Press
New York Times, 2/11/22 – Seth Colter Walls on my album not Great
Sybaritic Singer, 12/15/21 – Austin Franklin on my album not Great
ICIYL, 1/7/20 – Tristan McKay on thingNY’s Hello my name is thingNY
SPIN, 4/30/19 – Andy Cush on Thee Reps’s Minimal Surface
In Thee Reps’ best moments, their affectlessness becomes its own sort of heightened style, reaching the quietly absurd pitch of a good comedy straight man. Plenty of contemporary musicians compose in loops; few make them sound this loopy.
NYTimes, 4/20/19 – Seth Colter Walls on Thee Reps’s Minimal Surface:
Dave Ruder is perhaps best known for his work as a vocalist in recent performances of works by Robert Ashley. But he is also a composer and guitarist. Those two facets of his musical personality are highlighted on the new album “Minimal Surface,” by the band Thee Reps. The group — which also includes bassist Jeff Tobias, the keyboardist Sam Morrison, the violist Karen Waltuch and the drummer Max Jaffe — cites “Minimalism, Krautrock of the ’70s, and post-rock of the ’90s” as touchstones, but with a “less bombastic” touch. The comparatively relaxed nature of their overall attack makes for a peculiar and satisfying twist on those influences, particularly on the album’s opening track, “Big Bebek,” written by Mr. Ruder.
Cassette Gods, 9/24/18 – Jacob an Kittenplan reviewing my album Qualms Rectified:
photo by David Andrako
“when the focus isn’t on singing about self/socially-deprecatory themes, the accompanying instrumentation is a mature, wisened treasure trove of perfectly arranged horns, woodwinds, bowed strings & restrained guitar that no t-shirt-collar-stretching newcomer could likely pull off (much like Nilsson, again, when I think about it); and the interludes/vignettes add so much to the weight of the songs surrounding them that I cannot picture the album without them”
New York Classical Review, 5/31/18 – George Grella on thingNY & Varispeed doing music by Gaburo & Burkhardt:
“The climax, at least in the musical sense, and finale flowed via a story, told through Dave Ruder, that seems intentionally boring—the narrator talks about his brother-in-law’s job as a bureaucrat coordinating the government’s replacement of current stocks of screws with new models, in mind-numbing detail. It was like Xeno’s paradox, it never got to the point, and Ruder’s smooth, calm delivery held one in place, and the end was surprisingly beautiful.”
Raised by Gypsies, 10/24/17 – a review of my album Qualms Rectified
Brooklyn Rail Rail Tracks podcast, June 2017 – a conversation about Gold Bolus Recordings
New York Music Daily, 2/6/17 – a review of Super Bolus II
I Care If You Listen, 10/20/15 – a review of thingNY’s This Takes Place Close By
New York Music Daily, 9/25/15 – a review of thingNY’s This Takes Place Close By
NY1, 9/21/15 – a preview of thingNY’s This Takes Place Close By
Brooklyn Vegan, 2/20/15 – thingNY and Helado Negro collaboration at Merkin Hall
Sonic Bids, 6/27/14 – thoughtful piece by Jeff Tobias about our first concert as Florida Lucid Dreaming
WQXR blog, 5/14/12 – review of Cough Button’s To Scale
Press for Robert Ashley pieces I’ve taken part in:
New Music Box, 3/21/19 – Improvement at the Kitchen
OperaWire, 2/21/19 – Improvement at the Kitchen:
“The Doctor, played by Dave Ruder, seemed to effortlessly guide Linda in this moment and his voice was the perfect vehicle to do so. Ruder’s calming yet expectant tone manipulated Linda and drove her further into a state of emotionless and powerless bliss.”
BOMB Magazine, 2/13/19 – Improvement at the Kitchen
Feast of Music, 2/11/19 – Improvement at the Kitchen
New York Classical Review, 2/8/19 – Improvement at the Kitchen
New York Times, 2/8/19 – Improvement at the Kitchen
New York Times, 7/24/18 – Love is a Good Example at Issue Project Room
Hyperallergic, 4/21/15 – Crash at Roulette
New York Times, 4/14/14 – Crash at the Whitney Museum, “Mr. Ruder employed distinct hues of wistfulness.”
Tempo, April 2014 – an article by Varispeed on how we put together our versions of Perfect Lives
Arts Journal, 8/18/13 – review of Perfect Lives by composer Kyle Gann
Wall Street Journal, 8/12/13 – preview of Perfect Lives in the Catskills
NYTimes, 11/8/11 – review of Perfect Lives Manhattan, which I co-organized, arranged, and performed as part of Varispeed. “Dave Ruder, playing the preacher of ‘The Church’ at Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish at 5 p.m., inflated Mr. Ashley’s seductive drawl…”
NYTimes, 11/23/11 – review of Robert Ashley’s That Morning Thing, which I performed in
Time Out New York, 10/21/11 – interview & discussion of Robert Ashley’s work featuring interview with me. “For multitalented musician Dave Ruder, who will be appearing in That Morning Thing, the Incubator series and Perfect Lives Manhattan, this way of collaborating has been essential to getting inside Ashley’s work…”
Press for dance pieces I’ve worked on:
New York Times, 2/28/14 – Kimberly Bartosik’s You are my heat and glare. “Ms. Bell and Mr. Ruder return with an accordion, each holding one end as they belt out a song about losing themselves in the wilderness.”
photo by Ian Douglas
Culturebot, 2/25/14 – a preview of Kimberly Bartosik’s You are my heat and glare
Time Out New York, 8/29/13 – preview of Dusan Tynek’s 10th Anniversary Season featuring sound design by me
NYTimes, 6/5/13 -review of Joanna Kotze’s it happened…, for which I composed the music