Following from her first release of the year ‘I Love That For You’ (first play on RTE 2FM with Jenny Greene, also supported by Beta Da Silva), Ria Rua presents new single ‘Black And Tan’. Oozing with contempt, sonic foreboding and laced with historical grievance paralleling current world events, Ria Rua tackles the modern sociopath with her signature sound.
On ‘Black And Tan’, Ria Rua comments:
“Black And Tan” is about the rise of the modern sociopath. From Elon, to Trump, to Ye to Ukraine and the war in Gaza, there are unfortunately a long and growing list of examples. The Black And Tan’s were a British paramilitary force in Ireland that were known for their lawlessness and hyper-violence towards innocents. Their atrocities created a worldwide scandal, undermining supposed British Imperial moral authority, and made Irish independence inevitable. The sociopaths that rule our world at the moment will not rule it forever. The lesson of The Black And Tan’s is that the more desperate sociopaths become, the more inevitable their collapse.”
Ria Rua’s rise has been anything but conventional. Growing up in rural Meath, Ireland, she often felt like an outcast but found solace in music. From disrupting her mother’s choir practice as a child to becoming an demand drummer, her path has been a journey of self-discovery and defiance. Today, her music serves as a beacon for young, neurodivergent and queer Irish women seeking freedom and self expression.