Ruby Colley — Hello Halo

Ruby colley / exaudi

Hello halo

On November 14, 2025, Ruby Colley, the violinist, composer, and sound artist whose work spans genres from classical, to folk, sound art, and film, releases Hello Halo via New Amsterdam Records. Hello Halo was written for and performed by vocal ensemble EXAUDI and Ruby Colley on Violin.

Hello Halo is a composition that was developed alongside Paul Colley, Ruby’s brother, who is neurodivergent and non-verbal. Despite being termed "non-verbal," Paul uses a rich repertoire of sounds and gestures to communicate. Colley transcribed these communication methods, using live voice and recordings of Paul, to make a vocal map of his life and relationships. Colley explains: “Hello Halo is an intimate examination of communication, both subtle and nuanced, that asks questions of what it means to be human.”

This piece is both an archival snapshot of Paul's life and relationships and a metanarrative, collaborative effort growing out of these connections into the sphere of a moving artistic statement.. “This record feels like a true representation of who I am as a composer…I think this is the most authentic kind of work that I've ever written so far,” says Colley. She adds that the album aims to “challenge the idea of language’s status as the cornerstone of what humanity is. Through this work I am highlighting Paul's humanity in a very clear way through our sibling interactions. This is how we've interacted and this is how we’ve connected, even though we've never spoken a full sentence to one another in our whole lives. It’s not just me putting that out, it’s also Paul offering the infinite variations of his personhood.”

The album artwork was created by Paul Colley as he keeps an active visual art practice which can be explored via Project Art Works.

