" (2024) with

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer known for his technical mastery who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drumme ...

References

7. https://musicsurvivalguide.org/2019/07/31/music-survival-guide-episode-19/

External links

Spookey Ruben's Official WebsiteHi-Hat's WebsiteOfficial Myspace Page
{{Authority control 1972 births Living people Singers from Ottawa Canadian indie rock musicians Canadian indie pop musicians TVT Records artists York University alumni Canadian experimental filmmakers Chamber pop musicians Art pop musicians Avant-pop musicians Cookie Duster members