Ruth Radelet covers Elliott Smith’s haunting track, ‘Twilight’ — her first solo release.
A singer, songwriter, and musician with diverse influences ranging from Joni Mitchell to Frank Ocean, Ruth Radelet grew up singing and playing the guitar, and has been performing and releasing music professionally for over a decade. Best known as the frontwoman of Chromatics, she is now pursuing a solo career following the band’s breakup in August 2021. Chromatics’ music has been used in numerous films, television series, ad campaigns and fashion shows, and was notably featured on the soundtrack for Nicolas Winding Refn’s cult film Drive (2011). Chromatics performed live at the Chanel Spring-Summer 2013 Ready-to-Wear runway show in Paris and appeared on screen in multiple episodes of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: The Return (2017). Ruth was recently featured on a Chromatics remix of the Weeknd’s #1 hit single, “Blinding Lights” (2020). She continues to make music and is currently writing new material and working on various collaborations.
“Twilight” originally appeared on Elliott Smith’s posthumous and final album, From a Basement on the Hill. In tandem with Ruth’s cover, Kill Rock Stars is releasing 91 (in honour of the label’s founding year of 1991) hand-numbered limited edition pink vinyl copies of the record, dropping on the label’s site here.
Ruth says, “Growing up in Portland, I couldn’t help but be influenced by Elliott Smith — his music was just in the water there. I still feel a sort of homesick nostalgia every time I hear one of his songs, and I’ll forever associate his music with the rainy weather and the gritty, small-town feeling Portland had back then.
Elliott was a brilliant songwriter, and I have always been blown away by his ability to craft such lovely, catchy melodies around devastatingly sad lyrics. Twilight is a beautiful example of that, and one of my favourite songs he ever wrote. I first had the idea to cover it many years ago and am grateful for the opportunity to do so for Kill Rock Stars, who have released so much of Elliott’s work and have been such an important force in Northwest music history.
This one’s for you, Elliott, thank you for everything.”