About Hello Halo
“Paul has not said a single sentence to me in our life together. This piece is a way of exploring the depth in which he does communicate rather than the lack. When one pays close enough attention, there is a whole universe of connection there waiting to be heard. Hello Halo is exactly that: The universe of experience and being that is revealed under the microscope. In hearing this piece, I hope other families with non-verbal members can relate to the work, but also be seen and heard through it. Non-verbal people rely entirely on advocates to access the world. Hello Halo is a form of musical advocacy and I wanted to gently push the boundaries of the classical music space, asking questions about who is allowed to make art and where we place artistic value.”
Hello Halo was developed at the Britten Pears Arts residency which allowed Colley time to workshop the piece alongside Paul and EXAUDI. “I really wanted to give the piece the time it needed and I wanted to involve Paul, so he came and sat in on rehearsals. EXAUDI got to meet him, which was really important for me. The development process was a really lovely example of collaboration, accommodation, and support both by the organization and by the ensemble. This experience became a model of how things could be, generally, with non-verbal people or people who wouldn't necessarily get to access this kind of experience in everyday life.”
“What binds my work together is that I use active field recordings and found sound as a means to A, use them as jumping off points textually or conceptually, and B as a means of archiving — archiving people, places, or moments in time. I always use those recordings in the work themselves, so they become a real archival snapshot of whatever that piece is about,” explains Colley.
Thus we jump into the world of Hello Halo, where Colley teaches the listener Paul’s nuanced language. As mentioned above, the first track Hello Halo is built around all the variations of the word “hello” that Paul uses, expressed through the lens of dovetailing voices. On the score, Colley has developed a notation system to express all the subtleties of Paul's speech.
‘What Is It’ opens with a recording of Colley asking Paul “what is it” recorded at Project Artworks (Hastings) during an art-making session. EXAUDI’s voices merge with the room sounds in the field recording of Colley and Paul’s interactions. Colley explains “What Is It: This is a fundamental question that gets asked to one’s self or to Paul. We try to understand, to connect. How is Paul trying to tell us what he needs? The movement traverses Paul’s moods, process and the ways in which the people around him attempt to support and connect.” As the piece develops, Colley shifts from sparsely sprinkled vocals, to highly resonant harmonic passages, ending with a bouncy and interwoven rhythmic gesture.
Hello Halo houses two duets which “feature recordings of Paul and his carers/family that are placed through a midi patch that generates tonal responses to his vocalizations,” explains Colley. ‘Duet 1 (Then)’ has the violin and voice responding to the recordings by starting together in the same tonal range and gradually moving apart, ending at highest (violin) and lowest (Mezzo) range. Meditative and full of introspection, the Duets are “a study on what it is to respond to Paul much like the people in Paul's life, such as his family and support workers. Paul often encourages a kind of duet of ‘call and response’ that is song-like in nature.”
“‘Echoes’ is all about the words and sounds Paul used as a child but has subsequently lost,” says Colley. “It is an archive of his lost words and a means to remember.” In the middle of the piece we hear a reference to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in the voices as Colley’s violin expresses a longing melodic figure. Colley recounts the significance of this musical quote:
“The reason I started playing violin at the age of three was because my parents started a program to help Paul physically develop, and one of the volunteers helping was a violin teacher who saw me floating about, and said, ‘She needs something to do’. That’s when I started learning the violin, and Paul learned alongside me. I was practicing and playing all the time and he would sit and listen. So there is a lifetime of me learning a particular kind of musical language as well which he was absorbing,” Colley tells us. “I learned ‘Twinkle Twinkle’ at the age of three on the violin, but Paul managed to sing it years later. It is sung using the word ‘Hup’, referring to the stars above. It was a lesson that Paul knew and understood far more than we realized. It also told me that his processing time may just take a little longer than the rest of us.”
‘Duet 2 (Now)’ is an interplay between violin and bass which “responds to the vocalizations and midi cues within the score. This time, we start at our highest and lowest ranges and gradually move towards one another, ending on the same note.”
The album closer ‘Cosmology’ is lyrically inspired by the drawing The Cosmology of Care by Kate Adams - (Ruby and Paul's mother and CEO of Project Artyworks). “The Cosmology of Care drawing represents the possibilities and barriers of health and social care systems in England. These bureaucratic systems are spoken in their acronyms, gradually getting more dense and chaotic as the movement develops,” explains Colley. “At the centre is the individual alongside their family or caregiver. Around them, in the second circle, are different types of ‘home’. In the outer open zone of this ‘cosmology’ is life, hopes and dreams and all the freedoms we may take for granted such as acting on free will, choosing who we live with, being in wild places, being able to change our minds and choosing how we spend our time.”
EXAUDI’s director James Weeks says of Hello Halo: “Not only did Ruby create a sensitive, respectful and truly innovative piece of music incorporating her brother's repertoire of vocalizations, but the effect on audiences in Snape, London, and Liverpool was immediate and profound. Ruby ensured our intention was clear by presenting a film before we sang at each performance, giving background to the project. I have come away convinced of the value of this work, not only from a social standpoint but also as art in and of itself.”
Dictionary of Paul’s language:
hello — is all about context; How Paul says it, and to whom.
Whispered is a gentle invitation for connection and eye contact. It can also be a shyness. Usually reserved for people he likes the most or a way to inspire quiet connection.
Spoken clearly is when confident and in a good mood. “I am here and feeling good!”
Shouted as above but more! Usually when excited. Can be heard when Paul is out on a good walk in nature.
Loh – a lazy hello.
Helloooo…? — Genial and almost sung with upward inflection, this is reserved for the most beloved people like his Mum.
Hee-hoo — variation on ‘Hello’.
Ooo bee — ‘Ruby’
Eee! – Can be Ruby or “music please”!
Aum, Om — ‘Home’
Ohm — ‘More’
AAN — Dan (support worker)
OOhoo! — George/Grandad or Dog
Hum — Home
Eee! — Ruby or Music!
Mum-Mah — Mum
Uhnuya unu yuuh nah — Unknown
Le i-ha Yaa — Form of singing or family Friend Yaa
Att-d! — Dad or Bus

Tracklist and Credits
1. Hello Halo
2. What Is It
3. Duet 1 - Then
4. Echoes
5. Duet 2 - Now
6. Cosmology
Ruby Colley: Violin
EXAUDI
James Weeks: Conductor
Cressida Sharp: Soprano
Jess Gillingwater: Mezzo
Tom Williams: Countertenor
David de Winter: Tenor
Michael Hickman: Baritone
Eoghan Desmond: Bass
Recorded by: Ruby Colley and Joseph Bowman
Mixed by: Ruby Colley
Mastered by: Zachary Hanson