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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Andrés Ruiz of False Figure

FALSE FIGURE (Photo by Hera Burgess)

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Andrés Ruiz of False Figure

Describe your first musical memory.

When I was born til I was about five or so, my dad and his brothers and friends would play folk music from the Andes. There would be like nine of them in total, playing with various instruments from pan flutes and open ended flutes, small lutes, goat hooves strung together to make a rattle. And all together in harmony I remember it sounding loud and beautiful, tapped into something ethereal for me and left a lasting impression on how music can make you feel. The genre itself is very epic for lack of a better term, in the ’70s and ’80s there was a surge of Andean neo-folk bands that surprisingly got a lot of attention in Japan of all places. That genre still permeated to other parts of the music world, no doubt you have heard Llorando Se Fue originally by Los Kjarkas as it’s been emulated by producers writing pop hits for decades. Alt-rockers Sun City Girls even did their interpretation in The Shining Path.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

I think my best memories come from touring and seeing or staying with old friends. It feels so special to see people you don’t usually get to hang out with on only one night a year, or sometimes even longer. Nights when your shows go well, meet up with old friends and make new ones and leave the next day feeling refreshed are great and make it worth it to me.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

I can’t think of anything off the top of my head, maybe I’m dense or stubborn or both.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Emancipation, insanity, who knows? I feel like creating art is a process that’s deeply cathartic, you’re reaching deep into your psyche and trying to pull a cohesive thread out of it, just enough of a stable platform that you can build something on it. Sometimes you obsess over details ad nauseam and it wears you down. Other times you go to work and end up frustrated, like you’re digging through a pitch black basement without a light. But the times when the ink meets the paper and you’re in a creative flow state, essentially on autopilot as your eyes or ears salivate at what you’re creating, that’s the really validating stuff. It feels like you finally excised a demon, you’ve broken a threshold and come out a stronger person. You just can’t force it though. It happens when it happens.

How do you define success?

You can’t. There’s no way to summarily account for every net gain or loss from anything you do in life. We just are whether we like it or not. Some people make 150k a year and don’t do shit else besides watching netflix in their nice apartment and are perfectly cool with that. Others break their backs for $18/hr at their jobs and like it (or convinced themselves they do) the conflict comes from when you want to change all that and the reality is that many of us are stuck on the latter side of the spectrum, earning low wages, working dead end jobs. It’s hard to find the balance, the way our society is organized doesn’t allow for that balance. Then again that’s been the story of human nature since recorded history. I think making it into my 30’s in one piece with a place to live and food on the table while still allowing me to play music between jobs is as good as it’s gonna get and that’s okay with me. As long as they let me keep my teeth.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

I wish I wasn’t so numb to seeing human beings dying on the street.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I’d love to facilitate a public space. Common spaces, DIY venues, places with low barriers for access for people to throw shows, throw parties, etc. We have some of that here but the atmosphere is very militant or dry. I think having fun is essential to keep from burning out.

Back to music, I think about learning how to be a better sound engineer and translate the shit I hear in my head to my ears.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Hard to say, I think it depends on every specific artist and even then I think there are many worthy functions and ways to experience art. Art is political, often humanizing very difficult circumstances that are felt by an array of people that may upset the status quo or bolster the plight of a group that’s suffering, Dorothy Lange’s depression photos as an example. I think ultimately you’re looking to evoke a response from someone experiencing your art. You may create a spectacle of yourself, or convey bad emotions through abrasive sounds and while it’s purely cathartic to you to exorcise whatever you’re ailing from, having someone sympathize or even like it is irrelevant. The most successful artists cast the widest nets but sometimes it’s only meant for a few hundred people or dozens, or no one at all as getting it out was its sole purpose.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

My grandma just got out of surgery, hoping she recovers well and I get to see her while she’s still alive.

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http://www.falsefigure.bandcamp.com
http://www.falsefigure.bigcartel.com

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http://www.instagam.com/transylvanianrecordings
http://www.transylvaniantapes.bandcamp.com

False Figure, Castigations (2022)

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